AJ Styles officially retired from in-ring action at WWE Royal Rumble 2026. Post-retirement, it was revealed that The Phenomenal One is a coach at the Performance Center.

In a recent episode of “The AJ Styles Show,” Styles noted that his coaching role at PC is temporary. The WWE Hall of Famer said,

“Let me clear this up by the way. One of our coaches had to get knee surgery. I have now taken his place until he’s back. I am not a coach per se that’s down here every week. So I am just filling in until he’s back. That’s it.”

“I’m actually having a lot of fun with it and I’m trying to make everything we do very very practical, because this is what I see going on. So, we’re going to do this and this right here and make sense of why you’re doing it. I want to see your foot work, little things like that.”

“I’m changing stuff up a little bit because the more you do the same thing over and over, the less you want to come to class and work hard, because it gets redundant. So I’m trying to change things up a little bit, but not take away from what they already know.”

“First of all, doing something you don’t know is always harder, and so when we change it up it’s harder, but it’s also a little bit more exciting and keeps you interested.”

Styles Doesn’t Like WWE: Unreal Show

During a different edition of his podcast, The Phenomenal One disclosed that he is not a fan of Netflix’s WWE: Unreal series. AJ Styles said,

“Here’s my take on it. Do I like it? I do not. Because the outside hasn’t earned the right to know what I know and be where I’ve been. They don’t get the opportunity to get into the ring and hit the ropes as much as they would like to. They shouldn’t get that opportunity.”

“I paid a price, right? And it’s something that I’m gonna have to deal with for the rest of my life with these injuries that I’ve accumulated, the abuse that I put on my body. And a lot of other guys have done the same.”

“So, in my old-school opinion, they don’t deserve—they haven’t earned the right to know what goes on, what is said, and all these things. And it’s just my opinion. That’s all it is.”

“If there’s a way that they can make money off this, they’re going to. And that’s kind of where we’re at in this business. It’s when it comes to WWE and who is owning WWE, it’s all about making money and finding ways to do that. That’s what this is.”