Two Released WWE Stars Return On Raw For AJ Styles Tribute

Two released WWE stars returned to Raw tonight in Atlanta, Georgia for the special AJ Styles tribute portion of the show.

Tonight’s Raw in Styles’ home state was dedicated to celebrating his career following his retirement a few weeks ago.

Styles was defeated by GUNTHER in his final match at WWE Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia on January 31, 10 years on from his WWE debut at the 2016 Royal Rumble event.

Filtered in throughout the show tonight leading to the full Styles tribute were some short backstage segments with some names from Styles’ career history.

Notably, those names included Styles’ former teammates and his close friends, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson.

They’ve had two separate stints with WWE as a tag team (Gallows has had three), with periods teaming with Styles on both occasions, most recently being released in May 2025.

Gallows and Anderson were shown backstage with some other names who have history with in Michin, Tonga Loa and Tama Tonga, with Michael Cole and Corey Graves on commentary acknowledging their history together and with Styles in Japan.

Another reference to Styles’ pre-WWE days was with current backstage producer Bobby Roode appearing along with Shinsuke Nakamura and the announcers referencing Roode’s history with Styles in TNA Wrestling.