Karl Anderson reveals what led to AJ Styles retirement decision
Karl Anderson initially wasn’t sure AJ Styles’ retirement was legitimate. After speaking with him backstage at WWE Raw on Monday, Anderson knows that his friend is really stepping away from the ring.
WWE brought in Anderson and his tag team partner Luke Gallows for the Styles tribute that took place on Raw this Monday night. At the show, Anderson and Styles got the chance to reconnect. Anderson explained on his Talk’n Shop podcast that he and Styles do not speak all that often due to both of them being so busy with their families. During their conversation, Styles stated that neck pain contributed to his retirement decision.
“He said, ‘Dude, I have to. My neck is hurting too bad, I’m beat up, it’s time. I want to help the next generation.’ And I go, ‘Well, I didn’t really believe it, so I just kept talking on my podcast about how you were not going to retire and you’re going to go here and you’re going to go there. And now I gotta eat a lot of crow, pal,'” Anderson said.
“So ladies and gentlemen, fans of Talk’n Shop, it’s my esteemed honor to humbly apologize for giving anybody false hope that AJ Styles was not going to retire. Clearly, I was wrong. He shoot retired.”
Styles’ final match was a loss to Gunther at Royal Rumble 2026. When that happened, Anderson expected that Styles would end up going to AEW or TNA for one last run. But reality started to settle in when Anderson saw the huge tribute WWE did for Styles on Raw.
It was known all along that Styles would be retiring at some point in 2026, but his final match happening so soon into the year came as a surprise to fans. He is set to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame during WrestleMania 42 weekend in Las Vegas this April.
Retiring before he reached a point where he was embarrassing himself in the ring was a priority for Styles. He also wants to be home more often and spend more time with his family. At least one of Styles’ four children is interested in pursuing a career in wrestling. If that does happen, Styles could be enticed to return for one more match.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.