Ex-WWE Champion Pleads To Triple H: “I Don’t Want to Be Done”

AJ Styles retired from wrestling following his defeat to Gunther at WWE Royal Rumble in January.

The rivalry stemmed from Gunther’s constant jab at John Cena after he retired the 17-time world champion at Saturday Night’s Main Event in December.

Sharing mutual respect with Cena, Styles was unable to let the insults slide as he confronted The Ring General multiple times.

Gunther initially rejected his offer for a Royal Rumble match, but proposed that AJ put his career on the line. After discussing the situation with his wife, Styles agreed to the stipulation.

At the WWE Royal Rumble, which was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the first time since its inception in 1988, the Austrian wrestler choked out AJ Styles, forcing the referee to call for the bell.

Following his defeat, Styles thanked the fans and thought about leaving his gear in the ring as a sign of retirement, but changed his mind to a huge pop from the audience.

A few weeks later, he did just that, after which The Undertaker informed him that he was added as one of the inductees into WWE’s Hall of Fame Class of 2026.

Triple H Reveals AJ Styles’ Plea To Him About WWE Retirement

Triple H was the special guest recently on Cody Rhodes’ What Do You Wanna Talk About? podcast.

The WWE Chief Content Officer discussed a series of topics ahead of WrestleMania 42, which ranged from Vince McMahon’s involvement in the creative process to being frustrated by specific demands from talents.

He also touched upon AJ Styles’ retirement after the WWE Royal Rumble. Styles is currently signed with the company in the role of a talent scout as well as training recruits.

On the podcast, Triple H revealed that the 48-year-old wanted to be done with in-ring competition, but was open to taking on a backstage role.

At the end, AJ was like, ‘I don’t want to be just done with the business. I want to be done wrestling.’ And I don’t think I’m betraying a confidence here. But even in his last match, he was telling me like, ‘I so know I’m done because I was out there in that last match thinking like, let’s just get over with, just want to get to the end.’

He claimed that Styles would become a part of the creative process, even attending a few meetings. However, he realized that it was not his cup of tea.

I think he realized, like, the writing thing’s not for me, the producer thing, I don’t think, is for me. What I really like is getting to these young kids and spotting talent and then trying to help fan the flames of the little spark that’s there and try to make them into something more, the developmental side of it.

Elsewhere, AJ Styles recently revealed what he had planned to do for his Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

The event will take place on April 17, one night before WWE WrestleMania 42. His fellow inductees include Stephanie McMahon, Demolition, Sycho Sid, Dennis Rodman, and Bad News Brown.