Triple H rarely wrestles these days, and his last "match" came on the January 11th edition of RAW when he faced Randy Orton in the main event (the first time he'd competed since June 2019). That ended in a no-contest when Alexa Bliss interfered and attacked The Viper with a fireball, but it turns out we could have seen The Game compete at WrestleMania this weekend.
Talking during the NXT TakeOver: Stand And Deliver media call, Triple H revealed that he turned down a match against AJ Styles on the Grandest Stage of Them All.
"Getting ready for WrestleMania is a different thing, and the older you get, the harder it gets. Doing this once a year or once every couple of years, especially now, is not an easy task," he explained. "You try to stay in the best shape you can, but that’s not ‘WrestleMania shape’ and it’s a different thing. When he first came to me, I said, ‘AJ, I’m not going to tell you no. Personally, I’d love to work with you and at this point, you can carry me to something.’ So, I’d love it."
"The personal side of it, the performer side of it, I would love nothing more, but the reality is...I’m not going to have the bandwidth or availability schedule-wise to be able to pull that off. He would come to me every week or every other week when I would see him and say, ‘How’s that bandwidth coming? You going to be able to make this happen?’ I’d say I’m not, but I’m flattered by that - I really am - and I’m humbled by it. I wish I had the bandwidth to do it, and I’m not saying I won’t be able to do it in the coming year, if it’s right and everyone believes it should be done."
Triple H continued by revealing that Ric Flair has attempted to encourage him to step back into the squared circle, potentially for a retirement match of some sort. The former WWE Champion admitted that "there’s a part of me that wants to do it," but pointed out that he's so busy outside of the ring, it's easier said than done (he also doesn't want to embarrass himself in the ring at 52-years-old).
"It’s a lot of work and I don’t know that I have - I’m not afraid of the work," he concluded. "If I could make more hours in the day, I could find time to do it. It’s just time."
Do you wish Triple H vs. AJ Styles had happened at WrestleMania?