AJ Styles Confirms 2026 Retirement Ahead Of WWE Crown Jewel

At the end of 2025, John Cena will hang up his professional wrestling boots, or in his case sneakers, for good. Sometime in 2026, AJ Styles will do the same.

On the WWE Crown Jewel kick-off show, Styles explained the reasoning behind his respective in-ring retirement. "I'm getting old, folks," he said. "Listen, if I could find the fountain of youth and take a couple sips, I'd wrestle for the rest of my life, but I am getting older. The fear of embarrassing myself is getting closer. And you know what? There comes a time in a man's life when he has to take care of business, but when business is done, it's time to take care of his family. I need to spend time with my family. The whole idea with wrestling and having an amazing future in this business is to be able to retire one day, and in 2026, I will retire."

In a previous interview, Styles noted that the specifics of his pre-retirement plans were still being considered, though he will likely appear at WWE WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas. More imminently, Styles will face Cena at WWE Crown Jewel in what is being advertised as their final in-ring faceoff.

Styles joined WWE as a full-time roster member in 2016 following his debut in the Men's Royal Rumble. Over the next nine years, he'd cement himself as a Grand Slam Champion, having held the Intercontinental, United States, Raw Tag Team, and WWE Championships. Now at the age of 48, Styles is thinking about potentially taking on a behind-the-scenes role in WWE once he retires.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit WWE with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.