AJ Styles, who retired from in-ring competition on January 31, said his farewell on the February 23 episode of WWE Raw in Atlanta was exactly how he wanted his career to end.
During a recent appearance on Cody Rhodes’ What Do You Wanna Talk About? podcast, Styles explained that he wanted to leave his gloves in the ring in front of his family and the fans in Georgia.
“I was hoping that I would get to lay him down in Atlanta. Yeah. That’s what I wanted to do. The Dirty South. But there’s all kinds of things running through my mind, but I am certainly glad I got the opportunity to lay him down in Atlanta. That was a great moment for me and my family to be able to do that, and I felt good about it. I felt at peace with it, and so I’m glad it happened there.”
Styles wrestled his final match at the Royal Rumble, where he lost to Gunther after passing out in a sleeper hold.
Weeks later, Styles said goodbye for good in Atlanta. He left his gloves in the center of the ring, and moments later The Undertaker surprised him by announcing that Styles would be part of the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2026.
Rhodes also asked on the podcast whether Styles still reserves the right to come out of retirement in the future, and Styles said he does.
“Yep. I mean, it’s retirement. I think Michael Jordan said it once. It means if I want to come back, I come back.”
This is not the first time Styles has left the door open. Shortly after the Royal Rumble, he said he was not ruling out a return to the ring and even floated the idea of teaming with one of his sons for a single match.