Subhojeet Mukherjee on February 1, 2026
AJ Styles may be finished as an in-ring competitor in WWE—but that doesn’t mean his wrestling career is entirely over. And according to a new update, another major company is already talking.
According to Sean Ross Sapp on the February 1, 2026 post-Royal Rumble show, backstage discussions in AEW had picked up before Styles’ final WWE match against GUNTHER, with many in AEW openly speculating about the possibility of Styles joining the company once his in-ring career wrapped.
“Certainly, it’s being speculated in AEW,” Sapp revealed. “Everybody was talking about it. Everybody—everybody was talking about it backstage at Dynamite this past week.”
The timing is key. Styles’ match at Royal Rumble: Riyadh was billed as career-threatening, and while WWE made it official with a dramatic finish—Styles passing out in a sleeper hold—talks within AEW were already heating up. The hype came days before that final match, suggesting that some in the industry believed his WWE chapter was closing.
Meanwhile, Triple H confirmed that WWE has had talks about Styles taking on a behind-the-scenes role. He made it clear that AJ told him directly he was “done with the in-ring part,” and floated a potential Shawn Michaels-like path for Styles as a mentor or producer, particularly within NXT.
Still, recent trademark filings by Styles for his name and logo have sparked speculation that he might not stay WWE-exclusive for long—especially if he’s looking to explore a new creative chapter outside the ring.
With AEW’s roster already talking, and WWE hoping to keep him in-house, AJ Styles may be off the card—but he’s far from out of the conversation.
Would you be interested in seeing AJ Styles take on a non-wrestling role in AEW? Or should he stick with WWE’s developmental system? Drop your take in the comments below and let us know what you’d like to see next for The Phenomenal One.
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