AJ Styles did not intentionally pay tribute to Mark Henry in a recent promo.
Two weeks ago on Smackdown, AJ Styles donned a brightly colored blazer, and announced his retirement from wrestling. At 47-years-old, Styles wanted to become the best dad he could, and invited Cody Rhodes to the ring to celebrate the end of his career.
Or so the WWE Champion thought. Styles quickly revealed it all to be a ruse, and blind sided Rhodes as he built up to their I Quit match at Clash at the Castle.
This has drawn comparisons to Mark Henry’s iconic similar promo in 2013. He had fans in tears before hitting John Cena with the World’s Strongest Slam.
AJ Styles spoke with Fightful before Clash at the Castle in Glasgow. He was asked about the similarities between his faux-retirement speech and Mark Henry’s iconic promo from 2013, and how intentional they were.
Surprisingly, the former WWE Champion revealed that he didn’t plan to wear a similar blazer, nor copy Henrys speech, when he pretended to retire before facing Cody Rhodes.
“All of them are happy accidents. Nothing’s ever — you don’t plan it. Well, I wouldn’t say that. My gear is a little bit different. My gear is planned but when it comes to promos, not really.”
Despite the brilliant promo, AJ Styles was unable to beat Cody Rhodes at Clash at the Castle.
Read More: AJ Styles Will Make His Pro Wrestling NOAH Debut On July 13
AJ Styles Doesn’t Know Who His Retirement Match Will Be Against
Even though his retirement speech was fake, AJ Styles is 47 and staring at the end of his career.
He was asked by Jamal Niaz for Seconds Out about his retirement match, and is he had an ideal scenario in mind. Styles replied that he did not know the story, nor the opponent. He said he is just enjoying what he’s doing now.
“I’m not sure who that opponent is,” Styles said. “I’m not sure what the story will be, I’m not sure of anything right now, I’m not sure that I’ll make it out of tomorrow night without having to retire. Who knows what could happen? All I know is that today, I’m gonna enjoy SmackDown. Tomorrow, I’m gonna tear the house down with Cody Rhodes. I’m gonna enjoy both those.”
