In an interview with Cathy Kelley, AJ Styles talked about Shawn Michaels turning down a match against him which had been rumored for the 2017 Royal Rumble in San Antonio, Texas:
“I would have loved the opportunity to have gotten in the ring with him. I’m not sure what it is about Shawn and I that people see as like, ‘Oh wow, these guys are one and the same.’ I would like to think that there are so many great matches by Shawn and hopefully there are a lot of great matches that you see me in. And that’s the comparison. That [we’re] able to put on a show no matter who is in the ring with [us]. It’s certainly a compliment.”
Styles continued, “I asked Shawn [about a match] and he said ‘No.’ Well That’s on Shawn, guys. I can’t do anything about that. I would love to opportunity to do that match, But I get where he’s coming from too. It’s one of those things where, if you say you’re gonna retire — Now, granted, he had a match after his retirement, one match — but I understand not really wanting to do it. When I retire, I want to [stay] retired too.”
