AJ Styles started his professional wrestling career back in 1998 and is celebrating his 26th year as an in-ring performer. Fans and interviewers have asked him numerous times about retirement and when he believes it is going to happen, with some rough estimates at best.
Styles is still active today, recently being announced as an opponent on John Cena’s retirement tour with a match between the two taking place at WWECrown Jewel Perth on October 11th.
The topic of retirement would be brought up with Styles once again as he spoke with Tokyo Sports. And he would go on to give them a more definitive answer as he revealed he plans on retiring in 2026.
“I will probably appear at WrestleMania, but it’s not confirmed yet. The details are still undecided, but I will definitely retire within the next year. I don’t want to show my fans a side of me that isn’t AJ Styles. That’s the main reason. I’ve decided to retire before my body can no longer move.”
– AJ Styles, Tokyo Sports
He also confirms that nothing is official yet, but post retirement he might continue working with WWE by helping to develop younger stars that could be future main roster wrestlers.
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Styles, much like Finn Balor when talking with Tokyo Sports recently, confirmed he would love to share the ring with NJPW president Hiroshi Tanahashi one final time. Tanahashi will also be hanging up his boots in 2026 and wrestlers across the world are lining up for one last match against him.
With at least around a year before for AJ Styles’ planned retirement tour ends, there are plenty of competitors that Styles’ could face before he wraps up his career and there are many on the active WWE roster who have a history with him.
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