Published: Feb 25, 2026 by Jamie Toolan | Last Updated: Feb 25, 2026 by Jamie Toolan
Jamie has been covering the world of wrestling for four years and currently holds the position of Assistant Editor of WrestleTalk.com. During his time working for WrestleTalk.com he has written and published over 4,000 news and feature articles covering events and happenings from WWE, AEW, TNA and a variety of international and independent wrestling promotions.
WWE
Cody Rhodes has revealed that a a moment during AJ Styles’ WWE tribute show was a “complete surprise to everyone.”
Following his retirement from in-ring competition at the 2026 Royal Rumble PLE on January 31, WWE paid tribute to the career of AJ Styles on this past Monday’s February 23 episode of Raw in Atlanta, GA.
After Styles addressed the crowd one final time, “The Phenomenal One” was greeted by former rival The Undertaker who informed him that he would be the latest inductee into the 2026 WWE Hall of Fame.
The moment seemed to lead to genuine shock for Styles, and according to Cody Rhodes, AJ wasn’t the only one left in the dark.
Speaking on ESPN First Take, Cody heaped praise on the “incredible” AJ Styles and shared his thoughts on Undertaker announcing him for the Hall of Fame:
“AJ is incredible. He’s one of the few people that wrestled not just me, my brother and my dad and really a game changing type of performer.
“I love how WWE did it and the inclusion of The Undertaker which was complete surprise to everyone to then saying you’re going into the Hall of Fame was a really beautiful way to go out.”
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