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It’s Elimination Chamber weekend, so Les Thatcher and Victor Sosa run down the card and give our predictions for who will have championship opportunities at WrestleMania.
We’ll also take a look at Hangman Adam Page and the idea that he may never be able to challenge for the AEW title again. Thanks for listening and have a great weekend~!
Cody Rhodes believes AJ Styles’ impact on the industry was so big that it changed the way professional wrestling is done in WWE.
It was announced this week that, after having retired at the Royal Rumble, Styles will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame during WrestleMania 42 weekend. A special tribute for Styles was held on Raw in Atlanta, and Rhodes was there to help celebrate Styles’ career.
Rhodes discussed the moment on Mostly Sports with Brandon Walker, saying Styles was genuinely surprised when The Undertaker revealed that Styles’ will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Rhodes believes Styles was already a Hall of Fame-caliber wrestler when he joined WWE. Everything after that just further cemented Styles’ legacy.
“He changed the way we do pro wrestling,” Rhodes said about Styles. “And he also showed people what you can do — I felt like when he came back in Orlando for the Royal Rumble [2016], he could have retired around that period of time, and he had an entire two or three runs. And pound-for-pound, if we’re talking about the measuring contest and these things like that, pound-for-pound, that guy might be the strongest guy in wrestling. I mean, genuinely a super athlete.”
In 2024, Rhodes and Styles worked a program against each other that included matches at Backlash and Clash at the Castle. They had never faced each other one-on-one prior to that Backlash meeting. Their careers took a similar path with both being former members of Bullet Club, but Rhodes and Styles weren’t around in NJPW at the same time.
Rhodes noted that Styles’ retirement has him thinking about what kind of impact rising WWE star Je’Von Evans could leave on the business.
“Which is why I’ve been thinking about Je’Von [Evans] a lot too, because he’s changing the nature of how these things go,” Rhodes said. “And he’s in there with guys who don’t wrestle like him. Will we adjust? Will he adjust? How’s it going to go? But I’m very happy for AJ. He was genuinely surprised. I love what we’re doing with The Undertaker [telling people they’re going into the Hall of Fame].
Rhodes, Evans, Trick Williams, Randy Orton, LA Knight, and Jey Uso are the six wrestlers who will be facing off in the men’s Elimination Chamber match this Saturday. The winner earns a WWE Championship shot against Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 42.
Along with going into the WWE Hall of Fame, Styles has reportedly agreed to a new WWE contract for a behind-the-scenes role.
Dave Meltzer has returned with a brand-new edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter with plenty to talk about.
Dave looks at the breaking news that Paramount is now set to acquire all of WBD as Netflix has bowed out of the bidding and what that could mean for AEW.
He previews this weekend’s WWE Elimination Chamber — the final big stop on the road to WrestleMania 42.
Dave also looks at AJ Styles making it official that he has retired from the ring, an announcement made on a podcast after this past week’s tribute in Atlanta and the surprise news he is going into the WWE Hall of Fame.
He also looks at this past week’s TKO financial call that revealed WWE and UFC’s numbers for the year.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez is back with a solo show running down all the news including an update on Penelope Ford’s injury, why moonsaults off the post are more dangerous the way they’re done today, the AEW Dynamite report, AJ Styles not leaving WWE anytime soon, and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
AJ Styles and WWE have reportedly reached a new contract for him to officially continue with the company in a behind-the-scenes role.
PWInsider reports that, according to multiple sources, Styles and WWE have come to terms on a new deal following the end of his in-ring career. It’s believed Styles will be helping with the development of talent, though there is no further information on what his exact role will be.
The 48-year-old Styles retired from the ring last month with a loss to Gunther at Royal Rumble 2026. There had been speculation about him potentially wrestling elsewhere, but that came to an end this week with WWE holding a tribute for Styles on Raw, announcing that he’ll be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this April, and Styles himself shutting down any rumors about possibly going to AEW.
AEW was reportedly willing to make Styles a “substantial offer” if he did decide to go in that direction.
Styles has said it was important for him to retire before he reached a point where he was embarrassing himself in the ring. His body also told him that it was time to step away, with Karl Anderson revealing that Styles said his neck was “hurting too bad” to continue wrestling.
