AJ Styles has been one of the top stars in professional wrestling for decades now, and his in-ring career seemingly came to an end over the weekend when Gunther defeated Styles in a career threatening match at the Royal Rumble. Styles said his goodbyes to the WWE Universe, but there’s been a lot of speculation over the last few days when it comes to his future.
Fightful Select reports they heard months ago that AJ’s contract with WWE was set to expire in February of 2026. However, that hasn’t been confirmed to be the case, and there’s been no word on if AJ signed an extension at this point. One source at TNA Wrestling believed that AJ Styles would, or had extended his contract before the Royal Rumble, but that has not been confirmed.
Regarding the possibility of AJ Styles working in TNA Wrestling, WWE sources indicated if AJ wanted to do that badly enough he could do it while he was under contract with WWE.
One WWE source noted that regardless of what happens from here, The Phenomenal One very much had it his way when it comes to his WWE retirement. Another source in management said they would happily extend AJ’s deal, but the former WWE Champion made it clear for years that he was looking at retiring.
Last week at AEW Dynamite, AJ’s status was said to have been a major point of conversation, and people on the team were speculating in regard to what AJ was doing. As of today there’s no word on if an offer has been made, but the expectation among AEW sources is that the company will try to bring him in if they are able to. It’s expected that New Japan Pro Wrestling would also want to use AJ Styles.
A source close to The Phenomenal One knew his in ring career was set to end at the Royal Rumble. However, they aren’t sure what he’s doing next, and the belief is he’s in a position to do what he wants regardless of money.
AJ Styles has not commented on his future following his retirement match at the Royal Rumble, but it was recently reported that he’s expected to be at WWE HQ this week, possibly to record a podcast, so hopefully he’ll be breaking his silence sooner than later.