A lot of fans wondered why AJ Styles’ WWE career ended at the Royal Rumble instead of WrestleMania 42. As it turns out, that wasn’t WWE’s decision; it was his.
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet, Styles said WrestleMania was never the show he wanted to retire on because, to him, the Royal Rumble was always the event that mattered most.
“That wasn’t my pay-per-view or PLE. That’s not where I started. For me to be able to debut and then end it at the Royal Rumble, and I don’t care that it was in Saudi Arabia, it’s still the Royal Rumble. That meant something to me.”
For Styles, it came down to one simple thing—his story. He arrived in WWE as one of the biggest surprises in Royal Rumble history back in 2016, so ending that journey at the same event felt right. Waiting for WrestleMania just because it’s WWE’s biggest show never really entered his mind.
He knows a lot of wrestlers grow up dreaming about WrestleMania being the final chapter of their careers. He just never saw it that way.
“I know there’s people who have WrestleMania as their big PLE, but mine was the Royal Rumble.”
When Styles walked to the back without leaving his gloves in the ring, plenty of fans took it as a sign that retirement might not be permanent. Styles later admitted there was still one thing that could tempt him back—a chance to team with his son one day.
Whether that ever happens is anyone’s guess. But if there’s one thing Styles has now made clear, it’s that he never believed WrestleMania was where his WWE career should end. In his mind, that ending always belonged at the Royal Rumble.
Do you prefer AJ Styles ending his career at the Royal Rumble, or do you think WrestleMania would have been the perfect farewell? Let us know in the comments below.
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