BREAKING AJ Styles loses retirement match at Royal Rumble as he says emotional farewell
Former WWE World Champion AJ Styles has sensationally lost his retirement match at the Royal Rumble. The star, 48, has become the third wrestler to be retired by Gunther after putting his career on the line at the annual event.
The former TNA star, who previously said 2026 would be his last year as a wrestler, now looks set to retire and appeared to say an emotional farewell to the packed crowd in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia.
He soaked up the applause from fans who chanted “Thank You AJ” after the match, which he lost when the referee called for the bell when Styles passed out in a sleeper hold, the same move that ended John Cena’s career.
(Image: WWE via Getty Images)
The loss brings down the curtain on a glittering career that began in 1998 and saw him win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship three times, the TNA World Heavyweight Championship twice and become the first ever TNA X-division champion.
After more than a decade with TNA, he shocked the world by joining the WWE in 2016 and established himself as a top star in the world leading promotion, where he became a two-time world champion.
This is a breaking news story and is being constantly updated. Please refresh the page regularly with the latest news, pictures and videos.
You can also get email updates on the day’s biggest stories straight to your inbox by signing up for our newsletters.
Get all the very best headlines, pictures, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you by following Daily Star every time you see our name.
Follow Daily Star on Android – CLICK HERE
Follow Daily Star on Apple – CLICK HERE
Follow Daily Star on Snapchat – CLICK HERE
You can also sign up for Twitter alerts for breaking news by following @starbreaksnews and follow us @dailystar for all the latest updates.
Keep up-to-date with your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day by following us on Facebook at facebook.com/thedailystar.