Retiring at the Royal Rumble was a choice Styles made to properly bookend his career. He made his WWE debut a decade ago at Royal Rumble 2016. Before joining WWE, Styles was the long-time face of TNA Wrestling and had a run in Japan as a top star for NJPW.
AJ Styles has opened up and addressed the ongoing speculation around a possible jump to AEW for a final run after a decade-long run with WWE.
At Royal Rumble 2026, 10 years after his debut, Gunther defeated Styles to retire him from in-ring action. A few weeks later on Raw, Styles was presented with a tribute by WWE before being inducted into the 2026 class of the Hall of Fame.
Speaking on Talk N Shop Live!, Styles addressed the rumors of WWE possibly inducting him into the Hall of Fame to stop him from joining AEW:
“Let me give you something to talk about. So, everybody wants to say, ‘Oh, WWE put him [AJ Styles] in the Hall of Fame so that he couldn’t go to AEW.’ Guys, I am retired from wrestling in the ring. Like, that’s all this is. I make my own choices, I make my own decisions. I was ready.”
He further explained that he was on the verge of staying on the “table for too long” and wanted to beat the house, which he did by hanging up his boots.
Styles, 48, stepped down from a decades long pro-wrestling career that began in 1998 and has now finished in 2026.
Styles noted that he would still be working with WWE in the future, shutting down rumors about his AEW jump:
“I am still going to be working with WWE. That’s not going to change. I have these dreams of helping out young talent. If somebody is not ready once they get there, it’s my job to hopefully help them get to that point to where they can do it, and they are confident when they step into a WWE ring. Being able to help with that is a blessing.”
Karl Anderson initially wasn’t sure AJ Styles’ retirement was legitimate. After speaking with him backstage at WWE Raw on Monday, Anderson knows that his friend is really stepping away from the ring.
WWE brought in Anderson and his tag team partner Luke Gallows for the Styles tribute that took place on Raw this Monday night. At the show, Anderson and Styles got the chance to reconnect. Anderson explained on his Talk’n Shop podcast that he and Styles do not speak all that often due to both of them being so busy with their families. During their conversation, Styles stated that neck pain contributed to his retirement decision.
“He said, ‘Dude, I have to. My neck is hurting too bad, I’m beat up, it’s time. I want to help the next generation.’ And I go, ‘Well, I didn’t really believe it, so I just kept talking on my podcast about how you were not going to retire and you’re going to go here and you’re going to go there. And now I gotta eat a lot of crow, pal,'” Anderson said.
“So ladies and gentlemen, fans of Talk’n Shop, it’s my esteemed honor to humbly apologize for giving anybody false hope that AJ Styles was not going to retire. Clearly, I was wrong. He shoot retired.”
Styles’ final match was a loss to Gunther at Royal Rumble 2026. When that happened, Anderson expected that Styles would end up going to AEW or TNA for one last run. But reality started to settle in when Anderson saw the huge tribute WWE did for Styles on Raw.
It was known all along that Styles would be retiring at some point in 2026, but his final match happening so soon into the year came as a surprise to fans. He is set to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame during WrestleMania 42 weekend in Las Vegas this April.
Retiring before he reached a point where he was embarrassing himself in the ring was a priority for Styles. He also wants to be home more often and spend more time with his family. At least one of Styles’ four children is interested in pursuing a career in wrestling. If that does happen, Styles could be enticed to return for one more match.
AJ Styles was reportedly “well aware” that AEW was willing to make him a big offer if he chose to go in that direction.
With the announcement that he’ll be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this April, it doesn’t sound like Styles is planning to go anywhere else for at least the foreseeable future. But Justin Barrasso of Undisputed reports that, after speaking with people close to Styles, he was aware that AEW would have made him a “substantial offer” with a favorable schedule if he decided to wrestle outside of WWE.
“For as much as WWE claims to be blissfully unaware of what is happening in AEW, that isn’t the case,” Barrasso wrote. “With Styles getting inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, it severely limits any potential AEW owner Tony Khan had of bringing Styles in for a surprise appearance at the Revolution pay-per-view in March. For AEW, their post-WrestleMania show is Double or Nothing in May–and even that feels too soon for Styles to appear.
