AJ Styles Says He’s Taking Over Coaching Role At WWE Performance Center

AJ Styles says he’s stepping into a coaching position at the WWE Performance Center, continuing his transition from the ring to the classroom following his retirement earlier this year. Styles revealed the move on his own show, The Phenomenally Retro Podcast, confirming that his backstage presence in WWE is now becoming a formal, hands-on role rather than just an informal mentorship.

Since hanging up his boots, Styles has stayed close to the company, working with younger talents as they develop in NXT and on the main roster. He’s also been serving as a personal coach to Lexis King, one of the more talked-about prospects to come out of developmental in recent memory. That one-on-one relationship appears to have been something of a proving ground for Styles, who is now expanding that mentorship into an official coaching capacity at the Performance Center in Orlando.

For longtime fans, this is a natural next step. Styles built a two-decade career on in-ring psychology, pacing, and adaptability — traits that made him a hit everywhere from the independents to TNA, NJPW, and eventually WWE. Those same qualities are exactly what the Performance Center staff tries to instill in the next generation of talent, and having someone with Styles’ résumé working directly with rookies gives WWE’s pipeline another respected voice in the room alongside names like Robbie Brookside, Norman Smiley, and Sara Amato.

It also fits a broader pattern WWE has leaned into in recent years: bringing recently retired or semi-retired veterans into coaching roles rather than letting that institutional knowledge walk out the door. Styles joins a list of former in-ring stars who have pivoted to developmental work, and given how vocal he’s been about wanting to give back to the business that shaped his career, the move tracks with things he’s said in the past about wanting a life in wrestling beyond competing.

What remains to be seen is how formal this arrangement becomes — whether Styles will have a set schedule at the Performance Center, work primarily with specific talents like King, or eventually take on a title within WWE’s coaching structure. There’s also the question of whether this signals the end of any in-ring appearances for Styles altogether, or if he could still pop up occasionally while building out his new role.

Either way, it’s a notable full-circle moment for one of the most technically gifted performers of his generation. AJ Styles spent years learning from mentors on the way up; now he’s positioned to be one for whoever comes next.