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LAS VEGAS– AJ Styles’ in-ring career ended with a loss to Gunther at the Royal Rumble earlier last year, marking the end of a “phenomenal” run.
Styles was one of the first professional wrestlers among this generation of stars to build a huge fan base before moving to WWE. Styles was a longtime main eventer for Total Nonstop Action (TNA) before his 2016 debut at the Royal Rumble.
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AJ Styles shows the crowd to celebrate his retirement on Monday Night RAW at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on February 23, 2026. (WWE/WWE/Getty Images)
He was a six-time TNA X-Division Champion, a three-time National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Champion, and a two-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion, as well as the company’s first-ever Grand Slam and Triple Crown champion. In WWE, Styles was a two-time WWE Champion, three-time United States Champion, one-time Intercontinental Champion, and two-time World Tag Team Champion.
Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin, collectively known as Motor City Machine Guns, were able to observe Styles’ career in TNA. Now with WWE, the duo told PK Press Club Digital that Styles’ rise in WWE paved the way for them to eventually join the company.
AJ Styles delivers a forearm strike to CM Punk during Monday Night RAW at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada on January 26, 2026. (Michael Marques/WWE)
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“To be completely honest with you, for me, that’s the reason I want to go to the Hall of Fame. Either way, I’m interested,” Shelley said. “There are some great inductees – Sid Vicious, Bad News Brown. But AJ is the one that means the most to me. It’s bittersweet, I think, for me, at least, because he’s been such a big brother to me.
“Seeing that door close lets me know that the passage of time is real. But AJ deserves it. He really paved the way for wrestlers to come join WWE in 2016. We came in almost 10 years later. I don’t know if we would have done it if he hadn’t killed it.”
Sabin agreed with Shelley.
Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin of the Motor City Machine Guns make their entrance during SmackDown at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky on June 13, 2025. (Craig Melvin/WWE)
“He really paved the way for guys like us to get here. I mean, he’s amazing, right? AJ Styles has done things that no one else has done. He’s been a leader and a role model and it’s awesome to see him get inducted into the Hall of Fame,” he said.
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Included this year are Styles, Stephanie McMahon, Sycho Sid, Bad News Brown, Dennis Rodman, the tag team duo known as Demolition and Hulk Hogan’s match with Andre the Giant from WrestleMania 3.
The WWE Hall of Fame ceremony will take place at Dolby Live at Park MGM Friday night at midnight ET.
