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What is being said about AJ Styles’ retirement plans following deleted Instagram post from Shinsuke Nakamura

Aaron Rift

As seen during Saturday Night’s Main Event on January 24th 2026, AJ Styles defeated Shinsuke Nakamura. Styles will now face Gunther in a career-threatening match at the Royal Rumble.

In a post via Instagram that he later deleted, Nakamura revealed that Styles told him he was planning to retire at the Rumble. Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com stated the following regarding Nakamura’s claim…

“It was legit in the sense Styles did tell him he was finishing up at the Rumble. It wasn’t a planted story so they can say they fooled the Internet. That doesn’t mean they can’t change it but to do so Gunther would have to lose, and that was not the plan.”

It was also noted by PWInsider.com that plans for Styles to retire before WrestleMania have been known within WWE for months. The Rumble was reportedly one of the events considered as a potential location for his retirement match.

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