The end of “The Phenomenal” career of AJ Styles has arrived.
And fans were sad to see him go.
AJ Styles came up short on Saturday, passing out in a sleeper-holder at the end of a hard-fought battle against “The Career Killer” Gunther at WWE Royal Rumble: Riyadh on Saturday, January 31, 2026 in Saudi Arabia.
Featured below is a recap of the match:
AJ Styles vs. Gunther
The show shifts gears after the opening Women’s Rumble bout wraps up, and the commentators set the stage for our second of four scheduled matches. AJ Styles’ legendary career will be on-the-line next, as “The Phenomenal” one goes one-on-one against “The Career Killer” Gunther next.
After a quick plug for the WWE Royal Rumble post-show, we return live inside the massive stadium in Saudi Arabia, where the familiar sounds of Gunther’s entrance tune hits the house speakers. Out comes “The Ring General” as fans sing along to the tune of his theme.
He settles in the ring and fans boo when the ring announcer mentions that with a loss, AJ Styles must retire. Gunther’s theme dies down and when the first note of AJ Styles’ theme hits, the Riyadh crowd explodes. Styles makes his way out to chants of “AJ! AJ!” and fans singing along with the “They don’t want none!” part of his song.
Following the formal ring introductions for both competitors, the bell sounds to get things officially off-and-running. The crowd lets out another sustained roar as things get underway. They lock up, and Gunther quickly tries to hook his head. Styles twists out and wrenches the arm.
Gunther fights out, but Styles transitions to a side headlock. Styles hits a headlock takeover, but Gunther fights up. Gunther shoves him off, but Styles ducks a clothesline and hooks another side headlock. The crowd is really buzzing for Styles. Gunther whips him off before avoiding a sliding dropkick to the leg.
They circle the ring again before Gunther steps to the apron. Gunther soon gets back in the ring, so Styles chops him a few times. Gunther quickly cuts him off and applies a side headlock. Styles tries to whip him off, but Gunther cinches the hold and keeps it on.
Styles fights up and out before dropping down and then leapfrogging him. Gunther starts to stumble as Styles hits a dropkick. The crowd is absolutely going crazy for Styles. Styles leans against the bottom rope, and Gunther stuns him with a big boot to the floor.
Gunther goes outside and hits Styles with a back suplex onto the commentary table. Gunther then whips him into the ring post. Gunther pulls Styles up and chops him down on the floor. Gunther then whips him hard into the barricade. Gunther gets into the ring to break up the count-out.
Gunther gets Styles in the ring, and Styles is holding his ribs in pain. Gunther chops him down and hits a stomp. Styles looks to be bleeding from the arm. Gunther whips him hard into the corner sternum-first. Gunther sends him into the ropes and hits a WILD back body drop.
Gunther then grabs Styles’ legs and applies a Boston Crab. Styles manages to twist out and kick him away, but Gunther quickly fires back with a boot to the injured ribs. Gunther holds the arm and chops him. Styles soon ducks a chop and punches away at him.
Styles kicks him in the face and lifts him. Gunther gets out, but Styles responds with a Pele Kick. After several more minutes of back-and-forth action, we see Gunther begin to brutalize Styles with clotheslines and chops. Gunther counters a Phenomenal Forearm into a Sleeper Hold. Styles fights it for a while but goes out.
The camera shot switches to show various shocked and sad fans in the crowd. We eventually see Styles come-to and look around as Gunther is celebrating the win while his music plays. Highlights are shown of the match. We return live to the referee telling Styles what happened.
Styles looks around as he gets a long standing ovation. He takes his gloves off, but stops. Fans chant “No! No!” He puts the gloves back on, does his hand gesture to an enormously deafening crowd response. Fans chant his name again. He gets a sad look on his face and leaves the ring.
He begins walking to the back, but stops. He turns around and goes back into the ring. He climbs up the ropes and poses for another incredibly loud pop from the crowd. Styles’ theme begins playing. He exits the ring and heads to the back. “It’s hard to leave, isn’t it,” Cole says to break the silence on commentary.
Winner: Gunther
For those who missed the show, fear not, as you can check out our complete WWE Royal Rumble 2026 Results here at WrestlingHeadlines.com.
