AJ Styles Retires: Tributes Pour in for WWE Star

AJ Styles is one of the most beloved and well-respected veteran wrestlers of this generation. At the Royal Rumble, he hung up his wrestling boots after losing his retirement match to Gunther. While many fans aren’t ready to say goodbye, theorizing he may still have something left in the tank in another promotion like NJPW, TNA, or AEW — tributes from wrestlers and legends are pouring in for Styles that show just how important he is to professional wrestling.

MLB

It’s not just wrestlers saying it… so is Major League Baseball. They shared a snap of Styles in a Philadelphia Phillies jersey and thanked him for the memories over his two-decade-long career.

Will Ospreay

Ospreay is open about his admiration for Styles, and it’s a match fans are hoping to see one more time. Even if that doesn’t happen, he still took the opportunity to pay his respects with a simple one-liner.

John Cena

One of Styles’ greatest rivals — John Cena — has been sharing photos of Styles for the last week. Following his retirement match, he issued a post on X, thanking Styles for all he’s contributed to the business.

“Phenomenal is an understatement,” Cena wrote on X. “Respect is earned and few are more worthy of universal industry wide respect than @AJStylesOrg. Thank you AJ for all you’ve done for wrestling. From anyone who’s seen you and those lucky enough to share canvas with you.”

Dominik Mysterio

Dominik Mysterio is truly one of a kind and his tribute proves it. Instead of an emotional, sappy post, he snapped a photo of the ending of the match from his couch at home.

Johnny Gargano

Johnny Gargano comes from a generation of wrestlers who grew up alongside Styles, wanting to emulate his career. He shared touching remarks, noting that there was more of the wrestling world outside of the big three companies.

“The guy who originally opened my eyes to a wrestling world outside of the ‘Big 3.’ The reason a lot of us early 2000’s indie kids wore a hood to throw off for our entrances,” wrote Gargano. “In and out of the ring, the best of a generation. There can and always will be only one.. AJ Styles.”

Xavier Woods

Xavier Woods explained how his debut match in TNA opened the door for him in his career, ultimately leading him to WWE years later. Much like Styles, Woods is a future WWE Hall of Famer for being part of one of the most successful groups of all time: The New Day.

“2007 @ThisIsTNA Bound for Glory, @AJStylesOrg opened the door for me to step into this world while I was finishing college,” Woods said. “Since then ive [sic] been living my dream and ill [sic] never be able to express how much that means to me. To me, he is the best to ever do it and his in ring presence will be missed. #ThankYouAj. And take a note from @tanahashi1_100 and cut your hair cause it really doesnt [sic] look good anymore. Also, if you would have stayed out of the New Day’s tag division then you prolly [sic] wouldnt have lost that match and wouldn’t have to retire. Go home and be a family man!”

Mike Santana

Mike Santana shared a much simpler tribute, a black and white photo of himself and Styles when the Phenomenal One visited TNA in 2025.

The post AJ Styles Retires: Tributes Pour in for WWE Star appeared first on VICE.