“I Couldn’t Hold It Back”: AJ Styles Breaks Down in Private Moment After WWE Departure
The 2026 WWE Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia delivered a moment that nobody in the arena will soon forget. When AJ Styles placed his gloves in the center of the ring, the wrestling world collectively held its breath. But as it turns out, the most raw and emotional part of the night didn’t happen under the bright lights—it happened just out of frame.
The match itself was a brutal showdown. With his entire career hanging in the balance, The Phenomenal One stepped up to battle the dominant Gunther. Despite a valiant effort from the veteran, a few cunning tactics from The Ring General proved to be too much, and Styles fell short.
What followed in the ring was a masterclass in storytelling. A visibly torn Styles teased leaving his gloves behind, a symbolic gesture of retirement. Yet, just as quickly as he placed them down, he scooped them back up, clutching them tightly as he walked up the ramp through a sea of appreciation from the WWE Universe. It left fans wondering: Was that the last we’ll ever see of him?
Since then, Styles has kept the door slightly ajar. In a candid chat on What’s Your Story? With Steph McMahon, the 48-year-old admitted, “Never say never, right? That’s the saying. I think everybody’s allowed at least once to come out of retirement. I’m not saying that I’ll do it anytime soon.”
But while the in-ring moment was open to interpretation, the backstage reaction was anything but.
The Dam Breaks Once the Door Closes
In that same interview, Styles peeled back the curtain on what happened the second he was out of the audience’s sight. He described keeping it together professionally, making his rounds to thank the crew and talent.
“I was AJ Styles all the way from the end of the match, all the way till I got to the back,” he recalled. “First person I hugged was Chris Park, Abyss, and then it was someone and Punk, and a lot of the other guys. I hugged everybody in there, and it was great, right?”
But the composure didn’t last. As he turned the corner to head to his private space, the gravity of the moment crashed down on him. He described a frantic rush to get to solitude, only to fumble with a locker room door that, unbeknownst to him, didn’t latch properly.
“As soon as I walked around to leave, it freakin’ hit me,” he admitted. “So then you see me power walking, a little bit of running to get to where they were stacking the bags because I just made it to my locker room and I thought I shut the door. It didn’t shut apparently.”
His attempt to hide the tears was quickly discovered by friends like Shane Helms, who rushed in with words of reassurance. “It was alright. You were good, man. You don’t have to turn your back,” Helms told him. Styles also shared a powerful embrace with Xavier Woods and Jolene, a hug made heavier by their deep-rooted shared history. “So many different things. So yeah, it was a special moment,” Styles reflected.
Whether this was a curtain call or merely an intermission before one final act, AJ Styles proved that after nearly two decades at the top, the passion for this business still runs deep enough to bring the Phenomenal One to his knees.
