Add as a preferred source on Google AJ Styles retired after facing the likes of John Cena, The Undertaker, Roman Reigns, and Gunther, but three notable opponents never made it onto his resume: Shawn Michaels, Eddie Guerrero, and Triple H.
In an interview on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, the WWE Hall of Famer said he pushed the company to find out whether Michaels would come out of retirement.
“I even tried with Shawn but… I asked a guy like Can I wrestle Shawn? and that person said he’s not going to do it. I was like, has anyone asked him?”
The situation went further than Styles seemed to know at the time. In 2017, Michaels himself revealed that WWE had offered him a match against Styles at WrestleMania 33, but he turned it down. Styles ended up facing Shane McMahon instead. A year later, Michaels returned for a tag team match at Crown Jewel — his only match since his 2010 retirement.
Eddie Guerrero was already a dream opponent for Styles before he ever arrived in WWE. In December 2015, while still working in NJPW and ROH, Styles said he would have liked to face Latino Heat. Guerrero died on November 13, 2005, more than ten years before the Phenomenal One made his WWE debut.
As for Triple H, the two were in the same Royal Rumble Match in 2016 — Styles’ WWE debut. Styles was eliminated by Kevin Owens, while Triple H entered at No. 30 and won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
They were also on the same WWE live event in Tokyo on June 29, 2019, but in separate matches. That night, Triple H wrestled the last match of his career.