AJ Styles Makes Surprise TNA Appearance Ahead of Rumored WWE Retirement

AJ Styles has been associated with TNA for over two decades now and last night, despite being signed to WWE and reportedly gazing out at retirement, showed up at Final Resolution.

As reported by Fightful Select, AJ Styles attended the event backstage since he resides in the Atlanta area. He has not appeared on WWE television since October due to a reported injury. While Styles was not seen using crutches at Final Resolution, sources say that he appeared still not to be at full strength.

More News: Jade Cargill WWE Hiatus: Reports, Rumors, and Speculation

Styles made his highly anticipated return to SmackDown on October 4th after four months away, but the night took an unexpected turn. After stepping into the spotlight, Styles issued a challenge to Carmelo Hayes, but the former NXT Champion initially rejected it.

Just as tensions were rising, LA Knight intervened, offering Hayes a title shot if he could defeat Styles that same night. With the stakes raised, Hayes reluctantly agreed to the match.

However, when the two finally squared off in the ring, things quickly spiraled out of control. Styles appeared to suffer an ankle injury, causing the match to be abruptly stopped. While initially framed as part of a storyline, later reports revealed that Styles had actually sustained a real injury, leaving fans and insiders unsure whether it was scripted or legitimate.

Styles later confirmed that he had received a legitimate injury, posting on social media “It’s called a Lisfranc injury. Look it up, it sucks! I thought when I took off my boot. I would have a bone sticking out of my foot.”

More News: Massive Health Update For AEW Superstar Killswitch

This injury occurred right as Style was apparently about to start a retirement storyline, which seems to have been derailed. It is unclear whether that storyline was leading up to his actual WWE retirement, but now it is being speculated that the injury is prompting it to really potentially happen.

“Styles suffered a mid-foot ligament sprain in his singles match with Hayes. While he started selling when landing on his feet after a quebrada, and was selling an injury, the leg went out when he was doing an ushigoroshi and the referee stopped the match,” Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter wrote. “He was pretty mad about the whole thing. Styles was to start a storyline where this would be his farewell tour or doing a retirement tease and that’s still the idea pending MRI results showing the severity of the injury.”

It’s possible that Style’s backstage drop-in at TNA was a spur-of-the-moment thing or a nostalgia trip, but it’s also notable that he was preparing for some kind...