AJ Styles wrestled in what turned out to be a retirement match at the Royal Rumble, losing to Gunther and effectively retiring from in-ring competition, at least in a WWE ring.
WWE didn’t waste too much time announcing Styles as the latest inductee into their Hall of Fame, joining Stephanie McMahon in the class of 2026 – reportedly without him even knowing about it. Immediately speculation arose that WWE perhaps announced his entrance into the Hall of Fame as a way to block a possible jump to AEW.
Justin Barrasso of Undisputed reported that Styles was well aware that AEW was set to make him a substantial monetary offer to jump ship and not only that, but AEW would have made significant concessions in giving him a light schedule that would have allowed Styles to spend time with his family – something he has cited as a top reason for retirement.
Barrasso added that with Styles headed to the WWE Hall of Fame, it will make it nearly impossible for AEW’s Tony Khan to bring him in as a surprise for the upcoming Revolution PPV and even Double or Nothing following WrestleMania would seem to soon to see Styles in AEW.
Styles meanwhile seemed to respond to these reports when appearing on Talk N Shop Live!, he stated the following:
“Let me give you something to talk about. So, everybody wants to say, ‘Oh! WWE put him in the Hall of Fame so that he couldn’t go to AEW.’ Guys, I am retired from wrestling in the ring. Like, that’s all this is. I make my own choices, I make my own decisions. I was ready.”