Triple H is not against a match against AJ Styles at WrestleMania, he just wants to make sure that he has the time to get into the proper ring shape to be able to deliver a match that is up to his standard of expectation.
WrestleMania 37 will be only the third WrestleMania not to feature Triple H since 1996 and for the first time, Triple H has missed two consecutive WrestleMania appearances as he now comfortably sits in a permanent role behind the scenes.
In recent months, AJ Styles has mentioned that he would love to wrestle Triple H. AJ, of course, had the last (for now) match of The Undertaker's career at WrestleMania 36 in the cinematic Boneyard Match.
Commenting on a potential match with AJ Styles during a recent media scrum, Triple H stated that he is flattered by AJ’s desire to work with him and doesn't want to rule out the potential match but knows that he needs a certain amount of free time in his schedule to properly prepare for a match of that magnitude -- especially on a stage such as WrestleMania.
“[AJ Styles] pestered me every time I saw him. He would ask me about it and ask me about my schedule. Getting ready for WrestleMania is a different thing,” admits Triple H. “The older you get, the harder it gets. Doing this once a year or once every couple of years is not an easy task. You try to stay in the best shape you can but that's not WrestleMania shape, it's a different thing. When he first came to me, I said, 'I'm not going to tell you no and I'd love to work with you and at this point you can carry me to something. I'd love it.' The personal, athlete, and performer side of it would love nothing more. The reality is; I'm not going to have the bandwidth or availability schedule-wise to pull it off. He would come to me every week and say, 'How is that bandwidth coming?' I'm flattered and humbled by it. I wish I had the bandwidth to do it. I'm not saying I won't be able to do it in the coming year if it's right and everyone believes it should be done. I'm at the point where in-ring stuff is [a] bonus.”
Triple H would go on to say that Ric Flair, who has notoriously come out of retirement multiple times since his farewell match at WrestleMania 24 against Shawn Michaels, regularly calls him to tell him he needs to find closure and have a retirement match at WrestleMania. Again, Triple H would say that he's not against the idea but he needs a lighter schedule in order to make it happen.
“Flair calls me all the time to tell me, 'You have to get back in the ring and have that closure and do a retirement match.' There's part of me that wants to do it and another part that says I'm busy 24/7 and to even try to train the way I would want to. By in-shape, I don't mean look, in-shape ring wise so you don't embarrass yourself once you get in there. It's a lot of work. I'm not afraid of the work, if I could make more hours in the day, I would do it. I just need more time.”
Triple H also commented on AJ Styles’ partner at WrestleMania, Omos, saying that people will be pleasantly surprised by what the big man brings to the table and that he is not just going to be a lumbering big man standing in the corner.
You can check out the full media call embedded above.
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