Ahead of his highly anticipated match against John Cena at WWE Crown Jewel on Saturday, AJ Styles confirmed Friday that his in-ring career is nearing its conclusion.
During an appearance on the Crown Jewel Kickoff Show in Perth, Australia, Styles said that he is indeed retiring in 2026, adding, “I am getting older. The fear of embarrassing myself is getting closer.”
The 48-year-old Styles also cited taking care of and spending time with his family as reasons for his upcoming retirement.
Styles’ announcement came the day before Cena will compete in one of the final matches of his illustrious career as well.
Cena has navigated a retirement tour throughout 2025, and after Crown Jewel, he only has four advertised appearances remaining in his in-ring career.
It is fitting that one of his last bouts will come against one of his greatest rivals in Styles, who helped give Cena three of the best matches of his career in 2016 and 2017.
On Friday, Styles discussed the meaning of his rivalry with Cena, noting that nobody ever thought the face of TNA and the face of WWE would lock horns until it actually happened:
The Phenomenal One also brought back one of his most popular mottos by saying he plans to “beat up John Cena” at Crown Jewel.
For many years, it seemed as though Styles would go down as one of the greatest wrestlers to never quite make it to WWE.
He got his first big break in WCW in 2001 under the name Air Styles before spending time in Ring of Honor from 2002 to 2006 and also joining upstart promotion TNA in 2002.
Styles went on to become arguably the greatest wrestler in TNA history, holding five world titles, along with being a six-time X-Division champion and six-time tag team champion.
When his TNA tenure finally ended in 2014, Styles returned to ROH and also had a hugely successful run in New Japan Pro-Wrestling that saw him hold the IWGP Heavyweight Championship twice.
In 2016, Styles finally made it to the biggest stage in wrestling, participating in the Royal Rumble as a surprise entrant.
From that point forward, Styles carved out a Hall-of-Fame-worthy career in WWE, becoming a two-time WWE champion, three-time United States champion, one-time intercontinental champion and one-time tag team champion.
Styles has essentially accomplished everything in WWE, and he has more than earned a retirement tour of his own in 2026, much like the one Cena got to enjoy this year.
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