Roman Reigns, Finn Balor, Randy Orton, more comment on AJ Styles’ retirement
WWE posted a video on Wednesday featuring several members of its roster reflecting on what AJ Styles’ career has meant to them.
Styles’ in-ring career seemingly came to an end at the Royal Rumble in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, when he lost to Gunther in a match with the stipulation that a loss would force him to retire. However, in an interview with Stephanie McMahon that was filmed the following week, Styles wouldn’t rule out a potential return someday.
Finn Balor, Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura, and more had the following to say in the video:
Balor said:
“I just wanna say congratulations on such an incredible career. And from a personal standpoint, I wanna say thank you because you’ve always been such a constant source of inspiration for me, and I know we’ve had very similar career paths, but I hope you know that I’ve always, always looked up to you. For me, you are the benchmark for what it is to be a professional both inside and outside of the ring. I’m very grateful that I got the opportunity to share the last 10 years with you here in this company.”
Orton said:
“I think that anyone in the back would agree that he’s one of the best wrestlers, pure wrestlers, entertainers, sports entertainers, whatever you wanna call it, of this generation. You couldn’t say enough about how great he is in the ring. But when it comes to outside of the ring, what I really respect about him is the kind of husband and the kind of father he is, the kind of locker room leader he is. He definitely leads by example. He’s a straight-edge, clean living, just amazing man in general, and it was a privilege to work alongside AJ, and I hope that we keep in touch.”
Reigns said:
“Hell of a worker, a hell of a teammate, just an old-ass video-game brother. But that reflects, I think, who he is as a person, the discipline that he has, being involved in professional wrestling, being on the road but continuing to stay true to being a family man, being a father. Just happy that I was able to make some art with him when our time came a few years ago. It would’ve been cool to be able to run it back and do it again, explore like new chapters of what we could do together, because there’s just a, pun intended, a phenomenal chemistry there.”
The Miz said:
“AJ not only exceeded all expectations, but I think even maybe he might even tell you he exceeded his expectations because he did everything there is to do, and not just WWE, but in pro wrestling in general. And I am thankful to have AJ as a WWE superstar, as a friend, and as a person I can look to for guidance anytime I need any type of advice on certain things. He’s just that kind of guy.”
Zayn said to Styles:
“As long as I’ve known you, you’ve been a good friend. I’m trying not to get too bummed out here, but I’m really gonna miss you, man, and thank you for everything. Thank you for everything, not just for me, but for what you’ve done for the business, and we just had a lot of great memories together.”
Nakamura said:
“AJ is special to a lot of people, but for me, it’s more than that. One of my best friends, sometime I feel like he’s my brother. I miss him already.”
Xavier Woods, Petey Williams, Abyss (Chris Park), and more also offered their thoughts on Styles in the video, which is available in full below.
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.