It’s not a bad time to be AJ Styles. He’s the WWE Champion, he’s got a match with Shinsuke Nakamura at WrestleMania that fans have been clamoring for, and it probably won’t be too long until he gets to fight Daniel Bryan as well. But what about the future? After only two years in WWE, the Phenomenal One is already 40, and has hinted that he’d like to retire before too long. So does he have a future in WWE after his current contract ends?
Based on an interview he gave with radio station Raute Musik, as transcribed by Wrestling Inc, AJ wants to stay in WWE as long as it’s feasible.
I don’t see why not if I can still do what I do. Like, if I can still be AJ Styles, then I would like to keep working in the WWE in a talent form, so as long as I can keep going, then I would like to keep working here.
Even after he retires from wrestling, he’s open to staying with the company, depending on what jobs are available.
I think there is definitely going to be a time to just sit and chill with the family, but a guy like me just doesn’t sit at at home, so I would like to get back on the road, either as an Agent, or more importantly, become a Trainer of some sort. Who knows what will be around in WWE by the time I retire. There may be a better job than that.
Perhaps the most telling detail is the way he says “by the time I retire,” particularly after the “as long as I can keep going” in the first quote. According to Dave Meltzer, AJ used to say that he wanted to retire by the time he’s 42. Now that it’s 2018 and he turns 41 this summer, it definitely sounds like he’s backed off of that idea.
