AJ Styles has opened up to Alex McCarthy of TalkSPORT about his Boneyard Match with The Undertaker that would turn out to be The Deadman’s final match in WWE.
The Phenomenal One said he didn’t know, and he doesn’t think The Undertaker even knew, that would be the final match in a 30-year WWE career. In the interview, which is hosted on the Inside The Ropes YouTube Channel, former WWE Champion AJ Styles divulges that he even called The Deadman to ask if it was his last.
“Well, as far as the match and him thinking that was going to be his last, I don’t think he knew, nor did I, that that was the one that he needed to end on.
“It just kind of happened and, you know, I literally called him a month after WrestleMania and said, ‘Listen, I need to know if you’re done.’ And, well, he never called me back because I think he was afraid that I’d try to talk him into one more.”
Styles goes on to say how Undertaker did it “the right way” by ending his career on his own terms.
“He did it the right way. He did it on his own terms. He didn’t have to do it because of an injury or something else. He’s the one who said, ‘You know what? I’m OK with ending it right here.’ And there’s something to be said about something like that, because injuries plague this business, you know, and you never know how long you’re going to be able to hold out and good for him that he was able to call his own shot.”
McCarthy would also ask Styles about the tease of being “haunted” by Undertaker, which happened during the Money In The Bank Ladder Match.
“I have no idea. I didn’t call that. I didn’t say anything about that. They said, ‘Hey, what if we did this?’ And I was like, ‘You know, whatever’ – but I have no idea why they put something like that in there. Maybe it was a just-in-case.”
Meanwhile, Triple H revealed to Inside The Ropes earlier this month how Undertaker is set for a role in NXT.
AJ Styles challenges Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship this Sunday at WWE TLC live on the award-winning WWE Network.