AJ Styles Picked Royal Rumble As His Retirement Match Months Ago

TLDR

AJ Styles selected the Royal Rumble as his retirement match months ago, with WWE preparing for his departure well in advance of the event, according to PWInsider Elite. Shinsuke Nakamura revealed in a now-deleted Instagram post that Styles directly told him during WWE's 2025 Japan tour that he planned to retire at Royal Rumble, and that Nakamura had suspected this during WWE's Australia tour when Styles gave an emotional speech that felt like a goodbye. Styles will face GUNTHER in a career vs. title match at the Royal Rumble event.