AJ Styles WWE Return Opponent

WWE

At WWE Royal Rumble 2026, GUNTHER defeated AJ Styles to retire him from the company.

However, Styles removed his gloves post match and then proceeded to put them back on, signalling that he is not done wrestling officially.

After his claims to “never say never” to coming out of retirement, “The Phenomenal One” returning could lead to a number of intriguing matches that would make this second lease on life in wrestling a must watch for all fans.

Here are eight potential AJ Styles WWE return opponents.

8. GUNTHER

As previously mentioned, GUNTHER was responsible for AJ Styles’ retirement from in-ring competition after a win at WWE Royal Rumble 2026.

This rivalry with GUNTHER was quite new for Styles, having just started following his win over John Cena in his retirement match back at the December 13 WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Now known as “The Career Killer,” GUNTHER can take credit for ending the careers of Styles, Cena and Goldberg in short order over the past year.

If he is to make his return to the ring, it would make sense for Styles to challenge the man who ended his career in the first place and face GUNTHER one more time.

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