The WWE Royal Rumble 2026 Premium Live Event kicked off on the highest of notes with the 2026 Women’s Rumble, with returning stars and unforgettable moments to boot. As such, so many thought that we would ride high going into the second match of the evening between Gunther and AJ Styles.
Styles put it all on the line tonight in this Career-Threatening Match, confident that the “Phenomenal Farewell Tour” was beginning, especially after a barn-burner of a match with Shinsuke Nakamura at the first 2026 installment of WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event, and that’s why everyone was flabbergasted when things transpired as they did tonight.
AJ was firing on all cylinders, almost putting away Gunther on a number of occasions. AJ Styles was one Phenomenal Forearm away from saving his career. But at the end of his bout, Styles got caught in mid-air in a Sleeper Hold. The “Phenomenal One” was not about to die that easily. Unfortunately, Gunther made good on his moniker as “Career-Killer,” sinking in the Sleeper deeper and for a prolonged period.
After an absurd amount of time, Styles could not hold on any longer, and Gunther would once again retire another legendary name, putting AJ Styles along with Goldberg and John Cena to pasture.
The Riyadh crowd was stunned, and you could hear a pin drop in that arena after what transpired. Styles would leave his glove in the ring, signaling the end of his time in WWE as an in-ring performer.
WWE Universe, it’s a sad turn of events, but we need to face reality and give the one and only AJ Styles an overwhelming amount of adulation for his contributions to the business.
Tonight on the 2026 edition of WWE Royal Rumble, we saw the final performance of the incomparable AJ Styles.
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