WWE recently uploaded a farewell tour vlog for AJ Styles to their YouTube channel, highlighting moments leading up to his final WWE match at the Royal Rumble.
In one such moment featured on the video, the former WWE Champion remarked on how different his retirement nearly was, stating just moments before stepping into the ring for the final time:
Everybody wants to retire at WrestleMania, the biggest show of the year that we do. I was going to do exactly that, but I just came back from an injury that was supposed to retire me. It retires most. Once I got healed up and was comfortable enough running and doing what I need to do to be AJ Styles, it just didn’t feel right to come back for two months just to retire.
It didn’t seem right and I thought, what a way to be able to leave on the pay-per-view where you debuted. Hopefully, at the end of this match, I stand up on my own two feet and I throw up the P1 that is on my gloves one more time, and I walk.
Styles suffered a foot injury in October 2024, keeping him out of action until the Royal Rumble in February 2025.
He would ultimately face Logan Paul at WrestleMania 41.
A tribute to the career of AJ Styles is scheduled for the 2/23 edition of WWE Raw, emanating from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
Source: Fightful