Shawn Michaels vs. AJ Styles is one of the most talked about dream matches that never happened in WWE, and it's simply because there of one person who doesn't want it to take place.

Styles talked to WWE Now (h/t Fightful.com),and explained that he wanted the chance to go up against The Heartbreak Kid. But Michaels turned down the offer to go up against The Phenomenal One, thus shattering the dreams of countless wrestling fans. That said, Styles understands why the Hall of Famer would want to stay true to retirement.

"I asked Shawn [about a match] and he said 'No.' That's on Shawn, guys. I can't do anything about that," Styles said. "I would love to opportunity to do that [match]. But I get where he's coming from too... When I retire, I want to [stay] retired too."

Last year, Michaels admitted that there were discussions about a match between he and Styles at WrestleMania. HBK called The Phenomenal One "an unbelievably talented young man," and said he wishes he was "was 10 to 15 years younger," which would have made a match more possible.

Michaels stayed true to his word of retirement for eight and a half years, but he went back on that word and returned to the ring at last year's Crown Jewel pay-per-view. Michaels reformed D-Generation X with Triple H, and the duo defeated The Undertaker and Kane. Thus, Michaels got revenge after being "retired" By Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI.

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via TPWW

For what it's worth, Michaels suggests that the match at Crown Jewel didn't count as a true return to the ring. Rather, the wrestling icon called it a "a glorified house show live event," and that he was practically doing "a favor."

At any rate, Michaels seems intent on staying retired for good this time around, which means we won't see him go up against Styles. If only the latter wound up in WWE 10 to 15 years earlier, but at least we've witnessed Styles clash with some other all-time greats like John Cena and Daniel Bryan.

What This Means

You can't fault Michaels for wanting to stay retired, as Styles mentioned. The former was last a full-time competitor 10 years ago, and a match against Styles today probably wouldn't go so well. The time for a Styles-Michaels match has passed, and all we can do is wonder how it could have gone down.

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