AJ Styles Offers More Detail On Current WWE Scouting Role

Though he is retired from in-ring competition, AJ Styles still aims to help those who are active. Through his new backstage role with WWE, he's now able to do that in multiple ways.

On a recent edition episode of "The Phenomenally Retro Podcast," Styles offered more details on his post-retirement work, which involves scouting and helping talents better themselves. "I'm going to go visit the [WWE] PC," the former WWE Champion said. "I'm going to check out some NXT matches to see where I can help out, see if I can polish up some things that maybe some talent has trouble with. Go see EVOLVE, watch that show, and go see the next up-and-coming hopefully WWE ID. So just trying to stay busy with that until they say, 'Hey, we need you here or we got this going on.' Like 'Yep, I'm on this.'

"I'm always going to be on that search and trying to help guys, but it'll also give me an opportunity to talk with a lot of guys who make the decisions of what they need. What do we need? Okay, let me search for that. I'll scour the earth literally for that diamond in the rough, the next big superstar."

According to Styles, he is willing to go to great lengths to find future WWE Superstars, with no location being considered too far for him to travel. He does, however, have certain criteria that must be met once he reaches those locations. Of the five attributes he's looking for in prospects, passion remains the most important for him, because without it, the other four (athleticism, promos, charisma, and in-ring skills) are irrelevant.

Admittedly, Styles didn't enter the wrestling business with the biggest passion for performing. Once he officially stepped into the ring, though, he became "obsessed" with it.

Regarding his upcoming trip to the WWE Performance Center, Styles noted that he's visited it in the past. This go-around, though, it's driven by professional assessment and possibilities, rather than physical recovery.

"I'm excited about going down there, hanging, and experiencing the whole day for myself," Styles said. "I never really spent the whole day there unless I was trying to get back on my feet from being injured. I never went there as a guest coach or anything like that because I was [working on the] main roster. The idea of going there and just going taking it all in, see how it all works, see if there's anything there that maybe I can provide. I don't know what that is. Maybe a little inside [coaching]. I don't know. They got great coaches down there who's been there, done that."

According to WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque, Styles initially toyed with the idea of joining the company's creative or production team following his in-ring retirement. Upon getting a taste of the departments' meetings, he later changed his mind, opting to instead help WWE from recruitment and development standpoints.

Styles hung up wrestling boots at the 2026 Royal Rumble when he lost to "The Career Killer" GUNTHER by submission. Shortly after that, WWE announced his immediate induction into its Hall of Fame. "The Phenomenal One" made his pro wrestling debut in 1998, with stints in WCW, TNA, Ring of Honor, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and WWE coming in the years following.

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