AJ Styles opens up about the biggest “what if” moments of his career, explaining why a dream WWE match with Shawn Michaels never happened.
Styles, who is expected to retire sometime this year, never had the chance to share the ring with Michaels, who officially retired in 2010. Although Michaels briefly returned for a tag team match at WWE Crown Jewel 2018, the match failed to impress.
Fans often viewed Styles vs. Michaels as a dream match that felt perfect on paper but it was unlikely to ever happen. Speaking on Six Feet Under with The Undertaker, AJ Styles confirmed that he did try to make the match happen, but it was simply not meant to be.
“I tried to make that happen, I did,” Styles said. He admitted that watching others work with WWE legends sparked some jealousy. “I was very jealous of some of the guys that were in WWE that had the opportunity to wrestle The Undertaker, and Shawn Michaels and Triple H.” [H/T: Wrestletalk]
He explained that he directly pushed for the idea once he joined WWE. “I was like, ‘Can I wrestle Shawn?'” he recalled. The answer he received was simple. “They said, ‘He’s not gonna wrestle.'” Still, Styles wasn’t ready to drop the idea.
“I said, ‘Can I ask him? Did anyone ask him?'” Styles said. While he isn’t sure if the question ever reached Michaels directly, he believes the answer would have been no. While the dream match never happened, Styles’ comments reflect his deep respect for Shawn Michaels.
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