AJ Styles has embraced his newfound status as a heel, putting The Club behind him to return to the top of the card in WWE. Recently, he challenged Cody Rhodes of the Undisputed WWE Championship in what proved to be a match-of-the-year candidate at Backlash.
Talking to Sports Illustrated, the Phenomenal One talked more about embracing breaking bad at this stage of his career (he turns 47 next month but recently returned to WWE with one of the most impressive physiques on the entire roster).
"I like to think I’m one of the few old school guys left," Styles said. "I look back and I’m so thankful I was able to pay off my house. That’s one of those things I hoped to do in my career, that I could do something I enjoy and provide for my family - and still have something left over for retirement."
"I’ve stuck with it long enough to take care of everyone who needed to be taken care of."
"As bad, ugly, and mean as a heel is supposed to be, I’m going to be that guy," he said of his current role in WWE. "When I step into an arena, I want more boos than Dominik Mysterio. That’s what I’m after. That’s my job, and I want to do it better than anybody."
Styles has already won the WWE Championship and retired The Undertaker in a Boneyard match at WrestleMania 36. Looking to the future, there's one more legendary opponent he hopes to step into the ring with before calling it quits.
"Of course, I’m interested - but only if that means The Rock is turning babyface," Styles explained. "I’m not interested in being a mediocre bad guy. I want to bring this to a whole new level."
Last month, Styles revealed how much longer he hopes to compete in the squared circle:
"I’m getting close. I’m getting close to the end. I want to have that story and match to go with it before I leave the WWE. That’s what I’m looking forward to the most."
"I’m done. I’m going to retire. I’m getting to the point where I am worried about embarrassing myself. My brain says, ‘We can do this.’ My body says, ‘You’re stupid. We cannot do this. We’re hurting every day when we roll out of bed. At some point, this has to come to an end."
Here's hoping he gets that match with The Rock before then, eh?