“That isn’t to imply Styles was looking to wrestle again. He meant what he said about spending time at home with family. But speaking to a few people close to him, Styles was well aware that AEW was willing to make a substantial offer. And it was likely going to be one that wouldn’t cost him much time away from home.”
Styles retired from the ring with a loss to Gunther at Royal Rumble 2026. In his hometown of Atlanta on Raw this Monday, WWE held a tribute for Styles that included appearances by names from his past including Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Frankie Kazarian, and Abyss. The segment ended with The Undertaker revealing that Styles will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame during WrestleMania 42 weekend.
Despite this HOF announcement, speculation over Styles’ future will likely continue until he goes elsewhere or signs a new WWE contract for his post-wrestling career. Paul “Triple H” Levesque has said he would like Styles to continue with WWE in some type of behind-the-scenes role.
Styles has not completely closed the door on returning to the ring if the right circumstances emerge, saying on Stephanie McMahon’s “What’s Your Story?” podcast that he believes every wrestler reserves the right to come out of retirement at least once. A scenario that could interest Styles is teaming with one of his children if they end up choosing pro wrestling as a career.
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AJ Styles feels WWE WrestleMania has lost some of its prestige over the years.
In a Q&A on WWE’s Raw Recap podcast, Styles was asked why he chose to retire at the Royal Rumble instead of holding out a few months to end his career at WrestleMania. Going out at the Rumble was “poetic” to Styles given that it’s the same pay-per-view where he made his WWE debut in 2016. Plus, Styles feels that WrestleMania isn’t quite what it used to be.
“WrestleMania, listen, I’m sorry to say, used to be the most prestigious PLE or pay-per-view, whatever you want to call it. But to me, it’s kind of lost its luster a little bit,” Styles said. “But as far as the Royal Rumble, well that’s special to me. Because that’s where I made my debut. So to be able to end where I started, that’s poetic.”
A special tribute to Styles took place on Raw last night. The show was held in his hometown of Atlanta and included appearances by some names from Styles’ past, including Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, Frankie Kazarian, and Abyss. It concluded with the announcement that Styles will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this April.
In the Raw Recap Q&A, Styles named Penta and Chad Gable as opponents he would have liked to face if he extended his career longer. But Styles chose to retire now before he reached a point where he was embarrassing himself in the ring. When asked if he has any final words for the audience, Styles delivered the following message:
“I’ve said this for two decades and I mean it: AJ Styles would have been nothing without the fans.”
Image: WWE
Our subscribers can now read Bryan Alvarez’s WWE Raw report from Monday, February 23 — the go-home before this weekend’s Elimination Chamber.
The show featured two final Chamber qualifying matches, a CM Punk in-ring promo, Je’Von Evans vs. Kofi Kington, and the AJ Styles retirement ceremony/appreciation night which was capped by a surprise reveal.
Click here to read (sub needed)
AJ Styles wasn’t clued in.
The end of Raw saw The Undertaker arrive right after Styles gave his retirement speech, placing his jacket and gloves in the ground. Undertaker informed Styles that he would be the newest inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame. According to Bryan Alvarez, Styles was legitimately surprised by the gesture.
“That whole thing at the end with the Undertaker and the Hall of Fame announcement was a legitimate surprise to AJ, who they didn’t clue in,” he writes.
Monday’s Raw in Atlanta was dedicated to Styles, who had his final match at the Royal Rumble last month after losing to Gunther. Styles gave a speech thanking his family and those who he wrestled and met over the years in TNA and Japan.
The WWE Hall of Fame is typically held during WrestleMania weekend in the same area as other WWE festivities taking place. The company has yet to reveal details on this year’s ceremony, which will likely take place in Las Vegas. The only other person announced for this year’s ceremony is Stephanie McMahon, whose induction was also revealed by The Undertaker last year at Wrestlepalooza.
AJ Styles is going into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Following his retirement speech on Raw, the WWE roster came out to applaud Styles as the show credits started to roll. However, the Undertaker’s gong then hit and headed towards the ring. He told Styles that they had unfinished business. He said it was his esteemed honor that Styles was the newest inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame. His family entered the ring and they celebrated the news to close out the show.
Throughout the night, names from Styles’ past made cameo appearances including Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, Abyss, Frankie Kazarian, Petey Williams, Jeremy Borash, and Omos. Prior to his speech, a tribute video set to ‘Higher’ by Creed aired.
