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AJ Styles is no doubt one of the biggest stars of WWE right now, and he has been one of the promotion's biggest attractions for the last decade. He made his WWE debut back in 2016 as a surprise participant in the Royal Rumble match at the Royal Rumble event. He was promoted as a main eventer in the same year of his debut, as he had multiple top rivalries with some of the biggest stars, like John Cena and Dean Ambrose.
He even won the WWE Championship that same year, and he had been a two-time WWE World Champion. He remained a consistent main eventer for several years, and recently, he has been mostly focusing on promoting younger talent. He has been treated like a legend in WWE for the last couple of years.
AJ Styles stopped thinking that he would get a WWE call up
Before working in WWE, AJ Styles had a magnificent career in TNA wrestling, and he was one of the few wrestlers that the promotion established. Recently, The Phenomenal One revealed that he gave up his hope of getting the WWE call up at a point. Speaking on the “No-Contest Wrestling” podcast, the former two times WWE World Champion said the following;
AJ Styles has been active in WWE since 2016
“I can tell you this, man. I had dealt with the fact that I was never going to have a WrestleMania moment; I’ll never be in WWE. At the time, I’m 37, 36 around there, and I just—I mean, I’m an older guy, and if they haven’t come to me at this point, they never will.
"And I was okay with that. I dealt with that. But then, going on, as quickly as it happened, even being told I’m going to be in the Royal Rumble match was pretty quick like, ‘Oh my God!’ You know, and then not knowing whether I can wear my logo on my gear. That’s the reason I didn’t throw it up because I didn’t know I could use it.”
He is reportedly retiring from in ring action in 2026
He also talked about his surprise celebration, “It was surreal. I was like, ‘Wow, I’m the WWE Champion.’ We had to take championships home with us at that time, and my wife was like, ‘Hey, some of our friends, you know, they want you to bring your belt over. They want to see it.’ So, I go over there, and they had thrown a party for me for being the WWE Champion. It was pretty cool, like, they totally got me.”
It is reported that AJ Styles will retire from in ring action next year, and he will also go through a retirement tour the same way John Cena did throughout 2025. He already presented a phenomenal match with John Cena at the Crown Jewel event last month, and it is considered one of the most entertaining wrestling matches ever. AJ Styles will always be remembered as one of the best wrestlers to ever step foot in the wrestling ring.
