AJ Styles Drops Bold Statement On WWE Future Just Months After Shocking Retirement
It has been four months since AJ Styles wrestled his final match, but don’t for a second think the Phenomenal One is ready to fade away.
After hanging up his boots at the Royal Rumble in January following a loss to GUNTHER, Styles has already been announced for the 2026 WWE Hall of Fame. But that is just the beginning. Behind the scenes, he has taken on a scouting role for WWE ID and has been working closely with rising talent at the Performance Center.
Now, Styles is opening up about what comes next—and his mindset is turning heads.
On the latest episode of his Phenomenally Retro Podcast, the former two-time WWE Champion revealed he is hitting the road this week as a coach, stepping in to help a friend recover from knee surgery. But his ambitions go far beyond filling a temporary gap.
“Whatever they need, I want to be the guy,” Styles said. “I like to be needed. Being needed is a good thing.”
He explained that coaching allows him to share his deep passion for wrestling with the next generation, something he clearly still feels strongly about.
“The fact that I get to go down there and enjoy myself because I still have passion for wrestling, and showing these things. Hopefully that passion will bleed over to the Performance Center. I hope they’re excited about learning, because it’s fun.”
Styles admitted he does not yet know exactly what his long-term role will look like, but he is genuinely excited to find out. He also shared how much he enjoys open ring sessions, where he can pass along forgotten moves and little tricks from past eras.
“There’s a time where we have open ring, and we can just work on whatever we want to work on, that’s fun. ‘Hey man, I’ve got all this information up here in this brain, let’s get it out of there. Let me show you this.’ Because I know a lot of the moves that aren’t done any more, that other guys used to do really well.”
For a wrestler who gave fans so much inside the ring, AJ Styles is making it clear his most valuable contributions to WWE might still be ahead of him.
