The career of "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles came to an end at the hands of Gunther at WWE Royal Rumble 2026 in Saudi Arabia, with "The Ring General" forcing Styles to pass out in his patented Sleeper Hold. There have been a lot of high profile retirements throughout the world of wrestling in recent years, and Styles is the latest modern legend to hang up his boots...or has he?Unlike the likes of Sting, John Cena, or Hiroshi Tanahashi, no one seems to believe that Styles is actually retiring for good, especially since he was going to leave his signature gloves in the ring after his loss to Gunther, only to put them back on and pose for the fans one more time. Naturally, this has led to a lot of speculation surrounding Styles' future and where he might go next if he isn't actually retired. Some have pointed to TNA Wrestling due to Styles' near 12 year run with the company from 2002 to 2014, where he became one of the faces of the company during its peak years. However, his time in TNA ended on a sour note, leading to people believing he might want to tie up that loose end before he actually retires.On the other hand, there's AEW. It's the one major company that Styles has yet to work for as it was only founded in 2019 when Styles was already three years into his WWE run, and it's also a company where a lot of his friends work to this day. The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels who is actually retired, the list of people Styles is close to in AEW is extremely long, but the list of people he has never worked with before is even longer.We here at Wrestling Inc. have been talking about who we would want Styles to face in AEW if he chose to make the jump. We've already talked about "The Protostar" Kyle Fletcher, and there's a plethora of names that will get into in the coming days, but today, we are going to talk about Hangman Adam Page. The former AEW World Champion has never worked with Styles at any point, and their careers have been like two ships passing in the night. With all that said, here are a few reasons why AJ Styles vs. Hangman Page is a dream match for us and many others.
To set the stage for a dream match like AJ Styles vs. Hangman Page, you have to have some sort of story to get people interested, and fortunately, Styles and Page have similar pasts.From 2014 to the start of 2016, Styles wasn't just a member of Bullet Club in New Japan Pro Wrestling, he was the ace of the faction. He won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on two occasions while leading the faction to heights never thought possible for a wrestling group not affiliated with WWE at the time, but he was ousted from the group in January 2016 at the hands of Kenny Omega. Four months after Styles was kicked out of Bullet Club, Hangman Page joined the group as part of the ROH side of things before quickly transitioning into a fully fledged member when he started appearing in NJPW.Page would eventually become a member of The Elite with the likes of Omega, Cody Rhodes, and The Young Bucks as a sub-group of Bullet Club that blossomed into its own faction, which in turn led to the creation of All Elite Wrestling. When people really stop to think about it, AEW probably wouldn't exist without Bullet Club, which also means that technically speaking, AEW as a company might not exist if it wasn't for someone like AJ Styles. Sure, Styles wasn't the man to create group, that honor goes to Prince "Finn Balor" Devitt, but Styles was the face of the group when it was at its hottest. The Elite's success came much later and was seen as its own thing, but when Bullet Club was firing on all cylinders, it was Styles leading the pack.With this foundation already set in place, you can envision a situation where Page almost sees Styles using AEW as a way to get one last run in the spotlight when he really doesn't need it, only for Styles to throw that notion back in Page's face by explaining that, at its core, AEW wouldn't exist with Styles. If AEW doesn't exist, Page doesn't become one of the biggest names in the business, meaning that without an AJ Styles there would be no "Cowboy S***," there would be no main character, there would be no Hangman Page.You don't have to have Styles come in and be an invader or anything, you can just have him come in and be angry at the fact that when Page talks about how important AEW is to wrestling, Styles gets none of the credit. Styles can say that AEW was a company built on the back of his personal success, even Page's success in AEW and before it in Bullet Club wouldn't be possible without him. It sets the stage for more than just a dream match in the ring, it sets up a story that actually has some substance.
Let's be real with ourselves for a second. A lot of the fans who want AJ Styles in AEW are also fans of the 2010s NJPW golden era which Styles was a part of. The problem with that is people might expect the AJ Styles of 2015 to show up in AEW when in reality, they will be getting the AJ Styles of 2026 who has a lot miles on him and not many spots left to fill on his bump card. However, this would actually work in Hangman Page's favor because unlike a Will Ospreay for example, Page isn't a high flyer and largely feels more comfortable rolling around in pools of his own blood most of the time.For all of the phenomenal moves Styles can still pull off (pun very much intended), a match with Page has the chance to be something different, something more visceral. If you weave that disdain from the story of Bullet Club, the foundations of AEW, and how Page doesn't acknowledge the importance of Styles to his own successes, you can create a match that stays much more grounded while also giving fans a side of Styles they haven't seen in decades.I'm not asking for a bloodbath akin to the Texas Death Matches Page has had with Jon Moxley or Swerve Strickland, but something adjacent where Styles doesn't have to go one million miles per hour in order to impress people. A wild, chaotic brawl where Styles and Page just beat lumps out of each other is probably safer than Ospreay asking Styles if he can still do the Spiral Tap. Styles can still do some incredible things, but he doesn't run the risk of reminding people that he doesn't (or can't) wrestle like he did 15 to 20 years ago.Page reached a point in 2025 where he could have a good match with virtually anyone, pulling different elements out of different opponents to give them some of their best matches in recent memory like an MJF or a Powerhouse Hobbs. Pairing him with AJ Styles gives Page the chance to have something new and exciting pulled out of him because Styles is that guy that can have chemistry with anyone because he's proved it for 27 years.These two men could probably put together a match that makes Styles look like he hasn't aged since the early 2010s, but we have so many guys in AEW that can do Styles' moves as well or better than he can. Page has his own style where he can take big risks but he's better suited as a brawler, which ultimately forces Styles to take new chances or chances he hasn't taken since he was allowed to bleed in TNA. If AJ Styles and Hangman Page do face off in 2026, it will likely be great no matter what it looks like, but there is a real chance to produce something unique with this pairing.
