Will ‘The Ring General’ Retire Another WWE Legend at the Royal Rumble?
On the January 19th episode of Monday Night Raw, Gunther walked towards the ring and celebrated his victory over AJ Styles. Despite visibility tapping out behind the view of the referee, Gunther basked in the victory, claiming he was much smarter than Styles. This claim would receive a response from ‘The Phenomenal One,’ who demanded a rematch against Gunther at the Royal Rumble. Gunther initially declined, but an evil thought lurked in his head. Gunther responded by saying that if Styles wanted a rematch, he would have to put his career on the line. Throughout the night, Styles thought about the proposition and, in the end, decided to accept Gunther’s challenge, putting his legendary career in jeopardy.
Styles has made a name for himself in multiple promotions, winning the IWGP Heavyweight title in New Japan, being the face of the X Division in TNA, and becoming a two-time WWE Champion in the largest wrestling promotion in the world. When Styles arrived at WWE in 2016, he made his presence known at the Royal Rumble, the same show that Styles will be putting his illustrious career on the line. His first year in WWE was nothing short of extraordinary, challenging Chris Jericho in his first WrestleMania match, defeating John Cena in a fantastic bout at SummerSlam, and winning the first of two WWE Championship reigns at Backlash. ‘The Phenomenal One’ has added multiple Intercontinental and United States title reigns, as well as capturing the tag team titles on multiple occasions. Styles announced last year that 2026 would be the year he would hang up the boots, and what better place to end his career than the show that started his WWE career 10 years ago. Although it would be the perfect setting for Styles to ride off into the sunset, it feels too premature in the year for his career to end.
Gunther, on the other hand, has the opportunity to retire a third legend in the span of one year. On the July 2025 episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event, Gunther successfully defended his World Heavyweight Championship against Goldberg, putting an end to the career of one of WCW’s biggest success stories. Gunther would then go on and retire Cena on the December 2025 episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event. Not only would Gunther retire Cena, but he would also make him tap out, something that Cena hadn’t done in nearly 20 years. ‘The Ring General’ might not be done retiring legends as he has the opportunity to retire two more superstars later this year. Putting the nail in the coffin of Styles’ career would continue to elevate Gunther as the biggest heel of the company. Gunther should be the one to retire Styles at some point during the year, but doing it this soon might not be the best decision.
Whether Styles retires this early into 2026 depends on how much fight he still has left in his body. Styles deserves the same retirement tour treatment Cena has and should be allowed to say his farewell to everyone who helped him along the way. However, if Gunther ends up doing the unimaginable at the Royal Rumble, it’ll allow him to continue building his character as a ‘Legend Killer.’ There is hope that Styles’ career will continue throughout 2026, but if this is truly the end, there’s no one better to end his career at the moment than Gunther.
