{"id":152098,"date":"2026-01-30T18:41:49","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T23:41:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=152098"},"modified":"2026-01-30T18:42:57","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T23:42:57","slug":"what-if-aj-styles-only-loses-his-wwe-career-at-royal-rumble-paving-way-to-a-tna-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/01\/30\/what-if-aj-styles-only-loses-his-wwe-career-at-royal-rumble-paving-way-to-a-tna-return\/","title":{"rendered":"What If…AJ Styles Only Loses His WWE Career at Royal Rumble, Paving Way to a TNA Return?"},"content":{"rendered":"

AJ Styles has said it. Triple H has said it. If he loses against Gunther at the Royal Rumble, his career will be over<\/a>. But what if there is a missing word in there? What if Styles loses at the Royal Rumble and it is just his WWE career that is over, paving the way for him to include a brief TNA run in his retirement tour? People lose career-threatening matches all the time and later return, and there is nothing to say WWE can’t weave an intricate tale with Styles losing his WWE career and then finding his way back to the company one way or the other.<\/p>\n

AJ Styles’ Retirement May Come with a Major Swerve<\/h2>\n
\"Gunther
AJ Styles could lose to Gunther and still continue his retirement tour.
Credit: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The odds seem to favor Gunther, who has begun using the new WWE trademark ‘Career Killer,’<\/a> to end another retirement tour, only this time, months early. It is likely this match will be extremely close, probably with no shortage of nearfalls, before Styles taps to the Ring General. The result would be devastating. Styles has laid out his plans for 2026. He wants a retirement tour, and he has a list of wrestlers he wants to face. Triple H said as much on an appearance on ESPN, when he noted WWE was simply following Styles’ lead on this one.<\/p>\n

Styles was adamant on Friday<\/a>. He has no intention to lose to Gunther because he still has way too much he wants to do. But saying something and doing it are two entirely different things. Styles may want with all his heart to win, but Gunther is a formidable opponent. Obviously, the match is being booked a certain way, so if Styles does lose, perhaps Shinsuke Nakamura’s tweet-and-delete<\/a> from earlier in the week really was prophetic. After all, Styles retiring at the Royal Rumble, some 10 years after his WWE debut in that very match, feels quite poetic, even if it does mean leaving a lot on the table.<\/p>\n

Styles wants more matches, another title reign, and chances to say goodbye in cities across the world. But there is a real chance those opportunities never come if Gunther gets his way on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Returning Where it All Began<\/h3>\n