AJ Styles explained the thinking behind the finish of his retirement match, telling Chris Van Vliet on Insight that choosing Gunther as his final opponent was never really his decision. It came down to the story.
“It wasn’t up to me. It was up to the story. He had retired Goldberg. He retired John Cena. Why not retire AJ Styles?”
Going Out On His Shield
Styles wanted a specific kind of ending, one that separated his exit from the way Gunther had beaten Cena a month earlier. Rather than submit, he had his body give out.
“The whole thing with our match was that I made him tap out, but you weren’t going to make me tap out. And I didn’t. There was the moment where AJ Styles couldn’t hold out any longer, his body had given up on him, his air supply was gone. He passes out.”
The distinction mattered to him. Gunther had built a reputation as WWE’s career-ender, and Styles wanted the record to show he never quit.
The Undertaker Blindsided Him
Weeks later, during his tribute on Raw, Styles thought he understood what was happening when The Undertaker’s music hit. He did not.
“They said the Undertaker was coming out. I assumed we’d shake hands. Then he comes in talking, and it sounded like we’re going to wrestle again. I know we’re not doing that, so what are you talking about? Then I looked at my wife like, ‘Do you know what he’s saying?’ And then we got the idea, the Hall of Fame. A total surprise.”
The moment led to one of the shortest Hall of Fame speeches of the night, which Styles has since addressed. His feud with Gunther capped a run in which the Ring General has openly named the veterans he most wants to retire.
AJ Styles and Tony Giles host the The Phenomenally Retro Podcast, a weekly video show dedicated to retro video games, professional wrestling, and more.
