Back when the world was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, things seemed gloomy. For AJ Styles, he refused to sit on the sidelines like most at home. He went on a quest to get back on television and to find legends in the industry to pick a fight with. After throwing out countless names, one accepted his proposal: WWE Hall of Famer The Undertaker. Styles recalls who inspired his journey to challenge these legends, and how the first-ever Boneyard Match came to be with “The Phenom.”
“I wanted to be able to say, ‘I wrestled this guy,'” the WWE Hall of Famer said on his “Phenomenally Retro Podcast.” “I was so jealous. [CM] Punk was able to wrestle so many great guys, right? And I was jealous of that opportunity that he was able to get. So, I wanted to wrestle Triple H. That never happened. So, I’m pitching, ‘Hey, does Shawn [Michaels] want to wrestle?’ ‘No. Anybody?’ And then…me and the Undertaker got be friends outside of wrestling. So, I was able to weasel my way in there and hopefully convince him, with the help of Michelle, to have another match with me.”
And so they did. On April 4, 2020, as part of WrestleMania 36, “The Phenomenal One” and “The Deadman” fought to the death, until the Undertaker was able to bury Styles in the dirt and ride off into the dark nightfall, closing the book on his 30-year career. Fast forward six years later, the Undertaker would be the one to inform Styles that he was going to be inducted into this year’s WWE Hall of Fame Class.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “The Phenomenally Retro Podcast” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
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