AJ Styles Shuts Down Idea He Should’ve Retired in AEW

AJ Styles just shut down a fan on Twitter for claiming he should’ve ended his career in AEW — and it’s got the internet talking.

The Phenomenal One is heading toward retirement in 2026, but not everyone’s happy about how he’s wrapping things up. One fan fired off a tweet saying Styles should’ve left WWE behind for one last run in AEW:

“Should have finished with the AEW run. He chose the WWE money.”

Styles obviously didn’t let it slide. The former WWE Champion fired back by calling it the dumbest thing to have ever been said.

“I’ll take dumbest things to ever have been said for 100, Alex.”

The tweet comes at a time when Styles’ future is already a hot topic in wrestling circles. Earlier in 2025, WWE quietly extended his contract by a year — locking him in until February 2026, just after Royal Rumble and right before WrestleMania season, according to Fightful Select. The idea? Give AJ one last run and one hell of a send-off. That’s exactly what’s happening. Lucha Libre Online previously reported that WWE is working on a full-blown retirement tour to honor Styles’ legendary career:

“WWE is expected to hold a sort of ‘retirement tour’ for AJ Styles in 2026. This will be the Phenomenal One’s last year as an active competitor in the ring.”

And AJ Styles made it clear during the Crown Jewel kickoff show that this isn’t just another storyline — this is real life. His body simply couldn’t compete at a higher level anymore.

“I’m getting old, folks… if I could find the fountain of youth and take a couple of sips, I’d wrestle for the rest of my life. But I am getting older, and the fear of embarrassing myself is getting closer.

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… and in 2026, I will retire.”

AJ Styles has wrestled across the world and headlined nearly every major promotion. He’s choosing to end his story in WWE, and for him, that decision doesn’t need defending—especially not from fans online.