AJ Styles has a lot left in the tank

WWE Intercontinental champion AJ Styles is 43 years old, and the question of how long he’ll continue wrestling has come up repeatedly since he turned 40.

In 2017 he said he only had “a couple years left.” When he signed his new WWE contract last year, he said he’d call it a career when that deal ends in 2024.

But in an interview with Vicente Beltrán released yesterday (July 13), the Phenomenal One didn’t sound like there was an end date. He’s aware he’ll continue slowing down, but will be taking a more match-by-match approach:

“I’m going to take this body to the limit. I enjoy what I do, I respect what I do and take pride in everything that happens in the ring. I want to do it as long as my body and my brain allow me to. A lot of times, I feel like my body and brain argue with each other. My brain is telling me that I can do it, but my body is saying ‘don’t even try.’ When they both come together and say ‘it’s a good time to hang it up,’ then we’ll do that. When is that? It’s something Undertaker talked about, it’s something you battle with on a daily basis because you love what you do.”

Speaking of Taker, the Dead Man’s final opponent (for now) says he’d put his IC strap on the line if he thought it would get Undertaker back in the ring. But AJ respects Mark Calaway’s decision to hang’ em up burying him at the Boneyard.

Styles will defend his title against Matt Riddle this Friday on SmackDown.

Watch AJ and Beltrán’s chat here.

H/T: Fightful