AJ Styles Hints At His WWE Run Ending In A Couple Of Years
WWE Champion AJ Styles and NXT Champion Drew McIntyre were interviewed by 97.9 The Box in Houston this week to promote tonight's NXT Takeover: WarGames event and Sunday's Survivor Series pay-per-view. Styles discussed his wrestling style during the appearance, noting that "it sucks" that it gets harder to maintain with age.
"The older you get, the less energy you have to maintain it!" Styles said. "It is what it is, but if you still have that drive and you can still do it, why not? Get in the gym and get it done, and look good in the meantime."
Styles, who turned 40 last June, made his wrestling debut nearly twenty years ago in 1998. Despite working some tryout matches for WWE early in his career, he only signed his first full-time WWE contract in January of 2016. Since then, he has won both the WWE U.S. Championship and the WWE Championship on two occasions. Despite his success, he admitted that he is looking at retiring in the not-so-distant future.
When Styles was asked if his family gets angry with how much he's on the road, he noted that he's been married for 17 years, and his wife has been getting mad at him the entire time. He talked about having four children and often having to discipline them over the phone, but that will change "in a couple of years."
"Work hard now, you enjoy it later," Styles said. "In a couple of years, I'll be able to catch every football game, every baseball game, every basketball game, cheerleading, gymnastics, whatever they're in."
When the hosts stated that they don't want Styles to retire in a couple of years, he replied, "Man, I'm 40 years old!"
Styles will face WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar this Sunday at Survivor Series. New subscribers can sign up for the WWE Network today by clicking here and get their first month for free, which includes NXT Takeover: WarGames tonight and the Survivor Series.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit 97.9 The Box with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.