WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash weighed in on the future of AJ Styles during the latest episode of his Kliq This podcast.
Speaking ahead of the highly publicized “Career Threatening Match” between Styles and GUNTHER, Nash reacted to reports that Styles had secured the legal rights to his ring name and the long-associated moniker “The Phenomenal One.”
The timing of the trademark filings immediately stood out to Nash, prompting him to question what it might signal about Styles’ future beyond WWE.
“I looked at the little tiny things like, AJ got his the rights to his name and his ‘Phenomenal One’… that came out like today,” Nash observed. “And I’m thinking, so does that… mean he’s going someplace else?”
Nash then addressed the gravity of the stipulation attached to the Styles–GUNTHER match, noting that retirement-style angles are often reversible in wrestling—but argued this one felt different based on its wording. “If it’s your career, you can’t go back on it,” Nash stated. “So it’s… do you put them over? Gunther couldn’t do that now, right? You can do anything. It’s how you do it, I guess.”
He also commented on WWE’s tendency to operate within its own narrative universe, suggesting that if Styles does leave, the company will likely present it as a definitive end rather than acknowledging any continuation elsewhere. “Gunther can say he doesn’t have a career… but that means to me that, you know, there’s in that universe, the WWE Universe, no other wrestling exists,” Nash explained. “It’s kind of like Marvel… there’s not a whole lot of talk during a Marvel film about f***ing Batman.”
Reflecting on Styles’ longevity, Nash pointed to the cumulative physical toll of his career, especially his time wrestling in Japan during the peak of Bullet Club’s popularity. “Dude, that motherfer was running in Japan when that Bullet Club was on fire, and he was like, fing, he was the main dog of the Bullet Club,” Nash recalled.
Nash contrasted Styles’ career with his own, noting that while he entered wrestling already dealing with injuries, Styles accumulated wear and tear through decades of high-impact, high-flying performances. “He was a high flyer for a lot of fing years, you know, he did a lot of st,” Nash said.
“You look at the amount of bumps that he’s taken, and it’s like, I can’t even… I was f**ed up before I got into… the business.”
Finally, Nash offered insight into what retirement might realistically look like for Styles, describing him as someone unlikely to chase the spotlight once his in-ring career ends. “I know AJ pretty well, and he’s not some flamboyant motherf***er,” Nash said.
“I’ll guarantee he still lives in Gainesville, Georgia, just in a nicer house with more property.”
With Styles’ career now seemingly at a crossroads, Nash’s comments highlight both the physical reality of a decades-long run and the quiet, grounded life that may await “The Phenomenal One” beyond the ring.
