The retirement match of AJ Styles proved to be an emotional one for wrestling fans and wrestlers themselves. No one arguably emerged more misty-eyed than Styles himself, though.
“It got emotional,” Styles told “Insight With Chris Van Vliet” while looking back on the aftermath of his final match against GUNTHER at the 2026 WWE Royal Rumble event, “because when I went back in Gorilla, it seemed like most of our roster was there waiting on me. Abyss pulls me in like a big brother, the way he pulled me in. Everybody’s just kind of there hugging me and stuff like that. It was shortly after that when I was done hugging everybody, it freaking really hit me. I knew it was about to happen, so I had to get away from everybody. I tried.”
According to Styles, a vacant locker room quickly became a place of relief for the rush of sadness that hit him upon arriving backstage. Despite its door accidentally bouncing back open on his way in, “The Phenomenal One” noted that the space allowed him to gather his thoughts, and moreover, shed a few tears in private. From there, Styles returned to the general backstage area, where even more WWE colleagues showered him in love.
“Shane Helms being the first one to come in there, he knew what was up,” Styles said. “I think he’s been through that somewhat before. He gave me a hug. I just needed to get that out. I needed that hug from Shane, and that was okay.”
Out in the ring, Styles’ faceoff with GUNTHER ended with him passing out to the sleeper hold.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Insight With Chris Van Vliet” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
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