Who Should Induct AJ Styles into the WWE Hall of Fame?
Although whispers of John Cena being the one to give AJ the induction to the WWE Hall of Fame, there are some other great candidates
AJ Styles will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 17th 2026. Styles was retired from WWE in ring action by Gunther at the 2026 Royal Rumble when he put his career on the line in the match and was put to sleep by Gunther. Shortly after, it was announced that AJ Styles would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame during WrestleMania weekend this year. Now that leaves the question of who will induct him into the WWE Hall of Fame? It has been rumored that John Cena will get the call to induct Styles on April 17th. I would argue that Christopher Daniels is the best to induct him, but with the relationship between WWE and All Elite Wrestling (AEW), that does not seem likely. So with that in mind, I argue who would make the most sense on the WWE roster currently to welcome AJ Styles into the WWE Hall of Fame. Given that WWE and Total Nonstop Action (TNA) have a working relationship, and WWE has been more open to acknowledging TNA history on television, there are plenty of suitable candidates to induct AJ.
Who Should Induct AJ Styles into the WWE Hall of Fame?
Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin
AJ Styles is synonymous with TNA Wrestling. The company that was built on the X-Division, the division that wasn’t about weight limits, but no limits. It often featured smaller talent (but not exclusively as Samoa Joe was a key part of the division) working a fast and high flying style in the ring.
There were many early pioneers of the X-Division, including AJ, Daniels, Amazing Red, Low Ki, and others such as Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin. Shelley and Sabin would go on to have decorated singles careers as well as tag team success as the Motor City Machine Guns. However, their early successes can be traced back to the X-Division and TNA, a similar story to that of AJ Styles. He squared off with both men in the TNA ring with the X-Division title on the line more than once. As all three men have made their way to WWE, it would be fitting that they give AJ the induction to the WWE Hall of Fame.
Finn Bálor
Finn Bálor was the original leader of the Bullet Club stable in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). Under the name Prince Devitt, he started the stable with Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, and Karl Anderson in May of 2013. Devitt left in April of 2014 to sign with WWE as part of the original NXT black and gold era. He left at the Invasion Attack 2014 following a loss to Ryusuke Taguchi in a loser leaves town match. AJ made his debut with NJPW at the end of the same event where he attacked the International Wrestling Grand Prix (IWGP) champion, Kazuchika Okada, and became the new leader of Bullet Club.
Bullet Club went on to become one of the biggest and most popular stables in New Japan Pro Wrestling history. Styles was the leader of the stable until January of 2016, when he departed to join WWE.
The stable lives in NJPW history as one of the most notorious stables in the promotion’s history. The stable often featured heels and anti-heroes and were known for playing by their own rules.
The two paid homage to their shared history with the stable when they faced off in a WWE ring during their match at TLC 2017 by sharing the “Too Sweet” hand gesture that Bullet Club reintroduced from the New World Order (NWO) stable.
Both men made large contributions to the stable and are synonymous with the success of the stable in Japan and the United States. Having Finn induct AJ would be a fitting nod to their time in NJPW together.
Bobby Roode
Bobby Roode made his first United States televised appearances on TNA television as part of the Team Canada stable. He grew up with TNA in both the singles and tag team divisions as part of the Beer Money Inc tag team with James Storm, and also as a two-time TNA World Champion.
Roode stayed with TNA until 2016 and was one of the longest tenured roster members at the time of his departure. Much like Styles, his career is synonymous with TNA. Even though he went on to have success in NXT and is now a producer in WWE, his in-ring career lasted the longest with TNA, and his work with the company is still shown today.
Abyss
Much like Roode, Abyss was an early addition to the TNA roster and stayed with the company until 2019, when he departed to become a producer for WWE. The Abyss character made a return to the screen for a cameo on AJ Styles' Appreciation Night in February of 2026.
Abyss was a dark character who brutalized opponents in the ring and often competed in hardcore variants of matches in a TNA ring.
He also went to an unmasked Joseph Park gimmick that had a humorous twist to it.
Abyss and AJ Styles will both go down in TNA history as key elements to the brands succuss. Abyss became one of the go to hardcore wrestlers in TNA, and footage of his matches is still shown in TNA today. AJ was known as the face of TNA and brought the high flying X-Division, while Abyss brought the dark character and hardcore element to early TNA. They both made crucial contributions, and it would be fitting to see Abyss/Joe Parks induct AJ Styles into the Hall of Fame.
R-Truth
Can you imagine the silly introduction he would come with? Acting like he is inducting a completely random WWE star instead of AJ?
In all seriousness, though, R-Truth, under the name Ron The Truth Killings, was a key part of early TNA as a tag team wrestler in 3Live Kru and as a singles wrestler, where he held the NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship. The speech would be entertaining with R-Truth being R-Truth, but would also callback to the time the two shared in a TNA ring as part of the early days of the promotion.
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