It’s official: AJ Styles is retired.
For those not familiar with Styles or his work, it may be easy to say, “so what?” You know what, that’s a fair assessment, especially if WWE is your only means of professional wrestling consumption.
That said, AJ Styles deserves every bit of accolade and recognition as any other wrestler that has ever laced up their boots.
Styles earned some of that recognition on the Feb. 23 edition of Monday Night Raw when he officially left his vest and clothes in the ring, a symbolic gesture that indicates a wrestler’s retirement. To further seal the deal, The Undertaker made his way to the ring to announce Styles would be part of the 2026 WWE Hall of Fame class.
AJ Styles doesn’t get discussed in the conversation as Greatest of All Time likely because a good chunk of his career occurred outside of WWE.
Despite that work being lesser-known to casual or newcomer fans, it helps qualify him to be in the conversation of many of the greats, creating a legacy that is vital to the story of modern professional wrestling.
Stylin’ and Profilin’
In order to understand the story of AJ Styles, real name Allen Neal Jones, we have to go back to 1998 as Styles would begin training and wrestling on the independent circuit. From 1998-2002, Style would wrestle primarily in front of small Georgia crowds while making brief appearances in World Championship Wrestling and the then-World Wrestling Federation.
By 2002, Styles signed a contract with upstart NWA — Total Nonstop Action. TNA would eventually break off from NWA, attempting to position itself as an alternative to WWE.
TNA focused on more athletic contests, still telling stories but providing an edgier product than what WWE was doing at the time. Styles proved to be a centerpiece in this effort as he would make a name for himself throughout the 2000s.
Styles would be part of the X Division, a group known for fast-paced and acrobatic wrestling. Styles, alongside others like Christopher Daniels and Samoa Joe, would make the X Division TNA’s main attraction. This was highlighted in 2005 when Styles, Daniels, and Joe had a three-way title match that people still gush about today.
Styles would rise to be the face of TNA, wrestling many big name stars including 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle. This dominance continued until Styles left the company in 2014.
Styles would become a jack of all trades as he roamed the independents again, this time with a stronger ethos that made him a bigger draw. This took him to various promotions in the US as well as New Japan Pro Wrestling.
In 2016, Styles would cross the forbidden door and make his WWE debut during the Royal Rumble. This set off a resurgence in his career that saw him have major feuds with John Cena, Roman Reigns, and others. He would eventually become WWE Champion.
By 2020, Styles was a mainstay on the WWE roster. He provided the retirement match for The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 36 and being part of Cena’s 2025 retirement tour.
Quietly, Styles approached a match with Gunther at the 2026 Royal Rumble, a decade after his WWE debut, where if he lost, he would retire. Gunther made Styles submit and just like that, Styles’ career was over.
Styles’ Impact Stretches Far
I will fully admit that my summary doesn’t do Styles justice. This man earned the title the Phenomenal One because his career is absolutely stellar.
What makes it most impressive is that he helped create a viable, albeit smaller, alternative to WWE. Once WWE put WCW out of business in 2001, it owned a monopoly on professional wrestling. WWE was at its best when there was competition.
While TNA never rose to those heights, it did make enough noise to draw many former WWE talents. Some names that made their way over for a time included Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Mick Foley, Kurt Angle, and the Hardy Boyz.
Styles was different. He didn’t need WWE to make a name for himself. He was one of many homegrown wrestlers that flourished in the TNA product. Without Styles, TNA would’ve gone under quickly.
That’s not to take away from the likes of Daniels or Samoa Joe. It’s more to say that among a see of alternative stars, Styles stood out.
This puts him in a category of the face of a company during a successful era. This list could include Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and John Cena in WWE; Sting in WCW; and MJF in AEW. Whenever there is a list of best TNA matches, Styles features prominently on everyone.
A big reason for that is, ahem, style of wrestling. In a world of muscle-bound men, Styles come across as a smaller and more high-flying wrestler.
He was quick, agile, and just so much fun to watch in the ring. Even when you watch more modern matches, Styles may have lost a step, but his athleticism still shines.
And then there’s his charisma. As good as a wrestler’s skills may be, if they can’t connect with the crowd, it all doesn’t matter. Styles has that charming southern accent that connects him with the audience.
He comes across as a Southern boy who had to work hard for his spot. This is super relatable to the audience because he comes across as one of them. Any one chasing their dreams could relate to Styles because he went the untraditional route and made it his own.
A Family Man With Style
That relatability extends further as Styles has always been a family man. He is always saying how important his wife and kids are to him and there are frequent videos of him interacting with them while on the road.
A big reason for his retirement is so he can go be “a full-time dad,” as he said on Raw.
His wife Wendy featured prominently in a WWE feud when Styles and Samoa Joe faced off. Joe would make constant remarks to Wendy during Summerslam 2018. This fired up Styles, causing him to get himself disqualified from the match.
Furthermore, Styles’ peers have only good things to say about him. They compliment his character, kindness, support, and work ethic.
All of this adds to a legacy that rivals the very best.
A WWE constant
What makes Styles most interesting is how constant he was in WWE. While he was the big star in TNA, Styles had no problem working at the top of the card, but never coming across as the star he actuall was.
This isn’t meant as an insult. It’s more a compliment of how steady Styles would be.
In his early WWE run, he would play that role heavily, engaging in a feud with WWE’s Golden Goose John Cena early on. This feud earned the unofficial billing of WWE vs TNA as the companies’ two faces over the last 15 years faced off in a trio of iconic matches.
As time wore on, Styles would provide the steady support the top of the card needed, but never fully entered into the spotlight. That said, WWE always knew it could call on Styles for help in boosting a rising star’s credibility or lock him in a match with the company’s top star.
Styles did both, and everything in between, throughout his WWE run. It was amazing to see that Styles could still turn it on over 20 years after his original debut.
The biggest compliment could be Styles being the one to retire The Undertaker. The match seemed to be originally set for a more traditional approach, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced a more cinematic match.
Taker won his match by burying Styles alive, but this didn’t diminish AJ one bit. In fact, Styles gained Internet fame with an iconic meme that came out of this match.
Having a constant like Styles makes any company stronger because it knows it can rely on that person. That comes from what Styles did in TNA and WWE, making for one incredible beast.
Don’t Overlook This Star
Among wrestling fans, AJ Styles will go down as one of the best. That said, it is possible he may get overlooked because he’s not quite the name brand of John Cena.
That being said, Styles deserves every accolade he will get leading up to his Hall of Fame induction at Wrestlemania 42. He’s put in the work and shined with every opportunity he has had.
The way he wrestles reminds fans why they fell in love with the sport to begin with. Furthermore, it makes a great entry point for those who might not be familiar with professional wrestling.
I hope that the world sees AJ Styles for what he is: one of the very best to every wrestle. He is one of few wrestlers that made me fall in love with professional wrestling.
It takes seeing him to understand why, but I can promise you, you won’t regret watching Styles fly.
Featured Image: WWE (via Wrestling Inc.)
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