NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
LAS VEGAS – AJ Styles’ in-ring career ended with a loss to Gunther at the Royal Rumble last year, marking the end of a “phenomenal” run.
Styles was one of the first professional wrestlers among this generation of stars, who built a huge fan base before making the jump to WWE. Styles was the main event at Total Nonstop Action (TNA) for a long time prior to his debut in 2016 at the Royal Rumble.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Pakinomist
AJ Styles points to the crowd to celebrate his retirement during Monday Night RAW at the 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 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 the Motor City Machine Guns, got to see Styles’ career firsthand in TNA. Now with WWE, the duo told Pakinomist Digital that Styles’ rise in WWE paved the way for them to eventually jump to the company.
AJ Styles delivers a forearm to CM Punk during Monday Night RAW at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada on January 26, 2026. (Michael Marques/WWE)
WWE TO INTRODUCE BAD BROWN NEWS AT HALL OF FAME
“To be completely honest with you, for me, that’s why I want to go to the Hall of Fame. I’m interested anyway,” Shelley said. “There are some great inmates – Sid Vicious, Bad News Brown. But AJ is the one that tugs at my heartstrings the most. It’s bittersweet, I think, at least for me, because he’s been such a big brother to me.
“Seeing that door close lets me know the passage of time is real. But AJ deserves it. He really blazed a trail for wrestlers to come and 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 it.”
Sabin agreed with Shelley.
Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin of the Motor City Machine Guns make their SmackDown debut at the Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky. on June 13, 2025. (Craig Melvin/WWE)
“He absolutely paved the way for guys like us to make it. I mean, he’s amazing, right? AJ Styles has done things no one else has done. He’s been a leader and a role model, and it’s great to see him being inducted into the Hall of Fame,” he said.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pakinomist APP
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 on Dolby Live at Park MGM on Friday night at midnight ET.
