Shinsuke Nakamura Seemingly Spoils AJ Styles WWE Retirement Plans

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AJ Styles’ WWE retirement plans may have been inadvertently leaked by Shinsuke Nakamura.

During Friday’s episode of WWE SmackDown, AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura met backstage. Nakamura said he wanted Styles to prove he was still phenomenal ahead of his match against Gunther at the 2026 Royal Rumble.

The Phenomenal One and the King of Strong Style faced off one last time at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event, delivering a brilliant match that ended with Styles picking up the win over his old rival.

Nakamura raised eyebrows with a now-deleted post on his Instagram Stories. While appearing to pay homage to his history with Styles, the post seemingly revealed what fans have feared since Styles announced his retirement.

According to Nakamura, he had a conversation with Styles in which AJ confirmed he would retire this weekend at the 2026 WWE Royal Rumble.

For those unfamiliar, AJ Styles’ match against Gunther at the Royal Rumble carries a stipulation: Styles must retire if he loses to the Ring General.

With Gunther’s history of ending legends’ careers and Nakamura’s deleted post, fans can only hope for a WWE swerve, though all signs point to a farewell in Riyadh — exactly a decade after AJ Styles made his debut at the 2016 Royal Rumble.

Shinsuke Nakamura appears to have revealed that AJ Styles is legitimately retiring at the WWE Royal Rumble next week:

“I asked him,
"When are you going to retire?"

He answered,
"The Royal Rumble. I've already decided."

(IG) pic.twitter.com/8VFbdwh02Z

— WrestlePurists (@WrestlePurists) January 25, 2026

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The post Shinsuke Nakamura Seemingly Spoils AJ Styles WWE Retirement Plans appeared first on Wrestlezone.

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