"Don’t you dare leave us" - AJ Styles receives a message from former WWE rival after retirement tease

Former WWE Champion AJ Styles is widely regarded as the pound-for-pound best professional wrestler of all time. The Phenomenal One has had a decorated career, and now that he is in his 40s, Styles might not continue wrestling for a long time.

Styles recently posted a picture of an hourglass with his official logo on Instagram, seemingly indicating that he had limited time left as an in-ring competitor. Since then, many fans and pro wrestlers have reacted to the post, including his former WWE rival Karrion Kross.

The Doom Walker and The Phenomenal One had a compelling feud on RAW on the Road to WrestleMania 41. They even faced off in a singles match in April 2024.

The two-time NXT Champion dropped a comment on Styles' cryptic Instagram post and urged him not to retire.

When scripted fights get too real - Watch Here!

"Uncle Allen, I will turn that hourglass upside down… don’t you dare leave us," Kross wrote.

AJ Styles' post (Image credits: Styles' Instagram handle)

WWE champion reacts to AJ Styles playing mind games with him

The Phenomenal One has been gunning for Dominik Mysterio's Intercontinental Championship for months. The two faced off in a singles title match at the first-ever two-night SummerSlam Premium Live Event earlier this year.

Mysterio managed to beat Styles at The Biggest Party of the Summer. On The Rap of Wrestling Podcast, "Dirty Dom" reacted to Styles playing mind games with him at SummerSlam 2025, dressing up as the late Eddie Guerrero.

"You know, for me, it was definitely very special. I didn't know AJ was gonna come out in that lowrider, with those tights. So, it definitely caught me off guard. He was trying to play some mind games. But for me, what really mattered was the fact that, like, I was walking in as the Intercontinental Champion and I walked out as Intercontinental Champion."

It will be thrilling to see what plans the Triple H-led creative team may have in store for The Phenomenal One in the coming months. He is currently feuding with Mysterio and El Grande Americano on WWE TV.

About the author

Nayan is a WWE News and Features writer at Sportskeeda Wrestling. After completing his bachelor's degree in Mass Communication from Poddar International, he began working as a YouTube script writer. Nayan then transitioned to Pinkvilla as a combat sports writer. He gained valuable experience there before finally coming under the banner of Sportskeeda.

Within 1.5 years, Nayan has written over 1,000 articles, interviewed MFN promotion owners, and conducted a Twitter campaign that gained over 50k retweets and more. He puts fact-checking and mindful journalism above everything by applying a three-check method, where he tries to verify reports from reliable sources and cross-check whether other major publications have covered them.

Looking back at his association with pro wrestling, Nayan recalls being hooked on the sport after watching Shawn Michael vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania 25. Since then, the product has been an inseparable part of his life.

Apart from The Heartbreak Kid being Nayan's favorite wrestler for his confidence and charisma, he is also a fan of Brock Lesnar due to The Beast's "work speaks louder than words" attitude.

Nayan can be found performing mixed martial arts and reading true crime in his free time.

Know More

These wrestling matches are not 'fake' at all - Watch!

Edited by Pratik Singh