WrestleMania is still “The Grandest Stage of Them All” in WWE.
But has it lost some of its’ luster?
AJ Styles thinks so.
“The Phenomenal One” explained as much during an appearance on this week’s Raw Recap podcast.
While chopping it up with Sam Roberts and Megan Morant on the weekly post-Raw podcast, which is available in its’ entirety via WWE’s official YouTube channel (see video below), AJ Styles spoke about his WWE tribute on the February 23 episode of WWE Raw on Netflix from State Farm Arena in Atlanta, GA.
During the discussion, Styles was asked why he decided to retire from WWE at Royal Rumble instead of WrestleMania.
Styles’ answer was somewhat surprising.
“It was coming back from an injury to WrestleMania to a match that, to me, didn’t have much build,” Styles began. “WrestleMania, I’m sorry to say, used to be the most prestigious PLE, but to me, it’s kind of lost its luster a little bit.”
He then explained how wrapping up his WWE career where it began was a poetic way to finish things up.
“As far as the Royal Rumble, that’s special to me because that’s where I made my debut,” he said. “To be able to end where I started is poetic.”
It was announced during the AJ Styles tribute on the 2/23 Raw on Netflix that AJ Styles will be inducted into the 2026 class of the WWE Hall of Fame along with Stephanie McMahon and other yet-to-be-announced inductees during WrestleMania 42 Week in Las Vegas, NV.
