News

AJ Styles Tribute, Brock Lesnar Returns: Adam Pearce Reveals WWE RAW Plans

By Sridhar Krishnan • Published Feb 22, 2026 13:35 EST
aj styles wwe

The February 23 taping of WWE Monday Night Raw comes from Atlanta, Georgia.

During last week’s episode of the red brand, it was revealed that the Georgia show will include a tribute to AJ Styles. As an active competitor, Styles was billed from Georgia.

In October last year, he announced that he would be retiring from professional wrestling in 2026.

While insiders and fans speculated about him getting a John Cena-like retirement tour, his retirement was shockingly set for the Royal Rumble against Gunther, who had already retired Goldberg and Cena in 2025.

The 48-year-old lost the bout despite giving it his all, thus retiring in the process.

Raw general manager Adam Pearce confirmed the AJ Styles tribute in an X video, where he revealed a few plans that had been finalized for the show.

Pearce also revealed that Maxxine Dupri will go one-on-one against Nattie after their previous match from a couple of weeks ago ended in a double countout.

AJ Styles Tribute, Brock Lesnar Announced For WWE Raw

Adam Pearce announced that, along with the AJ Styles tribute, Brock Lesnar will also return to Raw.

Lesnar last competed at the 2026 men’s Royal Rumble match in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on January 31. With WrestleMania scheduled in April, WWE would like to build a story around him with the limited time available.

Also on the show, women’s Royal Rumble winner Liv Morgan will reveal the champion she has picked to challenge at WrestleMania 42.

Furthermore, the men’s and women’s Elimination Chamber qualifying matches will decide the final members.

The men’s bout will feature The Vision’s Bronson Reed going up against Jey Uso and the Original El Grande Americano, whereas the women’s match will be between Iyo Sky, Raquel Rodriguez, and Kairi Sane.