AJ Styles Talks His WrestleMania Match With Shane McMahon

It's no secret that AJ Styles has made a name for himself all over the pro wrestling industry. From winning every high ranking championships in promotions like: NWA, TNA, ROH and NJPW, to being the second leader of The Bullet Club, Styles' global resume speaks for itself. Styles noted that he would've gone to the WWE a long time ago, but fate had other plans for him and his career.

"I didn't just stay in one place and face your average Joe's," Styles noted on WWE's The Bump ahead of last weekend's WrestleMania 36 event. "I faced Kurt Angle. I mean, this guy was a former Olympic champion. This guy is amazing. Just so we're talking, a lot of those guys that were in the WWE came to where I was working. Then, I went to New Japan and did stuff over there.

"I would've been there earlier [WWE] if I could've. Sometimes, things work out the way they do. It's a different time. Guys aren't as big as they used to be. Guys my size are getting a chance, when back then, guys my size weren't given the chance to be in the ring."

Looking back at all the accomplishments Styles made throughout his career in the WWE, specifically at WrestleMania, Styles states that his match with Shane McMahon (at WrestleMania 33) will go down as one of his favorite matches he's had at WrestleMania, so far.

"Well, I think the expectations of the match [with Shane McMahon] were very low. But, I knew, what kind of match this was going to be," Styles began. "We didn't disappoint. This guy – you talk about someone leaving it all in the ring- this guy does it every time. He's a maniac. I've got a lot of respect for Shane McMahon, and what we did out there. I think that match was probably one of the better WrestleMania matches I've had so far."

You can view AJ Styles' full interview above. If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit WWE's The Bump with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.