AJ Styles’ WrestleMania 36 match with The Undertaker occupies a unique place in WWE history. It was not contested inside a conventional wrestling ring, did not unfold before a live stadium audience, and arrived during an extraordinary period for the industry. Yet the Boneyard Match has endured as one of the most widely remembered encounters of The Undertaker’s final WWE run.
For Styles, the lasting feeling is not just pride in having been part of The Undertaker’s final bout. It is also a sense that the two performers could have produced even more together if their paths had crossed in the ring earlier.
Speaking with James Sweetnam, Styles reflected on the 2020 WrestleMania 36 main event and explained that he wishes he and The Undertaker had been able to work with one another sooner. Styles felt their instincts, timing, and overall chemistry made them a natural matchup, even though their match ultimately had to be presented through a cinematic format rather than a standard WWE bout.
“Well, it was definitely different. It was something that we didn’t know was gonna happen until it did. So getting the Boneyard match built to look like the match that looked like it was pretty unbelievable. Man, to have the match with The Undertaker, his last match, and I wish we could have done it earlier because him and I, there was just something about our timing and everything that we had together. It was a recipe for a great match. We just got to do it in a cinematic way.”
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An Unconventional WrestleMania Match Became a Defining Moment
Styles and The Undertaker met at WrestleMania 36 in 2020, an event heavily reshaped by the COVID-19 pandemic. WWE’s original WrestleMania plans could not proceed as expected, forcing the company to adapt its presentation under unprecedented circumstances. The Boneyard Match emerged from that environment as a cinematic fight staged away from the usual arena setting.
The presentation placed Styles and The Undertaker in a stylized, heavily produced confrontation built around the imagery and mythology associated with The Undertaker character. Rather than relying on the structure of a traditional singles match, the encounter leaned into atmosphere, physicality, location work, and dramatic storytelling.
That approach was praised by fans and became one of the standout matches of WrestleMania 36. More significantly, it was later recognized as The Undertaker’s final match. That fact gives Styles’ role in the encounter additional historical weight. Very few wrestlers can say they shared the ring—or, in this case, the Boneyard—with a performer in his farewell bout. Styles now looks back on the match as an important professional moment, while also seeing the unrealized potential in a rivalry that might have developed differently under normal circumstances.
The timing of the match made it impossible to know what a more conventional Undertaker-Styles program might have looked like. The circumstances did not allow for the pair to build toward a standard WrestleMania match in front of a packed crowd, nor did they leave room for a long series of televised matches. Instead, the Boneyard Match had one opportunity to make an impression, and it did so by becoming something distinct from the ordinary WWE formula.
Styles Sees a Strong In-Ring Connection
Styles’ comments center on the connection he felt with The Undertaker as a performer. His observation that there was “something” about their timing is notable because it speaks to the parts of wrestling that cannot always be planned in advance. Two wrestlers can have impressive resumes, contrasting styles, and major star power, but the ability to move naturally together remains essential.
Styles has long been regarded as one of the most accomplished in-ring wrestlers of his generation. The Undertaker, meanwhile, spent decades adapting his approach across different stages of his career while remaining one of WWE’s defining attractions. Their WrestleMania 36 clash brought together Styles’ speed and precision with the imposing aura of The Deadman.
In a regular ring environment, the contrast could have supported a variety of match structures. Styles’ comments do not establish what specific plans may or may not have existed for the two men before WrestleMania 36. What they do make clear is that Styles came away believing the pairing had the ingredients for a major match beyond the cinematic setting they received.
That perspective also helps explain why the Boneyard Match worked despite the unusual restrictions surrounding it. The format was radically different, but it still required performers who could react to each other, establish a believable conflict, and make the dramatic moments feel earned. Styles believes that the natural timing between himself and The Undertaker was there, even if it was expressed through a production unlike a conventional WWE match.
The Boneyard Match’s Place in Undertaker’s Legacy
The Undertaker’s career contains an enormous range of landmark bouts, rivalries, characters, and WrestleMania moments. His final match was therefore always likely to invite scrutiny. The Boneyard Match did not attempt to recreate the exact tone of his past classics. Instead, it used the visual language of The Undertaker’s character to create a closing chapter suited to the unusual circumstances of 2020.
For Styles, that closing chapter carries a personal dimension. He was not simply involved in a major WrestleMania attraction; he was the final opponent for one of WWE’s most enduring figures. His comments show appreciation for that distinction, particularly as he describes the match as a “recipe for a great match.”
There is also an understandable sense of curiosity attached to his wish that the match could have taken place earlier. The Undertaker’s career and Styles’ WWE tenure did overlap, but their eventual singles showdown arrived late and under conditions nobody could have predicted. The pandemic changed the setting, the scale, and the method of presentation. It also ensured that their encounter would be remembered less as a standard dream match and more as a singular cinematic event.
That does not diminish the match’s impact. If anything, its one-of-one nature is a major reason it remains memorable. A normal match between Styles and The Undertaker could have been highly anticipated, but the Boneyard Match became inseparable from a specific moment in WWE history and from the conclusion of The Undertaker’s in-ring career.
Styles Continues to Discuss Key Creative Ideas
Styles has also recently spoken about another major WWE creative moment involving Cody Rhodes. In a separate interview, Styles revealed that he suggested a spot during his feud with Rhodes in which Rhodes would kick out of a Burning Hammer at one.
The detail reflects Styles’ willingness to discuss how high-stakes wrestling moments are shaped through ideas, match structure, and the intended reaction from an audience. It also aligns with his comments on The Undertaker, which emphasize the value of timing and the importance of finding the right presentation for the right opponent.
Whether the setting is a cinematic WrestleMania fight or a dramatic sequence in a feud with another top WWE name, Styles’ recent remarks point toward the same central theme: major matches depend on execution as much as concept. The most effective moments are not merely about the move, the location, or the opponent. They are about when and how those elements come together.
A Match That Will Continue to Stand Apart
There will always be questions about what an earlier, traditional AJ Styles versus The Undertaker match could have been. Styles himself has now made clear that he sees that missed opportunity as significant. In his view, the two had the rhythm needed to create something exceptional.
Still, their actual WrestleMania 36 match has a legacy all its own. It was born from a difficult moment for WWE and professional wrestling, used a format that was far from ordinary, and became the final match of The Undertaker’s legendary career. Styles’ presence ensured that the farewell was not merely a retrospective tribute, but a featured WrestleMania confrontation with a world-class opponent.
The Boneyard Match may not have been the conventional clash Styles wishes they could have had earlier, but it remains a powerful final chapter. For Styles, it is both a career-defining opportunity and a reminder of what might have been. For WWE fans, it remains an unusual, celebrated, and historically important ending to The Undertaker’s in-ring journey.
Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.