AJ Styles believes his final match with Shinsuke Nakamura delivered the performance many fans expected years earlier at WrestleMania. The longtime rivals recently faced each other one last time at Saturday Night’s Main Event in January, closing a rivalry that stretches back more than a decade. Their history dates back to their days in New Japan Pro Wrestling before they eventually shared the ring again after both men arrived in WWE.
The January bout carried additional significance because it took place shortly before Styles officially retired from in-ring competition. Styles wrestled his final match days later at the Royal Rumble, bringing an end to a career that spanned decades across multiple major promotions. Looking back, Styles believes the match with Nakamura shortly before his retirement ended up being one of the strongest encounters of their WWE rivalry.
Speaking on “The Phenomenally Retro” podcast, Styles reflected on the performance and compared it to their highly anticipated WrestleMania 34 match in 2018. That contest had generated enormous buzz among fans because of their previous work together in Japan but ultimately failed to meet expectations.
“The match with Shinsuke was really good, and it was the match we probably should have had at WrestleMania.”
According to Styles, part of the issue was the pressure surrounding their WrestleMania meeting.
“Everybody, their expectations at WrestleMania were way too high.”
He explained that both wrestlers may have tried too hard to live up to the hype rather than simply wrestling the style that had worked for them in the past.
“We thought we had to find a way to get to that expectations rather than doing what we knew would work.”
Styles also used the conversation to reflect on his time wrestling in Japan, praising the atmosphere created by fans there.
“I’m convinced too that Japanese fans will make every match great.”
He described Japanese audiences as uniquely respectful and appreciative of the athletes performing in the ring.
“They inspire you to be better because they appreciate what you’re doing in that ring.”
