AJ Styles says retiring from WWE brought out a side of him he barely recognised, admitting he became consumed by self doubt in the weeks leading up to his final match against Gunther.

Speaking on Insight With Chris Van Vliet, Styles reflected on his mindset before officially ending his in ring career at the Royal Rumble in January, revealing he questioned decisions that normally would never have bothered him.

“I’m not saying I didn’t get weird near the end of knowing I was going to retire or leave WWE. I got weird, dude. I just was questioning everything,” Styles said. “A normal, sane AJ Styles would not question this. It would just be what it is.”

One concern that stuck with him involved Gunther's role in the Royal Rumble. Styles admitted he struggled to understand why Gunther would compete in the match after defeating him, and believes he unnecessarily put that frustration on Triple H.

“Even the moment where I found out Gunther was in the Royal Rumble, and I think it had already been explained that he was in the Royal Rumble, and that I got this match, but I was like, what the freak?” Styles said. “I think I made Triple H feel awful about it, oh man, I didn’t think about that.”

Looking back, Styles now realises he was overthinking the situation and that nobody else viewed it the way he did.

“The reality is, nobody thought about that, nobody did, nobody cared, even when Gunther came out at the Royal Rumble and got beat,” Styles said. “In fact, it should have made more sense that he got beat because he was in the ring with AJ Styles. He got exhausted in that match. Of course he’s not going to win the Royal Rumble.”

Styles admitted the emotions surrounding retirement affected how he behaved and offered an apology to those around him during that period.

“So I just got weird, man. So my apologies to everyone who I acted that way, and I was just in a weird state of mind,” Styles said.

Styles retired after losing a career on the line match to Gunther in Riyadh. Their rivalry saw Gunther continue his "Career Killer" reputation following victories over John Cena and Goldberg before forcing Styles to pass out to a sleeper hold, bringing an end to one of WWE's most celebrated careers almost exactly 10 years after Styles shocked the wrestling world by debuting in the 2016 Royal Rumble. Since stepping away from the ring, Styles has transitioned into a backstage and ambassador role within WWE.