“The Ring General” turned “Career Killer” GUNTHER proudly retired “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles at the Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia earlier this year. Despite being giddy in storyline for his accomplishment, the third name on his list of major stars he’s retired, GUNTHER sat down with WWE Vault to speak more out of character about the match. He explained that it was “kind of an open secret” that Styles was going to retire, and their match was different for him than his bouts against Goldberg and John Cena.

“You have AJ, who is somewhat a little more similar to me when it comes to his career because he had a great run here, but a lot of the stuff that people love him for happened before WWE,” GUNTHER explained. “He’s one of those guys… [from] that generation of wrestling that I came up with. We looked up to guys like AJ Styles.”

GUNTHER said that when Styles was in NJPW, he always watched his big matches there, and it was during a time where he was grinding and developing himself. “The Ring General” said he has so much respect for Styles’ work.

“It almost kind of felt, from [my] wrestler purist heart, that it almost felt more important for me than the Cena match,” GUNTHER said. “Onscreen, being able to rub it in and try and ruin the last run he had, it was a lot of fun. AJ’s such a skilled wrestler that you kind of can do everything with him. Creative guy, as well… It was easy. It was fun.”

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit WWE Vault and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

When fans reflect on some of the best characters to ever step foot in a WWE ring, names like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, The Rock and Randy Savage are often mentioned in the conversation, but according to former WWE star AJ Styles, there’s only one legend who deserves the recognition for having the most influential persona.

Speaking on “The Phenomenally Retro Podcast,” Styles claimed that nobody in the history of professional wrestling had a better body of work from a character perspective than WWE Hall Of Famer and seven-time world champion, The Undertaker. 

“I loved it that he went to the American Badass character and then came back to The Undertaker … he may have had the best run ever. He did have the best run ever as a character,” he stated. “I mean this guy killed it. You watch stuff of The Undertaker, you be like ‘Holy crap, this guy can go and he’s six-foot-nine and he can move?’ Man that’s scary.”

Styles had the privilege of being the final opponent of The Undertaker’s career, as both men fought in a Boneyard Match at WrestleMania 36. Despite the match not taking place in front of a live audience due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Undertaker was satisfied with his performance against Styles. Last night, Styles was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame after retiring from in-ring competition this past January at the Royal Rumble.

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.