‘The Phenomenal One’ will be retired by June 2027 at the latest.
AJ Styles is one of the most legendary names in wrestling history. ‘The Phenomenal One’ has won all there is to win in WWE and has been a world champion everywhere he’s been, including New Japan Pro Wrestling and TNA. However, at 47 years old, it’s fair to say that the clock is ticking on his iconic career and he has now given the latest update on his future.
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Styles spoke about how much thought he’s given to retirement of late.
“I’ve thought about it a lot, much more than I should have. I should have known what I was doing by now. But it’s so hard because you enjoy it so much and I enjoy being around my friends. Don’t get me wrong, I love being at home, but the opportunity to see them and see them doing well, seeing them smile, and seeing them grow. Some of these guys like Roman for instance, his selling is on a different level. Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, all these guys, they stepped up. If Roman stepped up, they stepped up with him. I just thought that was so impressive that they do that, and seeing them grow into these amazing Superstars. Gunther losing all that weight to get to where he’s at now as the Heavyweight Champion, it’s freaking awesome. Cody, seeing where he’s at and what he had to go through to get to where he was at, and what he’s doing now is at that position, he’s the guy. He puts the work in. It’s really cool to see those guys hustle as much as they are and beat themselves up as much as they have, and still do well. I like seeing that.”
-AJ Styles
To provide further clarification, Styles then said he will absolutely be done with wrestling when he reaches 50.
“That’s correct. I keep saying that. I’ve said this and said this, but I will not wrestle at 50, I promise you that.”
-AJ Styles
Lastly on retirement, Styles said that he currently said that he currently has no one in mind when it comes to his last opponent, but he has an idea on how to bring his career to a close that sums up who he is.
“Nope, no opponent in mind. An idea that I will not share with you that I thought if I could get Undertaker to get in the ring with me, that I wanted to do. But there’s an idea there that I think kind of sums up who AJ Styles is, and we’ll see if it happens. You’ll know it if it does.”
-AJ Styles
Styles made his return to WWE at the Royal Rumble after dealing with a foot injury and last competed on the February 17 edition of Monday Night RAW against Dominik Mysterio.
At present, his path to WrestleMania 41 is unclear, though Styles has come face to face with Bron Breakker of late so it’s possible that a match for the Intercontinental Championship could be what lies in store for him in Las Vegas.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on AJ Styles’ in-ring future as soon as we hear more.
