AJ Styles has named a perhaps unexpected match as the best of his WrestleMania career. Speaking on The Phenomenally Retro Podcast, Styles was asked to reflect on the standout matches he would point future generations toward. He ran through a number of celebrated bouts before landing on a specific answer when the conversation turned to WrestleMania.
Styles first acknowledged several matches from earlier in his career that fans continue to celebrate.
“Well, you know, me and Christopher Daniels and Joe at Unbreakable, that’s another match that people love. And me and Chris, and me and Jerry Lynn, we all had great matches. I could pick out those matches from any one of those guys, Samoa Joe. I could pick them out, it’s easy to pick out those matches,” Styles said.
He then highlighted his WWE rivalry with Roman Reigns as another chapter of his career that he believes deserves more recognition than it typically receives.
“And then, you know, some of the great matches that I think, like you talk about, me and Roman Reigns had some great matches. I don’t know if a lot of people would expect that,” Styles said.
But when it came to naming his best WrestleMania performance, Styles pointed to his match against Shane McMahon at WrestleMania 33 and explained why everything clicked for that specific bout.
“Here’s another thing: the best WrestleMania match I had was against Shane McMahon. Yep, it was. You’ve got Shane, who is a perfectionist, he wants it perfect, and man, I get that. We just so happened to be able to place things where they should be in the storyline we had going into it, and it made it a perfect match,” Styles said.
Styles retired from in-ring competition in January following a loss to Gunther at Royal Rumble 2026. He has since signed a new contract with WWE, taking on a behind-the-scenes role focused on scouting talent and working in a developmental capacity.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit The Phenomenally Retro Podcast with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
