AJ Styles has long said he would retire at the end of his contract.
It’s also been rumored that when his current one expired, he may go to AEW.
He seems to have chosen the fans and his legacy. In short, he quietly reportedly signed a new contract with the WWE in March and it’s rumored to be for five years. So, 2014 looks like his retirement date.
Styles’ career has been a great one as he’s been successful in the WWE and TNA. He’s been a fan favorite for most of his tenure, and that leads to another question:
Will he remain a top tier performer, or be used to put younger talent over?
As history as shown, this is a difficult line to walk. The trick is to find a balance the fans will appreciate without destroying the older superstar’s legacy. A perfect example of this is the Dudley Boys. During their last run in the WWE, they were used solely to put over young talents, so they retired. They were tired of constantly losing and not being given a future.
While we remember them fondly, it was a blow to their egos and the legacy they had built up.
It’s hard to do something as mentally and physically taxing as wrestling if one’s heart isn’t in it, so if Styles is used this way, what kind of legacy will that leave for him?
On the flip side, there’s little doubt he should drop the United States title to a younger superstar in the near future and work to put over the younger talent. That doesn’t mean he should be shelved as he has a lot more matches in him, but exchanging titles and pushing younger talent into the spotlight would keep him relevant and give him a good ending to his career.
Of course, this is getting ahead of ourselves. Five years is an eternity in wrestling, so we’d be better served to sit back and enjoy the show while we can. Once it’s over, we’ll wish we had.
