Following the February 23 episode of “WWE Raw,” it looks as if the career of “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles is officially over. After weeks of speculation following the Royal Rumble Premium Live Event on January 31 where Styles didn’t leave his gloves in the ring after his loss to Gunther, Styles had an extended tribute dedicated to him to close out this week’s episode of “Raw.” The tribute ended with The Undertaker making a surprise appearance, with “The Deadman” informing Styles that he will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame over WrestleMania 42 weekend.
During his final run with WWE, Styles got to have one more match with Shinsuke Nakamura, a man he has a long history with dating back to their days in New Japan Pro Wrestling together. Nakamura was one of the many names on hand to bid farewell to the former WWE Champion, but Nakamura took to Instagram earlier today to pen his own tribute to Styles, complete with a series of photos Nakamura took himself.
Nakamura wrote “AJ left the ring with his family by his side. That’s the right way to go. We fought. We pushed each other. We made history. As a rival, I respect him. As a friend, I’m happy for him. Much love, brother.” Nakamura was the one who almost let the cat out of the bag regarding Styles’ retirement as he revealed in another Instagram post uploaded before his match with Gunther that Styles was planning on retiring at the Royal Rumble, and it looks as though that plan is now true. The “King of Strong Style” wasn’t the only familiar face the likes of The Good Brothers, Frankie Kazarian, Abyss, and even Air Paris, Styles’ first tag team partner, where all on hand to send Styles off into the sunset.
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