Last September, AJ Styles made his long-awaited return to WWE television and opened SmackDown with a match against Carmelo Hayes.
The bout was stopped when the Phenomenal One suffered an apparent foot injury; he then limped to the back and we later learned that he'd suffered a Lisfranc injury. It kept him on the shelf for several months, though the former WWE Champion finally returned at the Royal Rumble last month.
Styles was initially feuding with Dominick Mysterio and Intercontinental Champion Bron Brakker. However, based on last night's RAW, he's now set his sights on influencer and WWE rising star Logan Paul.
Talking on the latest episode of Insight With Chris Van Vliet, Styles addressed his in-ring future and confirmed that he has no intentions of competing beyond 50...and he turns 48 this June.
"I’ve thought about [my future] a lot, much more than I should have. I should have known what I was doing by now. But it’s so hard because you enjoy it so much and I enjoy being around my friends," he explained. "Don’t get me wrong, I love being at home, but the opportunity to see them and see them doing well, seeing them smile, and seeing them grow."
"Some of these guys like Roman for instance, his selling is on a different level. Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, all these guys, they stepped up. If Roman stepped up, they stepped up with him. I just thought that was so impressive that they do that, and seeing them grow into these amazing Superstars. Gunther losing all that weight to get to where he’s at now as the Heavyweight Champion, it’s freaking awesome."
"Cody, seeing where he’s at and what he had to go through to get to where he was at, and what he’s doing now is at that position, he’s the guy. He puts the work in. It’s really cool to see those guys hustle as much as they are and beat themselves up as much as they have, and still do well. I like seeing that," Styles added.
Asked about not wrestling into his 50s, the TNA icon said, "That’s correct. I keep saying that. I’ve said this and said this, but I will not wrestle at 50, I promise you that."
Despite the end nearing for Styles as an active competitor, he hasn't settled on a final opponent. "Nope, no opponent in mind. An idea that I will not share with you that I thought if I could get Undertaker to get in the ring with me, that I wanted to do. But there’s an idea there that I think kind of sums up who AJ Styles is, and we’ll see if it happens. You’ll know it if it does."
Styles had a Hall of Fame career in both TNA and WWE, so whatever happens over the next couple of years, he's guaranteed to go down as one of the best to ever step inside the ring.
Who would you like to see Styles face before his WWE career comes to a close?