Rumor Look Back: Jan. 26 – Feb. 1, 2026

Welcome to the weekly Rumor Look Back, where we look at the rumors from six months ago and see which played out as originally stated. Let’s jump right to it. January 26, 2026 PW Insider says AJ Styles really is retiring at Royal Rumble, and that plan has been in place for months, as Shinsuke Nakamura alluded to in a now deleted post on social media. That’s the case. He did not work another match, though we don’t know how long it was a plan. (1/1) The Daily Update on F4Wonline.com notes WWE could change the plan but they would have to beat GUNTHER to do so and “that was not the plan.” That would have been tough right after Gunther submitted John Cena. Per the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Jimmy Uso missing the European tour was “believed to be due to a family situation and not an injury.” His wife was very pregnant at the time. They also say Bryan Danielson has been “having a lot of neck issues from traveling every week” and that’s why he missed a recent Dynamite. That’s sad to hear.