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After AJ Styles retired earlier this year, a lot of fans speculated that he could end up in AEW. Swerve Strickland also commented on this and said if this is something Styles wants to do, the door is open for him. Now, it seems there were indeed attempts from AEW to bring AJ Styles into the company.
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Chris Jericho Says AEW Was Interested In AJ Styles
During an interview with Gameshub, Chris Jericho was asked if AJ Styles could be a good fit for AEW. Jericho revealed that the company actually tried to sign him after one of his previous WWE contracts expired. Here’s what the former AEW World Champion said:
“There was a time when we were going after him when his contract was up. Could he be a good fit? Of course he would be. AJ’s a great performer and a great guy. But there is something to be said for the fact that when you’ve worked in the Vince McMahon system for a long time, you think differently. There are ways WWE runs their company, and there are ways AEW runs theirs. I’m not going to speak for AJ, but I don’t know why you’d retire in one place and then immediately go somewhere else. That said, I’m sure it’s always a possibility.”
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AJ Styles recently retired at Royal Rumble 2026, after wrestling Gunther in his final match. There were a lot of fans who were unhappy with the company’s booking for Styles, as they wanted him to retire at a bigger premium live event, such as the Royal Rumble. However, Styles has come out and said that he decided to end his career at Royal Rumble instead of WrestleMania because that’s where he made his WWE debut a year back. Later, PWInsider reported that Styles now has a new contract with WWE, where he works in a backstage capacity.
AJ Styles is set for a WWE Hall of Fame induction later this year. Stars like Stephanie McMahon, Sycho Sid, and more will also receive their HoF inductions alongside The Phenomenal One.
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Would you have liked to see AJ Styles have a spell in Tony Khan’s AEW?
Ishaan Sharma has been following wrestling ever since he was 8. That was over a decade ago. He loves to write about this pretend sport and has worked with online publications such as Sportskeeda and TheSportster, where he shared his insights about the wrestling business.