Styles came out and gave a speech saying he was incredibly thankful for this night. He said at his core, he’s still the kid from Gainsville, Georgia who loved wrestling. He touched on his time in TNA, saying he, Christopher Daniels, Samoa Joe, and Frankie Kazarian made a mark not just in TNA but in professional wrestling itself. He then went to Japan and met some Good Brothers, saying that they taught him to have fun in wrestling.
After giving a shout out to his wife and children, he finished by saying that it was poetic his career ended at the Royal Rumble, as it was ten years ago he made his WWE debut at the very same event. He revealed that he didn’t leave his gloves in the ring in Saudi Arabia because he wanted to do it at home. He then proceeded to take off his jacket and gloves and placed them in the ring, signifying the end of his career.
Only one other person has been announced for the WWE Hall of Fame: Stephanie McMahon. She was surprised by The Undertaker at Wrestlepalooza back in September with the news.
Date: February 23, 2026
Location: State Farm Arena in Atlanta, GA
The Big Takeaway —
The highlight of Raw, by far, was the tribute to AJ Styles. He will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2026.
See more below.
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Show Recap —
Instead of the usual start to Raw with everyone arriving at the arena, Michael Cole and Corey Graves stood in the ring to welcome us to the show in Atlanta (as everyone sat calmly in their seats).
They were about to speak about AJ Styles, but they were interrupted by Gunther, who entered through the crowd. He sent Cole and Graves back to the announce desk as he entered the ring.
Gunther called it disgraceful that they were honouring a loser. The fans liked the losers. Losers like Bill Goldberg, John Cena, and AJ Styles. Gunther ended their careers, so tonight should be a celebration of him. (It really sounded like they were piping in fake booing.)
Adam Pearce interrupted. Pearce claimed he knew Gunther would pull this, so he brought out security to escort him out of the building. (If he knew this would happen, perhaps he should have addressed it earlier.)
Gunther said he would leave under his own accord because what was happening tonight was disgraceful. As Gunther was escorted up the ramp by security, he turned around to boast to the crowd when he was suddenly attacked from behind by Dragon Lee. They were quickly separated, but Dragon attacked him again backstage.
After Dragon Lee was taken away by security, Cody Rhodes appeared and gave Gunther a look before making his way to the ring.
Rhodes entered to a big reaction and his hometown fans sang his name. He was about to talk about Styles, but like the announcers earlier, was interrupted, this time by The Vision.
Austin Theory said he was ashamed to be from Atlanta. Logan Paul knew Rhodes wasn’t ashamed to be from Atlanta because he lacked common sense, and he was insane for showing up to Raw. Paul said Bronson Reed would win the Elimination Chamber and win the title at WrestleMania, meaning The Vision would take over SmackDown, too, and Rhodes would be the first one out the door.
Rhodes wasn’t sure about that and knew someone here who would disagree with them. That brought out Jey Uso (and Jimmy Uso) for their Chamber qualifying match.
They went to break after The Usos entered, and the entire break was Jey doing his entrance and Yeeting with the crowd.
(This was a typical opening segment. Except it was actually two opening segments in one. They cleared the ring after the first one and did another.)
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Cole called tonight a sell-out with over 12,000 fans.
The opening match began at 8:20 pm, and they went to commercial two minutes later.
Gable (El Grande) wiped out both guys with an Orihara moonsault ahead of the break. Jey and Gable did their best to keep Reed out of the ring through the break, but Reed re-entered, stacked up both guys on his shoulders and hit an impressive double Samoan drop.
After Reed gave Jey a World’s Strongest slam, he tried dumping Gable onto Jey, but Gable countered by giving Reed a bulldog while simultaneously leg-dropping Jey. Gable gave Jey a Chaos Theory and went to the top.
Gable went for a flying headbutt, but Jey was all the way on the other side of the ring, so he missed and landed face-first on the mat. Gable sold it like he hit the move because he made a cover, but Reed broke it up. (I’m guessing this will end up on Jey’s lowlight reel for being out of position. But he was lying stationary when Gable took off, so I don’t know how this got messed up. Graves tried to cover for it on commentary.)
