AJ Styles is putting his career on the line against GUNTHER at Saturday’s Royal Rumble, but no matter the results of that match in Saudi Arabia, The Phenomenal One should retire in poetic fashion with
a final run in TNA.
As WWE constantly reminds viewers, GUNTHER has become a modern-day Legend Killer, having beaten both Goldberg and John Cena in their final matches. He backed Styles into a corner by goading him into agreeing to a retirement stipulation should he lose.
However, while the stipulation does state that Styles must retire from wrestling without any further caveats, who’s to say that agreement can be forced in another company? If he’s defeated, Styles could simply turn up on TNA Impact by arguing that WWE has no jurisdiction in TNA (even though the two companies do have a type of working agreement).
Last September, Fightful reported that Styles’ contract with WWE expires in February of this year. If that’s the case, he could then be freed up to join another company if WWE can enforce the retirement stipulation while he’s under contract.
Of course, Styles could beat the odds and come out on top against The Ring General. He recently made GUNTHER tap out, when the referee wasn’t looking, so he could very well overcome the Austrian star once again.
If he does have his hand raised in victory, Styles could complete the feel-good end of his career with one last run in TNA. A win could delay said run until after one final WrestleMania appearance.
But why a run in what is the third-largest wrestling company in the U.S.? Simply put, because AJ Styles is arguably the biggest star that TNA ever made. During the Dixie Carter era, plenty of well-known names like Kurt Angle, the Hardys and Rob Van Dam—not to mention past-their-prime stars like Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair—spent time in TNA, but they rose to prominence in other promotions. Styles was virtually unknown when he signed with TNA in 2002 only to eventually become a major face of the company for the next decade before his legendary stint in New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
Recent matches with Shinsuke Nakamura and CM Punk have shown Styles still has plenty left in the tank and should dispel any notion of him hanging around too long. TNA fans have also shown they would welcome Styles back with open arms after giving him one of the loudest ovations of the night during a promo he delivered on TNA Impact’s debut on AMC a couple of weeks ago.
The Georgia native has said on multiple occasions that 2026 will be his final year competing in the ring, which left many fans assuming he’d be wrestling for a good part of the months ahead. If he can’t keep entertaining fans in a WWE ring, he could be a big crowd draw elsewhere.
Having even just one more match in TNA would provide the perfect bookend to a legendary career that will undoubtedly see Styles inducted into both the WWE and TNA Hall of Fames.
