“‘When I hear somebody say ‘he made it very clear,’ I’m assuming that AJ said to you, Trips, ‘My heart just isn’t in it anymore.’ Anything about AJ’s game, does he look like his heart is not in it anymore?” Ray asked. “He didn’t tell me that. He didn’t tell me, ‘Bubba, my heart’s just not in this anymore.’ He didn’t allude to that. I didn’t get that vibe, that feeling, none of that. Would I say that AJ Styles, after doing this for 25, 30 years at the level of physicality and travel, it might be like ‘Bubba, I’m tired.’ That, I understand.”

As a part of TNA Wrestling’s AMC debut on January 15, Styles opened “Thursday Night iMPACT” encouraging fans and the TNA roster to kick off the company’s new era by creating chaos. Backstage, Styles then teased the possibility of pursuing the TNA World Championship again. Meanwhile, Ray served as the special guest commentator for the main event TNA World Championship match between Frankie Kazarian and Mike Santana.

11 days later on “WWE Raw,” Styles proclaimed that he wanted to taste a world title at least one more time before he officially hung up his boots. He additionally noted that was interested in wrestling old foes, some of which work for other promotions, once more as well.

In Ray’s eyes, Triple H potentially made the remark about Styles’ apparent lack of enthusiasm as a way to dissuade him from working elsewhere following his final WWE match. “It almost sounds like, that comment, ‘His heart’s not in it anymore’ [means] ‘I hope he doesn’t go to AEW or back to TNA,'” Ray said.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Busted Open Radio” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.