11 Things We Learned From Triple H On Cody Rhodes' Podcast

5. AJ Just Wanted His Last Match To End

This is incredible.

Triple H wasn't certain whether or not he should disclose this on Cody's show, because he wondered if he was betraying AJ's confidence, but he went ahead and did it anyway after reasoning that Styles is upfront about pretty much everything. Backstage, AJ told Hunter that he knew he was finished as an active wrestler because he just wanted the match vs. Gunther at the 2026 Royal Rumble to be over.

He was enjoying it in the heat of battle, but just wanted to get to the finish so he could make peace with his career being over. That’s powerful. Cody didn’t seem to know that had happened either. This makes it clear that retiring was 100% on AJ’s terms, but Hunter thinks he has a future behind the scenes.

Styles sat in on creative and production meetings for a short while, but he wasn’t feeling it and realised that whole writing thing really isn't for him. Instead, he wants to mentor young talent, spot rising stars etc, then help them settle into WWE life properly. That’s the road Trips wants to go down with him too.

It's a huge compliment to TNA's formation and approach that 2 former World Champions from the promotion are impressing all of the right people backstage in WWE. Namely, they're turning Triple H's head. He believes that Roode and Styles can become fixtures behind the scenes, and he'll do whatever it takes to help them achieve that.

However, it's simultaneously cool and sad to hear that AJ just wanted the Gunther match to finish so he could move on with his life.