Gunther’s Surprising Logic Behind Retiring WWE Legends

There is a justified reason behind Gunther retiring WWE legends.

At the 2026 Royal Rumble, he added AJ Styles to the list of wrestlers he has retired. The Austrian had previously retired Goldberg and John Cena in 2025.

As expected, the 38-year-old dominated his opponent, landing a flurry of chops every time an opportunity presented itself. Both wrestlers briefly fought outside the ring, too, during which Styles injured his arm, causing him to bleed throughout the match.

In the end, Gunther applied the rear-naked chokehold on Styles, just as he had previously done to Goldberg and Cena, leading to the veteran superstar losing his consciousness.

The referee then called for the bell, confirming that it was indeed The Phenomenal One’s final wrestling match.

Gunther Reveals His Logic Behind Retiring WWE Legends

Since defeating John Cena at Saturday Night’s Main Event XLII, Gunther has truly embraced his role as WWE’s top heel.

For weeks, he gloated about his victory over the 17-time World Champion, claiming he made him tap out like a b**ch. The Ring General has maintained his persona outside of the ring, too.

During a recent appearance on the Royal Rumble Recap, he spoke virtually to Sam Roberts and Megan Morant, claiming he made sure that AJ Styles fell asleep like a b**ch.

He was then asked about what he got out of retiring the veteran wrestlers, to which he replied:

Yeah, but the question is like ‘What do you get out of it?’ What does everybody get out of it? It’s like, I’m doing a good service to the sport, to the business of professional wrestling, because there’s always guys, they overstay their welcome, they chase another moment, and nobody takes the time, invests their energy in stepping up to them and make them understand, “Hey, get out of here. You’ve done your thing. It’s time to move on.” They take moments away from people far greater like myself. So, that’s what it is. [2:26 onwards]