Last week, AJ Styles hinted at his potential exit from WWE. Since he never specified a departure date from the company, things were left open to fans’ interpretation. And that is rarely a good thing.
Although Styles’ quotes alluded to him leaving professional wrestling in 2019, a fan on Twitter reported that Styles would end his career after 2018’s WrestleMania 34.
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BREAKING WWE NEWS : THERES BEEN ALOT OF TALK AROUND @AJStylesOrg RETIRING AFTER WRESTLEMANIA 34 THIS IS VERY SAD INDEED LOVED WATCHING AJ WRESTLE AND PERFORM ;( #Wrestlemania #WWE #WWENews #RAW #SDLive #WWEChampionship #WWEChampion #JinderMahal #Wrestlemania34 #WWETitle
— Ali #RAW #SDLive (@WWETweetsByAli) November 29, 2017
For Styles, this was a glaring example of Fake News.
Wrong! https://t.co/7uH3DeopJk
— AJStyles.Org (@AJStylesOrg) November 29, 2017
While AJ Styles may indeed be leaving sooner than we all would like, it certainly won’t be after the April New Orleans event.
Styles did open up about his future during a media tour for Survivor Series, though. As a guest on 97.9 FM in Houston, Texas. The topic of life on the road (and the effect on his family) came up, and you can tell that it is certainly a balancing act for the Phenomenal One that his wife of 17 years is still coping with.
Styles noted that his wife still gets angry with him every time he has to hit the road due to the fact that it leaves her at home to deal with their four children by her lonesome. Styles talked about having to discipline them over the phone, then notably said, “that will change in a couple of years.”
“Work hard now, you enjoy it later. In a couple of years, I’ll be able to catch every football game, every baseball game, every basketball game, cheerleading, gymnastics, whatever they’re in,” Styles said.The hosts immediately gave their feedback that they don’t want to see him retire that soon (neither do we!), to which Styles replied, “Man, I’m 40 years old!”
Styles began wrestling in 1998, working various independents, including NWA Wildside, before catching on with TNA Wrestling and Ring of Honor in 2002. After a decade-long run with TNA, he brought his game to New Japan Pro Wrestling where he became the second leader of the Bullet Club (following the departure of Fergal Devitt aka Finn Balor). Styles jump to WWE in 2016 at the Royal Rumble was one of the most memorable wrestling moments of the last decade.
