‘The Phenomenal One’ is preparing to hang up his boots within the next year.
On September 5, AJ Styles shared a cryptic hourglass image on his Instagram story, leading many fans to speculate that he was hinting at his career nearing its end.
Speaking to Tokyo Sports ahead of WWE’s return to Japan in October, AJ Styles said he expects it will be his final time competing in the country, revealing plans to retire within the next year. While those plans remain unconfirmed, he pointed to WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas as a possible stage for his farewell.
“I’m really excited. I think this will probably be my last match in Japan, so I’m really looking forward to it. I plan to retire soon, and I might not come back to Japan before that. I’ll probably be at WrestleMania, but it’s not confirmed yet. The details are still undecided, but I will definitely retire within the next year. I don’t want to show my fans a side of me that isn’t AJ Styles. That’s the main reason. I’ve decided to retire before my body can no longer move.”
-AJ Styles
In addition to his retirement plans remaining unconfirmed, Styles admitted he has yet to decide on his next steps, though he expects to stay involved with WWE in some capacity
“I haven’t decided yet, but I think I’ll probably work for WWE. It might be good to help develop young talent into main roster-caliber wrestlers. But I just don’t know yet.”
-AJ Styles
Styles won’t be the only former IWGP Heavyweight Champion set to retire in 2026, as NJPW President Hiroshi Tanahashi will bring his legendary career to a close at Wrestle Kingdom 20 on January 4 at the Tokyo Dome.
With time running out for both men, Styles claimed that he still wants to step into the ring with New Japan’s ‘Ace’ one more time before it’s all said, although he isn’t sure he’ll have the chance.
“Tana is truly a great wrestler. I don’t think many have contributed as much to the industry as he has. I was truly honored to have wrestled him. I still want [one more match with Tanahashi] 1,000 percent. But given our respective positions, I don’t know if it’ll happen. It may be difficult to fight him again, but I want to see his retirement match. Rather than thinking about who the opponent is, I feel that this position is something that has to be earned… We are both on the path to retirement, but this is truly a happy thing. In pro wrestling, your body getting wrecked is part of the deal. Just being able to have a retirement match is a huge blessing.”
-AJ Styles
AJ Styles isn’t the only WWE Superstar to reveal that he wants to step into the ring with Hiroshi Tanahashi one more time, with The Judgement Day’s Finn Bálor recently throwing his hat into the ring to be his final opponent. You can read more about that here.
Looking ahead, WWE has announced that AJ Styles will face John Cena at Crown Jewel in Perth, Australia, on October 11, following social media pressure from both former WWE Champions to make the match happen.
The record-setting 17-time world champion is also nearing the end of his career, with his final match scheduled for December 13 at Saturday Night’s Main Event in the Capital One Arena, Washington D.C.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on AJ Styles’ plans to retire within the next year as soon as we hear more.
H/T to Fightful for the translation.
