AJ Styles Reveals Original Plans for His WWE Retirement Match

AJ Styles’ retirement wasn’t always supposed to happen at the Royal Rumble, as the Phenomenal One just revealed he was originally going to retire at WrestleMania.

While speaking on a WWE vlog on February 20, 2026, Styles revealed that the original plan for his final match was WrestleMania — not the Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia.

“You know, everybody wants to retire at WrestleMania, right? It’s the biggest show of the year that we do. And I was going to do exactly that.”

According to Styles, that changed after he returned from a serious injury — one he says ends most careers: “But I had just come back from an injury that was supposed to retire me — it retires most people.” Once he felt physically ready to perform at his usual level again, the idea of coming back for only a short run just to retire at WrestleMania didn’t sit right with him.

“Once I got healed up and felt comfortable enough running and doing what I needed to do to be AJ Styles again, it just didn’t feel right to come back for two months just to retire. That didn’t seem right.”

Instead, Styles decided that if he was going to step away, it should be at the same event where his WWE journey began: “I thought, what better way to leave than on the pay-per-view where you debuted?”

Styles debuted in WWE at the 2016 Royal Rumble — and ten years later, his WWE career came to an end at the hands of GUNTHER at the 2026 Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia.

Of course, speculation continues. Styles was recently spotted at the WWE Performance Center on February 18, and SmackDown talent is being flown in for his advertised February 23 appearance on RAW in Atlanta. That episode is being promoted as a celebration of his career, and Bryan Alvarez has reported that something significant could be planned.

Still, Styles’ latest comments make one thing very clear: WrestleMania was originally the destination for his retirement — until he chose to close the loop at the Royal Rumble instead.