Gable gave Reed a great-looking German suplex ahead of another break. After a break, Jey and Gable continued wrestling while medical staff checked on Reed outside the ring. (Reed never got back in, so he may have been hurt.)
During the break, Graves acknowledged that Original El Grande was detested in AAA, while El Grande Americano (Ludwig Kaiser) was a hero.
Jey went for an Uso splash, but Gable got his knees up and applied an ankle lock. Jey fought out of it, and they traded kicks until Jey hit a spear and an Uso splash for the pinfall win.
(They likely had to adjust the finishing sequence with Reed injured. During the next break, Cole said he hoped to get an update on Reed.)
Match result: Jey Uso defeated The Original El Grande Americano and Bronson Reed to qualify for the Men’s Elimination Chamber (15:32)
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They showed AJ Styles’ debut at Royal Rumble 2016. Bobby Roode and Shinsuke Nakamura were shown talking backstage.
CM Punk entered the arena in the passenger seat of a Toyota Camry NASCAR driven by Tyler Reddick (owned by Michael Jordan’s team). Reddick sped in and did donuts around the lot. When Punk exited the car, he looked like he just got off a roller coaster.
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Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio entered. There was a replay of Stephanie Vaquer accosting Morgan during her interview last week. Morgan looked distressed in the ring upon seeing the replay, but she cheered up when Dominik Mysterio introduced her as the greatest Rumble winner ever.
Dom said Morgan was ready to make her decision, so he called out Vaquer and Jade Cargill (whose name he mispronounced), and they each entered.
Morgan wanted to get something off her chest before announcing her decision. She told Vaquer that her words caught her by surprise last week. She wasn’t used to being so vulnerable, and she thought about what Vaquer said all week.
Morgan said Vaquer was right. She didn’t realize how selfish she’d been or how privileged she really was. She had ten years of the best coaches and facilities, and still thought that she was struggling. She didn’t know much about Vaquer’s story, that she had to scratch and claw for ten years just to get to WWE.
Morgan apologized for judging her and knew Vaquer was the champion that she was because of what she had to go through. But now it was time to focus on her own story.
Morgan turned her attention to Cargill, but it was a swerve. She turned around and smoked Vaquer on the head with the microphone. Cargill smiled and left the ring. Morgan hammered away at Vaquer, hit a Codebreaker, and an Oblivion. Morgan dumped the world title belt onto Vaquer before leaving with Dom.
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Byron Saxton was about to interview Je’Von Evans backstage, but he was quickly greeted by rapper Offset. New Day and Grayson Waller interrupted. Xavier Woods was offended that they weren’t honouring him tonight in his town. New Day also wondered why Offset showed up tonight, given that they had repeatedly invited him in the past. Offset said because New Day sucks. Evans challenged them to a fight. Woods (arm in a sling) reminded him that he was injured, and Kofi Kingston accepted the match instead.
During a break, they showed quick clips of wrestlers talking about how much Styles meant to them (Rhodes, Charlotte Flair, Sami Zayn, Kurt Angle, Finn Bálor, R-Truth, Tyson Kidd, Xavier Woods, and Roman Reigns).
Michin, Tama Tonga, and Tonga Loa greeted Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows backstage.
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They fought outside the ring until Nattie booted Dupri into the post. It was the same post spot you see in every match, but Dupri sold it like she was dead. Nattie attacked her wildly as the ref tried checking on her. The ref eventually got Nattie to stop and called off the match. Nattie was announced the winner.
Match result: Nattie defeated Maxxine Dupri via referee stoppage (1:38)
I guess this was meant to show how dangerous Nattie is, but the damage was done by a simple post spot, not because of anything she did in the ring.
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Backstage, JD McDonagh apologized to Finn Bálor (wearing a suit) for being a hot head last week. All he wanted was to see Bálor become champion. Bálor accepted his apology. He said brothers fought, but they always made up. He planned on becoming champion, but he had to do it alone.
Dom was upset that they left him on his own last week. He knew Bálor wanted to do things on his own, but he didn’t. He wanted their help when he defended the IC title against Penta next week.
McDonagh had his back, but Bálor quickly cut in. He said nobody had his back when they (Dom and JD) were hurt. He didn’t blame them, and he held his own while they were gone. It was time for Dom to do the same. Take some responsibility and grow up.
