Shawn Michaels Confirms Turning Down WWE Match with AJ Styles

Shawn Michaels is widely regarded as one of the best in-ring performers in WWE history, earning the nickname “Mr. WrestleMania” for his unforgettable performances at the event. Although he has mostly stayed retired from wrestling, he revealed that he was offered a match against AJ Styles.

While speaking to Inside the Ropes, Shawn Michaels was asked whether any matches tempted him to come out of in-ring retirement. Shawn Michaels revealed that the company asked him to come out of retirement and face AJ Styles in a match. He explained that, over the years, WWE has always known that he retired, but they still checked in with him regularly, offering him the chance to return.

Michaels mentioned that there was always a spot for him if he ever decided to come back, with the company keeping the door open just in case. However, the only times he was formally asked to return for a match was to face The Undertaker and AJ Styles. Despite the offer, Michaels turned it down.

“There was never, nobody ever, ever, ever, going to stand and put any consideration into Daniel Bryan or anybody else in all the years I’ve been retired. From a company standpoint, they’ve always known, you know, I retired, why would I be done now? They certainly, every year, they know that those things slow down, but there’s always an offer for you—‘Do you want to do it?’ I do. You know, I will say that very comfortably, that there’s always a place there, that’s certainly, you know, issues and held there just in case I wanted to insert in there. But the only ones that have ever actually been asked by the company were Taker and AJ Styles. That’s the only time anybody ever formally, you know, mentioned it, but I turned it down.”

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Shawn Michaels retired from wrestling in 2010 after losing a match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania 26. However, eight-and-a-half years later, he made a comeback to team with Triple H against Kane and The Undertaker in Saudi Arabia. That turned out to be HBK’s final match for good, as he is now busy managing NXT and that’s all that matters to him. Regardless, some fans are disappointed Michaels never ended up facing AJ Styles, as it could have been a show-stealing match.

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