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AJ Styles Planned to Retire at WrestleMania 41 Before Change in Plans
The former WWE Champion revealed he initially wanted to hang up his boots at the company's biggest annual event.
Published on Feb. 23, 2026
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AJ Styles, the 48-year-old WWE superstar, had planned to retire from professional wrestling at WrestleMania 41 last year. However, due to an injury that was supposed to force his retirement, Styles ended up returning to the ring and decided it didn't feel right to retire just two months later. Instead, Styles officially retired at the Royal Rumble event last month, where he lost a career-threatening match to GUNTHER.
Why it matters
Styles is a WWE legend, having debuted for the company 10 years ago. His planned retirement at WrestleMania 41 would have been a fitting end to his illustrious career, but an injury and subsequent change of plans led to a different conclusion. Styles' retirement at the Royal Rumble was still an emotional moment for fans, as he is widely regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of his generation.
The details
In a recent vlog on WWE's YouTube channel, Styles explained that he had initially planned to retire at WrestleMania 41, as that is where most wrestlers want to hang up their boots. However, an injury that was supposed to force his retirement led to Styles returning to the ring. He felt it didn't feel right to come back for just two months and then retire, so he decided to wait until the Royal Rumble, where he had debuted for WWE 10 years ago.
- AJ Styles officially retired from WWE at the Royal Rumble last month.
- Styles had planned to retire at WrestleMania 41 last year.
- Styles debuted for WWE 10 years ago at the Royal Rumble event.
The players
AJ Styles
A 48-year-old professional wrestler who is considered one of the greatest of his generation. He officially retired from WWE at the Royal Rumble last month after a storied career with the company.
GUNTHER
The wrestler who defeated Styles in the career-threatening match at the Royal Rumble, leading to Styles' retirement from WWE.
What they’re saying
“Everybody wants to retire at WrestleMania, right? The biggest show of the year that we do, and I was gonna do exactly that, but I just came back for an injury that was supposed retire me, cause of the injury, it retires most. But once I got healed up and was comfortable enough running and doing what I needed to do to be AJ Styles, it just didn't feel right to come back for two months just to retire. It didn't seem right and I thought what a better way to be able to leave on the pay-per-view where you debuted.”
— AJ Styles (WWE)
What’s next
Tonight on "WWE Raw," a tribute to Styles is will take place an hour away from his hometown of Gainesville in Atlanta, Georgia, with stars from all brands of the promotion scheduled to be in attendance. It's also just been confirmed that the former WWE Champion will appear live on "Raw" for the tribute.
The takeaway
AJ Styles' retirement from WWE marks the end of an era, as the former champion was one of the most popular and respected wrestlers of his generation. His decision to retire at the Royal Rumble, where he debuted 10 years ago, was a fitting conclusion to his storied career, even if it wasn't the original plan to retire at WrestleMania 41.
