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LAS VEGAS – AJ Styles’ in-ring career came to an end with a loss against Gunther at the Royal Rumble the previous year, marking the end of a “phenomenal” career.
Styles was one of the first professional wrestlers of this generation of stars who created a huge fan base before making the jump to WWE. Styles was the main eventer for Total Nonstop Action (TNA) for a long time before his 2016 debut at the Royal Rumble.
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AJ Styles points to the crowd in celebration of his retirement during 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, three-time National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Champion, and two-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion, as well as the company’s first 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, known collectively as the Motor City Machine Guns, were able to see Styles’ career firsthand on TNA. Now with WWE, the duo told Pak Gazette Digital that Styles’ rise in WWE paved the way for them to eventually jump to the company.
AJ Styles delivers a forearm slam to CM Punk during Monday Night RAW at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada on January 26, 2026. (Michael Marqués/WWE)
WWE WILL INTRODUCE BAD NEWS BROWN TO THE HALL OF FAME
“To be totally honest with you, for me it’s the reason I want to go to the Hall of Fame. I’m interested anyway,” Shelley said. “There are some great additions: Sid Vicious, Bad News Brown. But AJ is the one that strikes a chord with me the most. I think it’s bittersweet, at least for me, because he’s been a big brother to me.
“Seeing that door close makes me know that the passage of time is real. But AJ deserves it. He really paved that path for wrestlers to join WWE in 2016. We showed up almost 10 years later. I don’t know if we would have done it if he hadn’t killed him.”
Sabin agreed with Shelley.
Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin of Motor City Machine Guns make their entrance during SmackDown at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky on June 13, 2025. (Craig Melvin/WWE)
“He absolutely paved the way for guys like us to get here. I mean, it’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 amazing to see him get inducted into the Hall of Fame,” he said.
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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 are included this year.
The WWE Hall of Fame ceremony will take place at Dolby Live at Park MGM on Friday night at midnight ET.
