AJ Styles Set For WWE Hall Of Fame Induction This Year

AJ Styles in WWE
Credit: Diego Serrano, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

It’s only been a few weeks since AJ Styles’ retirement match against Gunther at the Royal Rumble. Styles had announced in late 2025 that he was going to hang up his boots in 2026.

This week’s Monday Night Raw was a tribute show for The Phenomenal One. His former tag-team mates, The Good Brothers, as well as some of his other friends in wrestling, like Frankie Kazarian and Abyss, also appeared as part of the tribute show on Raw.

AJ Styles was also in Atlanta, Georgia, this week, and towards the end of the show, there was a big announcement by The Undertaker regarding Styles’ career.

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AJ Styles Becomes The First Inductee Of The 2026 WWE Hall Of Fame

AJ Styles
WWE Live in Hamburg, May 2019, Hamburg, Germany – May 16th 2019: The Wrestling-Match Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles

The show starts with commentators talking about the career of AJ Styles. This bothers Gunther, who interrupts and says it’s “disgraceful” to celebrate the career of a “loser.” He is later escorted out of the building by General Manager Adam Pearce.

Later, fans also see a cameo from TNA wrestlers such as Frankie Kazarian and Abyss. Both of them have a long history with Styles.

The Phenomenal One finally comes out during the main event. He thanks the fans as well as the wrestlers he’s worked with during the course of his career. Eventually, the WWE roster also comes out to pay tribute to him.

But then the lights go out, a gong sounds, and The Undertaker shows up on his motorcycle. He says he has unfinished business with Styles. For those who don’t know, The Deadman retired against Styles at WrestleMania 35.

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After this statement from The Undertaker, Styles looks confused. For a moment, everyone in the arena thought this was a setup for a match between the two. But then, The Phenom reveals that he came to inform Styles he’s the newest inductee of this year’s WWE Hall of Fame. Styles then brings his family to the ring as the show comes to an end.

This segment reaffirms that AJ Styles has really retired. A lot of people assumed, mainly due to how rushed his whole retirement tour seemed, that Styles would come back to the ring again.

On Stephanie McMahon’s podcast, there was talk about the possibility of him returning to the ring at some point. But that’s likely not happening for a long time.

Main image credit: Wikimedia Commons