It’s Over ! AJ Styles Backs Off Wrestling…I Am Retiring From Wrestling.
AJ Styles is undoubtedly among professional wrestling’s all-time best. Depending on your age, The Phenomenal One can be remembered for his time in either TNA, New Japan Pro Wrestling, or WWE, with Styles having memorable stints across the entire wrestling world throughout his 25-year career.
To date, he has been in WWE for eight years, and has made as much of a success out of his time there as he has anywhere else. Styles is a Grand Slam champion for the company – with two WWE Championships, three United States Championships, an Intercontinental Title, and a run as WWE Raw Tag Team Champion (with Omos) under his belt. According to AJ, though, he may not have many more title reigns in his future.
The 46-year-old spoke to The Ringer, via Fightful, ahead of his WrestleMania 40 showdown with LA Knight this Sunday – a match that will mark his eighth appearance at the Shows of Shows – and admitted that he now has one eye firmly on retirement, but expressed his desire to incorporate his departure into a storyline when the time does come to hang up his boots.
“I’m anxious to see what story comes next. I’m getting close. I’m getting close to the end. I want to have that story and match to go with it before I leave the WWE.
That’s what I’m looking forward to the most. I’m done. I’m going to retire. I’m getting to that point where I am worried about embarrassing myself.
My brain says, ‘We can do this.’ My body is like, ‘You’re stupid. We cannot do this. We’re hurting every day when we roll out of bed. At some point, this has to come to an end.'”
After a decorated in-ring career, Styles seemingly wants to bow out while he can still perform at the level that his fans have come to expect from him.
He stopped short of naming his ideal opponent for his final match, but has mixed it up with many legendary figures during his time with WWE.
Styles headlined WrestleMania 36 opposite The Undertaker and has also faced the likes of Shane McMahon, Randy Orton, and Shinsuke Nakamura at The Show of Shows.
Perhaps his greatest rival in a WWE ring, though, is company legend John Cena, who he feuded with between 2016 and 2017. Whenever his career does end, he vowed to ‘enjoy’ the moment.