AJ kinds’ retirement ‘might not be closing’ as Jeff Jarrett says ‘not seen final of him’
Wrestler AJ Styles’s retirement may not be final, according to WWE legend Jeff Jarrett. The TNA founder – who hired Styles in 2002 –insists his recent announcement that he’s quitting the ring might not actually last forever.
Styles, a former WWE Champion, sensationally lost his retirement match against Gunther at the Royal Rumble in January. But Jarret said: “I definitely think we have not seen the last of AJ Styles in the ring.
“He’s probably going to decompress, take a little time, and then I’m very excited to see what’s next. He’s a great dude, and I wish him nothing but the best.”
Former TNA champion Styles, who previously said 2026 would be his last year as a wrestler, appeared to say an emotional farewell to the packed crowd in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, after losing his match.
His glittering career began in 1998 in WCW 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.
He won his first world title against Jarrett in 2003 at the age of 26 and was one of TNA’s main event stars for more than a decade. Jarrett told USA Sports News, Predictions and Betting he hadn’t spoken to AJ since his last match, but he had texted him.
When asked if he thought Styles’ retirement was permanent, Jarrett said: “I don’t know, and probably only AJ can really answer that. But if we’re talking Vegas here. If I’m a betting man…. I don’t know that.
“A lot of times a guy’s health, whether it’s a neck, a back or something that may be lingering out there, he might have gotten advice and said ‘I’m done.’ If that’s not the case, I definitely think we have not seen the last of AJ Styles in the ring.
“He’s got a son that wants to get in the business. He’s a young man. Look, he’s younger than me, and I’m still lacing up the boots from time to time. But I can tell you, I don’t think we’ve seen the last of him. I certainly hope we haven’t.
“He’s got four beautiful kids, a beautiful wife. AJ is a family man, so he’ll probably decompress, take a little time, and then I’m very excited to see what’s next. He’s a great dude, and I wish him nothing but the best.”
Branding Styles “a special guy all the way around”, Jarret added: “When you get on the court with certain basketball players and you kind of see their jumps, and you just go, ‘Okay, this guy’s different.’
“From 2002 to about 2006 or 2007, AJ’s athletic ability really carried him, because he could do the wow factor three or four or five times during a match. The audience would know, ‘Okay, I’m not going to get to see that the rest of the night. That guy’s different.’
“But when you start looking at the American fan, I think toward the end of his TNA career and his Japanese years, I think that is something that is probably prime AJ Styles, maybe the first year at WWE.
“That cadence was different, a lot more grind, a lot more TV wrestling and all that. But I like to say kind of the last one or two years, but he had a long prime, because he learned his craft really well.
“I’m talking about the style that was new on the market in some ways, but he incorporated all the high-flying stuff.
“When you look at AJ’s career, it was really cool to me that 2002 was when we got started, and he essentially was there until 2013, about a 10-year TNA career. Went to Japan for about three, three and a half years, so to speak. Then he had another 10-year run.
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