AJ Styles Reportedly Signs New WWE Contract

AJ Styles is now officially retired, leaving his gloves in the ring last Monday on WWE Raw in Atlanta. Also, WWE Hall of Famer The Undertaker announced Styles as the latest Hall of Fame Class of 2026 inductee. There’s now a new update on AJ Styles’ status. PWInsider Elite (via WrestlingInc.com) reports that WWE and Styles have agreed on a new contract.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it will likely ensure that Styles stays attached to WWE for his post in-ring career, similar to fellow Hall of Famer The Undertaker, who signed a new WWE Legends deal back in 2024. WWE also produces Undertaker’s podcast, Six Feet Under, and his 1 deadMAN Show.

Styles’ signing a new WWE deal presumably kills any chances of him exploring potentially coming out of retirement and wrestling elsewhere in his post-WWE career, i.e., Sting, who retired when he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2016. However, the former WCW World Champion later came out of retirement after signing with AEW several years later, after his WWE contract expired.

AJ Styles Reportedly Signs New WWE Contract, Addresses AEW Rumors

Additionally, Undisputed’s Justin Barasso reported that Styles was “well aware” that AEW wanted to make him “a substantial offer” once his previous WWE contract expired, but his Hall of Fame induction likely limited that potential. A new WWE contract means wrestling fans won’t be seeing Styles in AEW anytime soon, and he appears serious about sticking to his in-ring retirement, at least for now.

Styles himself commented on the AEW rumors during a recent appearance on Talk ‘N Shop. Styles stated, “Let me give you something to talk about. Everybody wants to say, ‘Oh, WWE put him in the Hall of Fame so he couldn’t go to AEW.’ Guys, I’m retired from wrestling in the ring. That’s all this is. I make my own choices. I make my own decisions.”

AJ Styles will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame later this April. The Class of 2026 induction ceremony will be held during WrestleMania Week in Las Vegas, Nevada.