AJ Styles’ Real Retirement Date Discussed After Cody Rhodes Beatdown on SmackDown

Cody Rhodes accompanied AJ Styles to the squared circle on Friday Night SmackDown when the latter wished to announce his retirement. Soon after, fans witnessed the former Bullet Club member beating down the WWE Undisputed Universal Champion in the middle of the ring, showing that he is not retiring, and, is continuing his feud against Rhodes. WWE fans don’t yet know when their next match will take place. However, since they have already started feuding, viewers may see this go down at the ‘Clash At The Castle’ PLE. According to speculations, it may also be AJ’s last match in WWE.

The Phenomenal has descended into desperation to win the Undisputed Championship from his former Bullet Club teammate. However, it is unlikely that he will secure this victory anytime soon. On SmackDown 05/31, Cody Rhodes received a beatdown from his former foe in the middle of the ring, confirming that they were not done yet. Since ‘Clash At The Castle’ is on 15th June, making it the closest PLE for now, we may see the two wrestlers facing each other for the title in Scotland.

While talking on Instinct Culture, Robin Lundberg and Denise Salcedo discussed the outcome of the match if Styles and The American Nightmare were to face each other again at a PLE. Robin asked, “What happens after AJ loses again to Cody Rhodes? ” Denise had an interesting answer as she jokingly said, “Then he’s really gonna retire like, ‘All right, I’m done. That’s it. I tried. I’m done.’”

If this is how it’s supposed to go down, then Clash At The Castle may be AJ Styles’ last match in WWE. He may also hang up his wrestling gear following the defeat.

Who can end Cody Rhodes’ reign?

So far, the new champion has defended his gold against different house shows. He has defeated the likes of Dominic Mysterio, Shinsuke Nakamura, AJ Styles, and Logan Paul among others following the title victory at Mania 40. However, speculations in another podcast suggested that the former AEW EVP may have to lose his title to Gunther. The Ring General lost his IC Championship at WrestleMania. The belief among the fanbase is that WWE will give him something bigger to focus on.

We may see Gunther take up a rivalry against Cody Rhodes. “Still feels like the move in to have Gunther defeat Cody. Like that just feels like the right next move with the trajectory he is in. We did some math by the paywall some other day. And like 80% of Gunther’s time in the WWE, he’s been a champion. Whether it’s been in NXT or the main roster. That’s an insane statistic. I mean that’s over a thousand days. Absolutely unbelievable. So it feels like he should be leveling up in that way to me,” Kate revealed on the Fightful podcast.

Do you think Clash At The Castle could be AJ Styles’ final match at the age of 47? Comment your thoughts below.