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Cathy Kelley interviewed Trick Williams on the stage during a break. He planned on winning the Chamber on Saturday. (The crowd seemed into him, but this crowd isn’t that hot for anything so far tonight except for Rhodes’ entrance.)
Tyler Reddick, 2 Chainz, and Lil Yachty were in the crowd.
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Adam Pearce told an unfortunate delivery person to load up the wooden crate and ship it to Chicago so he and Nick Aldis could open it together on Saturday.
Rusev approached Pearce before Rusev was confronted by Oba Femi. Pearce told them to save it for another day because tonight was about Styles.
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Brock Lesnar entered with Paul Heyman. Heyman said, traditionally, there were always two main events at WrestleMania. The world title match and the Undertaker’s streak. That was until Lesnar ended his streak. Now, the only dead man walking in WWE was the one who would walk down the aisle to face Lesnar.
Heyman rambled on and on, but long story short, the question was now who would face Lesnar at WrestleMania. Heyman pointed at the screen and showed a list of dates (five dates after tonight) of Lesnar’s upcoming appearances “on the road to WrestleMania” and invited somebody to make the challenge so they could get their ass kicked.
This felt like a pretty lazy setup for a Lesnar Mania match. But they got the dates out there so people could buy tickets.
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There was a pre-taped Becky Lynch promo. She reminded AJ Lee how much she’s accomplished and wondered what Lee ever did besides hold a butterfly belt.
There was a clip of Royce Keys (Powerhouse Hobbs) on Stephanie McMahon’s podcast. He spoke about his brother, who sacrificed his life for him.
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Kingston tried using a distraction to catch Evans off guard, but Evans didn’t fall for it and clocked him with a running knee strike for a nearfall early in the match. Kingston used a separate distraction moments later to hit a PK and take control. Offset checked on Evans as they went to break.
Kingston held control through a break until Evans made a comeback and attempted a moonsault. Kingston dodged the moonsault, and Evans landed on his feet, but sold it like he hurt his leg on the landing. Kingston followed with an SOS for two.
Evans sent Kingston out of the ring and hit a leaping dive while selling the leg. Waller punched Evans with the ref distracted, and Kingston hit a Fameasser for two. Offset chucked Waller over the announce table and backed off Woods.
Kingston yelled at Offset for getting involved, so Evans flew in with an OG Cutter for the pinfall win.
Match result: Je’Von Evans defeated Kofi Kingston (10:14)
This match was ok. They played it up as a big win coming against an all-time great, and a big win headed into the Chamber.
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They aired more messages for AJ Styles from different wrestlers, this time from Bayley, Rey Mysterio, Nattie, The Miz, Robert Roode, Abyss, Booker T, Randy Orton, CM Punk, and Shinsuke Nakamura (who said, “I miss him already.”)
Frankie Kazarian walked backstage and stopped upon seeing the boiler room. He opened the door to find Abyss (who doesn’t look quite so imposing anymore). They walked off together.
There was a highlight video of AJ Styles beating John Cena at SummerSlam 2016. Earlier, they showed Styles beating Jinder Mahal for the WWE title on SmackDown.
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Bálor said CM Punk wasn’t the only one with people mad at him. He had people mad at him, too. But they needed to understand why he needed to do this. He needed to prove to the doubters, the critics, and Judgment Day that he can be the champion. It’s been ten years of “What ifs.”
You can learn a lot from a win, but you can learn a lot more from a defeat. When he lost to Punk, he learned to stop asking “What if?” He learned to tell himself “When.” When you beat Punk, when you become World Champion, and when you go on to main event WrestleMania, there would be no more “What ifs,” because everyone would know there was a new best in the world.
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Dwight Howard, Jermaine Dupri, Funny Marco, and Bow Wow were in the crowd.
Punk entered to a big reaction. The fans chanted his name, but he wanted the fans to chant for Styles instead.
There were a few things he wanted to address before they head to Chicago. Punk had his own “What ifs” for Bálor. What if Bálor didn’t jump him in Toronto? What if Bálor didn’t interrupt his last match against Styles? Well, Bálor wouldn’t be getting a title match.
