During his appearance on the WWE Raw Recap, AJ Styles was asked why he chose to retire at the Royal Rumble instead of ending his career at the company’s biggest yearly premium live event – WrestleMania.
Styles said that retiring at the Royal Rumble was “poetic” to him, due to making his WWE debut at the 2016 Rumble. He also feels that WrestleMania doesn’t have the same vitality that it used to.
“WrestleMania, listen, I’m sorry to say, used to be the most prestigious PLE or pay-per-view, whatever you want to call it. But to me, it’s kind of lost its luster a little bit. But as far as the Royal Rumble, well that’s special to me. Because that’s where I made my debut. So to be able to end where I started, that’s poetic.”
WWE held a special tribute for Styles on Monday’s Raw, which took place at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. After Styles took off his vest and then removed his gloves, the segment concluded with The Undertaker announcing that Styles will be inducted in the 2026 WWE Hall of Fame.
According to a report from BodySlam, WWE wants John Cena to induct Styles into the Hall of Fame.
You can watch the full WWE Raw Recap below: