AJ Styles Not Leaving His Gloves in the Ring Ignites Speculation; Triple H Sets The Record Straight

AJ Styles capped off his in-ring career at the same place where he made his WWE debut: The Royal Rumble. The Phenomenal One battled against 'The Ring General' Gunther and put his career on the line. Gunther choked out Styles, with the referee calling for the bell and handing the win to the Austrian.

Fans around the world were shocked to witness AJ Styles being choked out and losing, leading to the end of his in-ring career. Gunther has previously defeated John Cena and Goldberg, and was their final opponent before the legendary wrestlers called time on their careers.

AJ Styles' Refusal to Leave Gloves in Ring Triggers Rumors

A moment from the Royal Rumble has sparked considerable speculation as AJ Styles refused to leave his gloves inside the squared circle. The veteran had taken them off and was about to leave them on the mat, but he put them back on again.

The moment sparked considerable buzz as many think that Styles might go global with his retirement tour and make stops at TNA, New Japan Pro Wrestling and perhaps even AEW.

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Triple H Sets The Record Straight On AJ Styles' Retirement

Amid the horde of speculation and chatter, WWE CCO Triple H has spilt the beans, saying that AJ Styles was done with the in-ring part of things in wrestling.

HHH also revealed that he has had conversations with AJ Styles and expected that his retirement match would happen later in the year. But AJ had made it clear that he is done with in-ring wrestling.

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“We’ve had a lot of conversations on the off chance when this all came down. Obviously, we expected it later in the year. We had a lot of conversations about it. AJ is one of those people that absolutely want to give back and be a part of this business.

"I don’t want to speak for him, but the conversations that he had with me, he made it very clear that he was just done with the in-ring,” Triple H said at the Royal Rumble Post-Show, as quoted by Vice.

Triple H added that he hopes to see AJ Styles in a capacity similar to what Shawn Michaels is doing now by leading the WWE's NXT brand.