Karl Anderson has revealed the reasons AJ Styles gave him for retiring.
After losing to Gunther at the Royal Rumble with his career on the line, AJ Styles gave fans an emotional farewell on the February 23rd edition of WWE Raw, which featured a special tribute to the Phenomenal One. As part of the show, multiple stars from Styles’ past appeared, including the Good Brothers – Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson.
On their Talk’n Shop podcast, Anderson admitted that he had not expected the Royal Rumble to be the last time he would see AJ Styles in the ring. When he met Styles backstage at Raw, the two-time WWE Champion explained to him that his neck was “hurting too bad” to continue much longer, and he wanted to move on to helping the next generation of stars.
“We get to the back, I said, ‘AJ! I did not know you were really gonna retire.’ He goes, ‘Really!?’ I said, ‘Yeah. What do you mean ‘really,’ AJ? We haven’t spoke. How am I supposed to know if you’re really gonna retire or not?’ And he said, ‘Dude, I have to. My neck is hurting too bad. I’m beat up. It’s time. I want to help the next generation.’
“I go, ‘Well, I didn’t really believe it. So I just kept talking on my podcast about how you were not gonna retire, and you’re gonna go here and you’re gonna go there, and now, I gotta eat a lot of crow, pal.’”
What Did AJ Styles Say About His Retirement?
Following his farewell, AJ Styles explained his retirement himself, explaining that he felt it was the right time, as he didn’t want to embarrass himself in the ring. He also said he chose the Royal Rumble for his last match as it felt “poetic” for him to go out at the same event where he made his debut 10 years earlier.
H/T to Fightful for the above transcription.
