AJ Styles Addresses Royal Rumble Retirement, Feels WWE’s WrestleMania Has Lost Its Lustre
AJ Styles believes WWE’s WrestleMania isn’t what it once was.
On January 31, AJ Styles suffered a submission defeat at the hands of GUNTHER that brought his legendary career to an end. Many initially expected Styles to retire at WrestleMania when he announced in 2026 that he planned to step away, but he has now explained why the Royal Rumble was the right place to do it.
Appearing on Raw Recap following last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW, Styles explained why he chose to retire at the Royal Rumble instead of WrestleMania, noting that he feels WWE’s biggest event of the year has lost some of its lustre.
“It was coming back from an injury to WrestleMania to a match that didn’t, to me, have much build. And WrestleMania, I’m sorry to say, used to be the most prestigious PLE or pay-per-view, whatever you want to call it. But to me, it’s kind of lost its luster a little bit. But as far as the Royal Rumble, that’s special to me because that’s where I made my debut. So to be able to end where I started, it’s poetic.”
-AJ Styles
With WrestleMania 42 just under two months away, ticket sales for the event are down 19.3% compared with last year, according to Dave Meltzer, with the creative direction of several top stars still uncertain as the company looks to adjust course.
Last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW featured a tribute to AJ Styles in Atlanta, Georgia, culminating with The Undertaker announcing that Styles will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2026.
The moment seemed to take Styles by surprise, and reports suggest that WWE had not informed him of the announcement beforehand. You can read more about that here.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on AJ Styles’s future and the buildup to WrestleMania 42 as soon as we hear more.
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