At some point this year, WWE legend AJ Styles will retire, and it could come as soon as the Royal Rumble on Jan. 31, 2026, which is making World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk emotional.

In a video posted on WWE's social media pages, Punk discussed Styles' looming retirement. He appears to be in denial that the “Phenomenal One” is hanging it up.

“It's a funny thing, him saying that this is gonna be his last year, but it's barely February,” Punk said. “This can't be the end of the ‘Phenomenal One.'”

Now, Punk knows what it takes to beat Gunther, Styles' opponent at the Royal Rumble. While he has beaten the “Ring General,” Punk acknowledged that he “survived” more than anything.

“I've been in the ring with Gunther, and I can, without ego, say [that] I beat Gunther, but I don't feel like I beat him; I feel like I survived,” he conceded.

He knows Styles has an uphill battle to climb if he wants to beat Gunther and avoid an early retirement. Punk appeared uncertain that he could pull it off, but he applauds his guts.

“For AJ to be able to pull this out, I don't know,” he acknowledged, continuing, “The stakes are just too high. I don't like it, and I don't like to think about it. We just saw John Cena retire, and it's hard to fathom in a two-month span we're losing John Cena and AJ Styles.”

CM Punk and AJ Styles faced each other for the first time in WWE

Article Continues Below
WWE Superstar AJ Styles at the Royal Rumble.
Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images.

For the first time in 21 years, Punk and Styles had a singles match during the Jan. 26, 2026, edition of Monday Night RAW in the main event. The match ended in a no-contest after interference from Finn Bálor.

Before that, their last match was at IWC's A Call to Arms 2 on Dec. 11, 2004. They had faced each other several times before that match in 2004, including in Ring of Honor, just not in WWE.

Punk famously retired from professional wrestling in 2014. Two years later, Styles made his WWE debut at the 2016 Royal Rumble, and he's been with the promotion since.

The “Voice of the Voiceless” returned to WWE in November 2023, and he finally got one more match against Styles in January 2026.

Styles is about to face Gunther at the Royal Rumble, putting his career on the line. The “Phenomenal One” has previously stated that he would retire sometime in 2026. As Punk said, most probably didn't expect it to potentially happen so soon into the new year.