People wondered what Punk was doing, but he was doing the best he could. He was giving the fans the fighting champion they deserved, following in the footsteps of Terry Funk, Harley Race, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Triple H, and the list went on. Punk didn’t like dealing in What ifs.
Punk asked, “What if Roman Reigns was here tonight?” The fans chanted for Reigns, but Punk said this was why he didn’t like dealing in What ifs because they weren’t rooted in reality, and Reigns wasn’t there. The fans booed, but Punk said they couldn’t be booing him because he was there. Boots on the ground every Monday night, making every town on every tour.
Punk asked, What if Bálor beat him? Well, no risk and no reward. Reigns would be on Raw next week. What if Punk didn’t wait until Mania and punched Reigns in the face next Monday?
He didn’t deal in What ifs—he dealt in facts. He didn’t have to ask “What if he was the champion” like Bálor did, because he was the champion. He was the best in the world. He was the main event of WrestleMania. He was CM Punk.
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Omos greeted Petey Williams and Jeremy Borash backstage.
As in the earlier triple threat match, the two smaller wrestlers tried working together against the bigger wrestler, but that only lasted so long. Rodriguez caught both women and nailed a double fallaway slam. Also, like in the earlier match, one wrestler wiped out the others with a moonsault ahead of a break (this time an Asai moonsault by Sky).
Sky hit Sane with a missile dropkick, and the crowd got behind her until she was levelled by Rodriguez. Sky saved Sane from a Tejana Bomb moments later, and they drove her into the ring post. Sky hit Rodriguez with a suicide dive, and Sane followed with an Insane elbow on Rodriguez to the outside. Sky dropkicked Rodriguez into the timekeeper’s area before Sane hit Sky with a spinning backfist.
Sky avoided an Insane elbow in the ring and hit a moonsault. She had it won, but Rodriguez broke up the cover by yanking Sane out of the ring. Sky hit Rodriguez with a missile dropkick and meteora. Rodriguez tried fighting her off, but Sky nailed a tornado DDT. She set up for a moonsault, but Sane shoved her out of the ring.
Sane went for an Insane elbow, but she missed. Cole said Rodriguez got her knees up, but that’s not what happened. Rodriguez was already rolling out of the way as Sane was coming down. Anyway, Rodriguez followed with a Tejana Bomb for the pinfall win.
Match result: Raquel Rodriguez defeated Kairi Sane and IYO SKY to qualify for the Women’s Elimination Chamber (10:53)
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Next week on Raw in Indianapolis:
Kelley interviewed Jade Cargill during a break, but she was cut off mid-sentence as they returned from break.
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They started with a terrific AJ Styles video package set to “Higher” by Creed (quite the throwback). Steve Austin called him the best wrestler on two feet, Kurt Angle called him the most talented wrestler been in the ring with, and Undertaker said he couldn’t think of a better person to have his last match with. There were also kind words from Bayley, Miz, Orton, and his wife, Wendy. This was all set to footage of Styles wrestling in TNA and WWE.
AJ Styles entered. (I guess he’s a little rusty, because he actually bumped into some staging equipment on the way out.) Styles took a deep breath in the ring as the fans and announcers gave him a standing ovation. Fans chanted, “Thank you, AJ.”
Styles joked that he thought about wearing a suit tonight, but the last time he did, he beat the piss out of Cody Rhodes, so he thought the better of it. Styles thought this would be easier, but if he got choked up, he wanted the fans to know it wasn’t because he was sad.
Styles was so grateful to be in Atlanta, Georgia. He grew up 45 minutes down the road in Gainesville. People usually didn’t get to have a moment like this when they retired, so he was grateful. But at his core, he was still that kid from Gainesville who fell in love with professional wrestling.
He wrestled in Gainesville, in the TNA Asylum in Nashville, in the Tokyo Dome in Japan, and under the bright lights at WrestleMania. He wrestled some OGs in TNA — (Christopher) Daniel, (Samoa) Joe, and Frankie Kazarian. They made a mark on pro wrestling.
He went to Japan and met some good brothers. Gallows and Anderson showed him how to have fun in pro wrestling. It didn’t have to be serious all the time. If he was having fun, so were the fans.
He’s done almost everything. Almost. The one thing he hadn’t done was be a full-time father. (He pointed at his family in the front row.) He missed birthdays, anniversaries, and games. He missed it all, and that was tough.
