On the February 23, 2026 episode of Raw in Atlanta, AJ Styles officially retired, left his gloves in the ring, and then got the kind of ending only a generational wrestler gets: The Undertaker arriving to announce him for the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2026.

This was not just another retirement angle. It felt like the industry pausing for a man who has spent more than two decades being one of its most reliable constants.

Styles’ career matters because it spans eras. He was a foundational piece of the early TNA X-Division, a world-title-level anchor in TNA, a key international star in New Japan during a pivotal boom period, and then a rare case of a wrestler arriving in WWE with massive outside credibility and somehow exceeding expectations there.

The final night on Raw and why it hit so hard

The sequence was simple and powerful: Styles reflected on his career, left his gloves in the ring, and then Undertaker appeared to announce the Hall of Fame induction. In front of his family, in his home state, the moment felt deeply personal.

What made it hit harder was the presentation around it. The locker room came out for a standing ovation. The video tribute framed AJ as a worldwide star, not just a WWE name. The emotion on his face looked real, not staged. It felt like a man receiving flowers while he could still hear them.

And that is what made the segment special. WWE gave him the Hall of Fame reveal, but the entire wrestling world felt present in that moment because AJ Styles is one of the few wrestlers whose legacy genuinely belongs to more than one company.

The beginning: a prodigy before the industry knew what to call him

Long before WWE, AJ Styles was already being talked about as one of the most exciting wrestlers on the scene.

What stood out early was not just the athleticism. It was the polish. He moved like a natural, but he also carried himself like someone who understood that every match mattered. He wasn’t just trying to wow people with moves. He was trying to become undeniable.

Even as a young wrestler, he came across as grounded, fan-friendly, and obsessed with improving. He respected the audience, took pride in earning reactions, and showed the kind of self-awareness that often takes wrestlers years to develop.

You can draw a straight line from that early version of AJ to the Hall of Famer honored on Raw: a performer who never coasted, never leaned entirely on reputation, and kept evolving to stay ahead of the industry.

TNA made AJ Styles, and AJ Styles helped make TNA

There are wrestlers who become the face of a company after it’s already established. AJ Styles was something rarer. He became the face while the company was still figuring out its identity.

In TNA, Styles was not just a top star. He was the blueprint.

He helped define the X-Division as a place where speed, creativity, and risk-taking mattered. He made the division feel essential, not secondary. Then he evolved beyond it, proving he could be a world champion, a franchise centerpiece, and the guy the company trusted in its biggest moments.

That versatility is a huge part of his legacy.

AJ Styles was:

• the X-Division innovator,
• the homegrown star,
• the world champion,
• the long-term cornerstone.

When people call him “Mr. TNA,” it is not just nostalgia. It is historical fact. For a generation of fans, AJ Styles was TNA.

The part of the legacy that shouldn’t be ignored

A full-career tribute should include the difficult parts too.

Early in his career, AJ had controversies and moments he later had to answer for, including offensive language he used on television. He addressed it publicly and apologized, and that remains part of the record.

That matters in a serious retrospective because AJ’s career lasted long enough to span major shifts in wrestling culture and public accountability. His legacy holds up not because he was flawless, but because he grew. Over time, his reputation became defined more by professionalism, consistency, and respect than by the rough edges of his early years.

That doesn’t erase the past. It puts it in context.

The New Japan run that changed everything

If TNA made AJ Styles a star, New Japan made him feel global.

This was the career chapter that reintroduced him to wrestling fans who had somehow still underrated him. In New Japan, AJ looked like the complete package: athlete, main-eventer, character, and leader.

He arrived and was immediately positioned as a top guy. He won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, became the leader of Bullet Club, and had major matches with the very best wrestlers in the world. The presentation changed the way many fans talked about him. He was no longer just “one of the best outside WWE.” He was one of the best, period.

That New Japan run was also perfectly timed. The company was gaining momentum internationally, and AJ became one of the key faces of that boom. He didn’t just benefit from the moment. He helped define it.

The WWE chapter: the hardest leap, and he nailed it

When AJ Styles debuted in WWE at the 2016 Royal Rumble, the reaction said everything.

Fans knew exactly who he was, and WWE quickly understood they had not signed a curiosity. They had signed a star.

This was the hardest transition of his career because WWE asks different things from wrestlers than any other system: pacing, presentation, television consistency, promo structure, and the ability to work across a broad range of opponents and styles.

AJ passed every test.

He became a two-time WWE Champion, a Grand Slam Champion, and one of the most trusted performers in the company. His WWE title run, especially the long reign, cemented him as more than a great outsider who happened to succeed. It made him a true WWE main-event legacy act.

What stands out most about AJ in WWE is that he adapted without losing himself. He still felt like AJ Styles. The offense was still sharp. The timing was still elite. The big matches still delivered. But he also became more complete — a smarter storyteller, a stronger promo, and a more polished television main-eventer.

The praise and the criticism: why AJ’s legacy feels so real

AJ Styles has been praised for almost everything that matters in wrestling:

• in-ring excellence,
• consistency,
• longevity,
• adaptability,
• professionalism,
• and the ability to have great matches with almost anyone.

That praise is earned.

But the criticism around AJ’s career is also part of what makes his story interesting, because most of it was never about his ability. It was about how promotions used him.

There were stretches where fans felt AJ should have been positioned even higher than he was. There were times when he was clearly one of the best performers on a roster but was not always presented as the singular centerpiece. There were years where people wanted more dream matches, bigger pushes, or stronger long-term booking around him.

And yet he kept delivering anyway.

That is a huge part of his greatness. AJ Styles built a Hall of Fame career on output, not excuses. He was the wrestler promotions could count on when they needed the match of the night, the steady hand, the standard-setter.

Why ending at the Royal Rumble made sense

There was something poetic about AJ’s in-ring career ending at the Royal Rumble, the same event where his WWE run began.

That symmetry fits him. AJ Styles has always felt like a wrestler who understands the shape of a career, not just the moments inside it. Ending where the WWE chapter started gave the whole story a sense of closure.

And then the Raw farewell in Atlanta gave it heart.

One was the ending of the competitor.

The other was the goodbye to the man.

The Undertaker connection and the full-circle finish

The Undertaker announcing AJ Styles for the Hall of Fame was the perfect choice.

It carried symbolism on multiple levels. Undertaker is one of WWE’s ultimate legacy figures, and his presence immediately gives a moment weight. But it also tied directly into AJ’s own WWE history, since Styles was part of Undertaker’s final WrestleMania match.

So when Undertaker stood in that ring and delivered the Hall of Fame announcement, it felt like more than a surprise. It felt like WWE formally recognizing exactly what AJ Styles represented: not just a great WWE wrestler, but one of the most complete wrestlers of the modern era.

It was a stamp of respect from one era-defining name to another.

The real legacy of AJ Styles

AJ Styles’ legacy is not just that he won titles everywhere.

It is that he made almost every place feel more important while he was there.

He helped define TNA’s identity.

He became a key face of New Japan’s international rise.

He walked into WWE with impossible expectations and met them.

He stayed great for an absurdly long time.

And when the final chapter came, it felt like the entire wrestling world stopped to honor him.

That is Hall of Fame-worthy in any era.

And on Raw in Atlanta, with his gloves in the ring and The Undertaker standing beside him, it looked exactly like what it was:

the end of one of the most complete careers professional wrestling has ever seen.

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