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AJ Styles’ future was ‘major point of conversation’ backstage in AEW

Posted: Feb 4th 2026 By: Shounak Chakrabarti

Last Saturday at the WWE Royal Rumble, Gunther defeated AJ Styles to retire him, but during the days leading up to it, Styles’ future reportedly became a talking point in AEW.

Fightful Select had previously reported that Styles’ WWE contract was expected to expire in February 2026. However, they were also unable to confirm anything regarding an extension. They noted that it became a “major point of conversation backstage in AEW at Dynamite” last Wednesday as people speculated on his future but that as of Tuesday, they had not heard about AEW making an offer.
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On the possibility of working with TNA Wrestling, it was communicated by WWE sources that if Styles wanted to work there, he could have done so while under a WWE contract. A TNA source believed Styles had extended his WWE contract before the Royal Rumble, although it was not confirmed. NJPW (New Japan Pro Wrestling) was also keen on potentially using Styles while in the middle of losing talent.

More on AJ Styles’ retirement and WWE future

In the same report by Fightful Select, it was further noted that a WWE source familiar with Styles’ situation claimed that despite what happens in the future, Styles “very much” had his way when it came to his WWE retirement. Another source claimed that while WWE would happily extend its time with Styles, he had made his stance on retirement clear.