"I was just there to stand beside him and do my thing" - AJ Styles on being The Undertaker's final opponent
AJ Styles faced The Undertaker in a Boneyard match at WWE WrestleMania 36 earlier this year. With WrestleMania taking place behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the match ended up being a cinematic style Boneyard match. This ended up being the last match of The Undertaker's in-ring career. In a recent interview with Inside The Ropes, AJ Styles was asked about being The Undertaker's final opponent.
Speaking about being The Undertaker's final opponent, Styles said that it was not a match The Deadman was thinking about a year before WrestleMania. Styles said that he probably wasn't on Undertaker's initial list to be his final opponent but that's how things ended up working out:
Someone asked me who I would want for my retirement match, and I go, ‘I have no idea.’ I don’t know when I’m gonna retire, so how can I even think about that? And there’s no way the Undertaker was thinking even a year before WrestleMania, ‘I’m gonna have AJ Styles be my last match.’ He wasn’t thinking about that. I wasn’t even on his list, I’m sure of it. But things happened the way they did. It literally was a phone call making him think about some things, and I think it was on the verge of thinking about retiring and then having that match and going, ‘Wow, how can AJ and I even top that?’ H/T: 411Mania
AJ Styles was also full of praise for everyone involved in the Boneyard match. Styles also heaped praise on The Undertaker for his starring role:
It was done so well. It was a lot of effort brought about by a lot of different people. The most, of course, was done by the Undertaker. I was just there to stand beside him and do my thing. He’s the reason why that Boneyard Match gets so much praise.
The Undertaker retired earlier this year at Survivor Series
After 30 years with WWE, The Undertaker retired earlier this year at Survivor Series 2020. The Undertaker's retirement closed the show and saw appearances from Vince McMahon and then by a number of WWE legends. The legends who appeared included members of The Undertaker's backstage group BSK, Kane, Shane McMahon, Ric Flair, and Booker T.