AJ Styles Gives Detailed Insight into His New Role with WWE After in-Ring Retirement

AJ Styles has a new gig with WWE, and he has finally dived into what the fans should expect out of it.

AJ Styles Gives Detailed Insight into His New Role with WWE After in-Ring Retirement

AJ Styles [via- WWE]

AJ Styles is going to be inducted into the 2026 class of the WWE Hall of Fame, as revealed by The Undertaker in a surprise announcement on the 2/23 edition of Raw in Atlanta, Georgia. ‘The Phenomenal One’ reaffirmed prior to Taker’s arrival that he’s retired from an in-ring standpoint and would want to be a full-time father to his children. That doesn’t mean he’d not work with WWE anymore.

In fact, Styles reportedly reached an agreement with WWE last month that will see him scout and mentor the up-and-coming crop of wrestlers. He went into the specifics on the debut episode of his newly launched The Phenomenally Retro podcast. ‘The Georgia Pitbull’ revealed that his job entails keeping an eye out for talent on the internet and facilitating a dialogue for those willing to seek his advice.

Styles hinted that he could be the liaison for wrestlers looking to get enrolled under the WWE ID program. The former Bullet Club leader said that the process also involves him making several phone calls to indie wrestlers and even those in NXT, with some main roster exceptions as well.

‘The Face That Runs the Place’ revealed that he’s set to travel to Raw in Seattle this Monday and have a chat with a few names on the roster.

It would then lead to Styles assisting the concerned wrestlers at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando for fine-tuning some in-ring technicalities. In essence, AJ Styles is there for the development of talent in addition to scouting the budding WWE Superstars of tomorrow. It’s something that he’d been yearning for for a long time.

And there were some trolls on social media spreading the narrative of WWE gatekeeping Styles from departing the company for AEW by putting him into the Hall of Fame. The former TNA World Champion quashed those rumors during his appearance on the Talk N’Shop podcast. ‘The Phenomenal One’ affirmed that he was completely ready to retire and that he made his choices by himself.

Karl Anderson didn’t know that AJ Styles was retiring for real

WWE held a tribute show to honor the legacy and career of AJ Styles last month in the latter’s home state of Georgia. Many of Styles’ wrestling contemporaries were present in the building that night, including Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. It appears like the former OC members didn’t chat in advance, and Styles actually declaring that he was done wrestling for good caught Anderson off guard.

AJ Styles with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
AJ Styles with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson [via- The SportsRush]

On the Talk N’Shop podcast, the 46-year-old revealed that he pulled AJ aside backstage to tell him that he didn’t expect Styles to hang up his wrestling boots then and there. Anderson was anticipating that ‘Mr. TNA’ might show up outside of WWE to continue having matches until the end of this year.

‘The Phenomenal One’ informed his former stablemate that his neck had been hurting a lot and that he was completely banged up. Styles said he had to call it quits and immediately expressed a strong desire to help the next generation of wrestlers.

If one looks at it, AJ Styles quietly went on a farewell tour of his own from the moment he returned in the 2025 men’s Royal Rumble match until he passed out to Gunther, that too at the Royal Rumble—the same PLE he made his WWE debut on in 2016. He got to wrestle the likes of John Cena, Shinsuke Nakamura, CM Punk, and Gunther along the way, which couldn’t have been any better from a fan’s perspective.

Also Read: