WWE is going to get a little bit less phenomenal.
Just 24 hours before facing John Cena on the Hollywood star’s farewell tour, AJ Styles has announced his own impending retirement plans.
The decorated former world champion, known to fans as the Phenomenal One, confirmed that he will hang up his boots in 2026 as he addressed fans in Perth, Australia before this weekend’s Crown Jewel show.
Veteran commentator Michael Cole asked Styles, 48, about a recent interview in which he hinted at calling it a day, having made his debut in 2002.
He said: ‘I’m getting old, folks. Listen, if I can find the Fountain of Youth and take a couple if sips, I’d wrestle for the rest of my life. But you know, I am getting older. The fear of embarrassing myself is getting closer.
‘And you know what? There comes a time in a man’s life when he has take care of business, but when business is done it’s time to take care of his family. I need to spend time with my family.
‘The whole idea with wrestling and having an amazing future in this business, is to be able to retire one day. In 2026, I will retire.’
Fans in Perth could be heard booing the announcement, which came during the Crown Jewel Kickoff event a few hours before this afternoon’s episode of SmackDown.
Styles didn’t offer a firm end date for his career, but he made it clear that he will be calling it quits next year.
Over WrestleMania 40 weekend in Philadelphia in April 2024, the legendary wrestler admitted his body was telling him his time in the ring was almost done.
He exclusively told Metro at the time: ‘I don’t want to do it anymore. And it’s not because – of course I want to wrestle. But my body, it’s like, “Please stop. Please stop.” I think this would be a good place to end my career, in the WWE.’
Styles has previously admitted he will find it ‘easy’ to retire when the moment comes, particularly after he got a taste of what his post-wrestling life will be like having spent months on the shelf following a broken ankle in December 2022.
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In the summer of 2023, he told me during the first of several interviews of the next 12 months: ‘I think that we bust our tail in this ring so that we can enjoy spending time that we have lost for so many years. That’s what retirement’s all about!
‘Once it’s over, I think it’s gonna be easy for me to go, “Okay! I did what I was supposed to do! I fought as hard as I could for as long as I could to the point where I hopefully didn’t embarrass myself”.
‘At the same time, the fruits of your labour are where you’re gonna enjoy that now, that’s what it’s all about. No more missing birthdays, high school, elementary school stuff. I’m gonna be there as a father to see that. I’ve missed enough.’
Styles rose to prominence with TNA Wrestling, helping the promotion become a real force in the industry.
After wrestling in Japan and around the world, he made his WWE debut as a surprise entrance in the 2016 Royal Rumble, coming in at number 3 and confronting Roman Reigns.
Cena has arguably been his greatest rival over the last decade, and he’ll get to close that chapter this weekend.
AJ Styles faces John Cena at WWE Crown Jewel on Saturday afternoon. Stream the show live at 1pm on Netflix.
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