AJ Styles Confirms 2026 Retirement

AJ Styles mentioned in an interview recently that he was planning his pro wrestling retirement in 2026, not wanting to carry on for longer than his body can handle, avoiding becoming a parody of himself. Styles has played around with the idea of retiring in recent months and over the last year, but he has now finally revealed on WWE programming that he will indeed be retiring next year. 

At the Crown Jewel 2025 PLE Kickoff show yesterday in Perth, Australia, Michael Cole asked Styles about the comments made in the aforementioned interview. 

“I’m getting old, folks. Listen, if I could find the Fountain of Youth and take a couple of sips, I would 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 to 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. And in 2026, I will retire.”

The crowd both booed at the retirement news but cheered when Styles spoke to his family. It isn’t known when in 2026 he will retire. 

H/T F4WOnline