20 Most Anticipated Wrestling Matches Of 2026

While obviously not quite on the same level of fame, AJ Styles's retirement is going to be every bit as emotional as John Cena's 2025 farewell. Loved by fans and performers in every company he's been in, one of the great hopes of 2026 is that WWE allows AJ to go swinging through many "Forbidden Doors" to revisit his old stomping grounds and get all the flowers he so richly deserves. 

WWE's incredibly close relationship with TNA will certainly allow him to go back and face someone over there, but what would really matter to fans around the world would be a final match in NJPW. His run as the leader of Bullet Club is the stuff of legend, and his matches with Shinsuke Nakamura in WWE have been hugely disappointing.

Though Shinsuke Nakamura has recently reemerged on WWE television, him re-signing with WWE feels unlikely. With both men being far more globally recognized and having only gone one-on-one in New Japan just once at Wrestle Kingdom 10, a final encounter in NJPW would be a fitting finale for AJ in Japan and would do wonders for Shinsuke to remind the world why he was regarded as The King Of Strong Style.