His flex should be that he won all those world championships. But his biggest flex was having the best wife in the world. She never slowed him down or told him to stop. She kept pushing him forward. She held the family together even though he had to watch them grow on FaceTime. She was the one. He told her, “I love you,” and he thanked his kids for being there tonight.
He said things didn’t go the way the fans wanted to against Gunther at Royal Rumble. It wasn’t the way he thought it should go either. But it was poetic. Not many people got to go out where they started. He debuted in WWE at the Rumble in 2016, and his last match was the Rumble in 2026.
He didn’t leave his gloves in the ring that night, but he was a man of his word. He removed his leather vest and placed it on the ring. He said he didn’t remove his gloves because he wanted to take them with him, bring them to Atlanta, and leave them here at home.
He removed his gloves and placed them down on his vest in the ring.
He told the fans, “From the bottom of my heart, I would have been nothing without you. Thank you for your love, and I love you right back. Thank you.”
(The closing trademark graphic aired at this point, but the segment continued.)
Wrestlers and personnel filled the stage, and they all gave Styles a standing ovation as the fans chanted, “Thank you, AJ.”
The lights went out, and Undertaker’s music hit. Taker entered on his motorcycle (and to his Kid Rock theme song). Taker entered the ring with a microphone and looked down at Styles’ gloves. Taker remarked, “You’re just gonna leave your stuff here and leave?”
Taker said they had unfinished business. Styles looked surprised. Taker told him there was a saying, “If you see me coming, you’re already gone.” Well, Taker wanted to change it. Taker stated, “If you see me coming, that means you’re going.” The fans figured out what was coming, and so did Styles.
Taker announced that AJ Styles was the newest inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame. (This actually got the biggest pop of the night.)
Styles had a huge smile on his face as he appeared to be learning this for the first time. Styles’ family, now at ringside, all hugged as the fans chanted, “You deserve it.” Styles hugged Taker.
Styles’ family entered the ring, and they all embraced. Styles was pumped up as his music played and the show ended.
[The show was dedicated to the memory of Kerwin Silfies.]
**********
(As mentioned above, the Styles tribute was the highlight of the show. This was another dull show outside of that, but that won’t matter much this week. It is notable that this was another big city crowd that was quiet all night, as Toronto and Philadelphia were too.)
Encouragement from AJ Styles helped Jacob Fatu make a recent change to his WWE ring gear.
Since the last few months of 2025, Fatu has made it a point to prioritize his physique and getting in shape. That has paid dividends with Fatu losing a noticeable amount of weight and improving his conditioning. Before making this lifestyle change, he was ashamed to wrestle without a shirt on. But Fatu has now ditched the shirt after Styles told him he should show off his new physique.
“I want to shout out AJ Styles,” Fatu told Busted Open Radio. “He seen me at Saturday Night’s Main [Event] and he seen the transformation and he was just like, ‘Dude, are you freaking finna wear a shirt out there?’ I was just like, ‘Yeah.’ He was like, ‘Dude, you freaking got abs. I’d go out there with no shirt. What are you doing?’
“So shout out to AJ, baby. Y’all know what I mean? Congratulations on the retirement. But it was cause of him, man, why I took it. I was ashamed to take it off… And, man, when the Phenomenal One says, ‘Hey man, I would do this,’ then okay, I’m gonna listen.”
Fatu has been involved in the WWE Championship picture heading into WrestleMania 42, though it’s unknown if he’ll be getting a title shot at the PLE. One possibility appears to be Drew McIntyre defending against Fatu and Cody Rhodes in a triple threat match.
Dedicating himself to fitness was a decision Fatu made after feeling like he needed to regroup both mentally and physically. He was out of action with a dental injury late last year, and spending time at home with his kids helped inspire Fatu to address his weight. He now can’t wait to go to the gym and feels stressed out when he doesn’t.
“Let’s keep it real, somebody like me coming in, seven kids, man, getting this type of dough, I’m not saying I’m rich, but you know, man, it’s a little different, you know?,” Fatu said. “I’m at Waffle House every day, like, I’m going crazy. But I feel like I believe, and I know it was God’s timing on what happened. I missed out on a lot of opportunities, but then again, I had to double back when I came back.”
