Is AJ Styles’ career already over at Saturday’s Royal Rumble? An old companion suggests this in a now-deleted Instagram post.
Is the outcome of a landmark WWE match at the end of the week already decided? If you take Shinsuke Nakamura at his word, apparently yes.
After the TV special Saturday Night’s Main Event over the weekend, the Japanese wrestler caused a stir with a possible spoiler for Saturday’s Royal Rumble: his old rival AJ Styles, whom he faced for what is likely to be the last time on Saturday, had revealed to him some time ago that he would be ending his career at the Rumble. If this is true, it would be clear that Austrian Gunther will defeat Styles in Saudi Arabia – sending the next legend into retirement after Bill Goldberg and John Cena.
WWE: Is AJ Styles’ career already over?
In a now-deleted post on Instagram, Nakamura said that his longtime companion had already confided in him during last year’s Australia tour about when he would end his career.
“When are you going to stop?” – “At the Royal Rumble, I’ve already decided,” Nakamura quoted in an emotional tribute to the “Phenomenal One,” referring to an alleged dialogue between the two. For the 48-year-old Styles, this would bring things full circle: the two-time champion would retire at the very event where he made his unannounced WWE debut ten years ago – after having already made a name for himself as the figurehead and champion of the TNA and NJPW leagues in Japan.
| Shinsuke Nakamura just confirmed that AJ Styles is indeed retiring at the Royal Rumble next week in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“I asked him, ‘When are you going to retire?’ He answered, ‘At the Royal Rumble. I’ve already decided.'” pic.twitter.com/6gCvPGzRgc
— EliteRockerz (@EliteClubS0B) January 25, 2026
At Saturday Night’s Main Event, Styles prevailed over Nakamura, who had once joined him in moving from NJPW to WWE, winning what was likely the last singles match between the two. An emotional embrace afterwards seemed like a harbinger of farewell, even without Nakamura’s subsequent message.
AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura share a moment after their spectacular match. SNME pic.twitter.com/Xfyum8G2Os
— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) January 25, 2026
Royal Rumble on Saturday: The card is set
At SNME on Saturday night, the second big singles match at the Rumble was also finalized: WWE Champion Drew McIntyre will face Sami Zayn, who won a four-way match against Randy Orton, Damian Priest, and rising star Trick Williams, thereby becoming the top contender to challenge Cody Rhodes’ conqueror.
The show will center on the two Royal Rumble matches, in which 30 men and women will battle it out for a chance to compete for one of the two major titles at WrestleMania, the highlight of the year, in April.
WWE had already staged a minor title change on Friday night: on the SmackDown TV show in Montreal, Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga of the MFTs won the WWE Tag Team titles from the Wyatt Sicks, represented by Joe Gacy and Dexter Lumis.