AJ Styles Makes Sad Statement About WWE Rivalry With John Cena
AJ Styles spoke about his fascinating history with John Cena in a WWE ring.
One of the most highly anticipated matches at WWE Crown Jewel on Saturday, October 11th, is the showdown between two future WWE Hall of Famers, John Cena and AJ Styles.
That match is between two 48-year-olds who wrestling fans will remember as not just two of the best wrestlers of the last 25 years, but two of the best wrestlers of all time.
At the WWE Crown Jewel Kickoff Show in Perth, Australia, AJ Styles appeared on the stage to talk about his massive match with John Cena.
It was mentioned by WWE announcer Michael Cole that John Cena has only beaten AJ Styles once in his entire career. Styles responded to that.
“He’s only beaten me once, but the one time he beat me was for the WWE Championship…so that kinda sucks. But we’re gonna do it again tomorrow night and I get to do one of my favorite things…(pause)…beat up John Cena!”
The match that AJ Styles was referencing was from Royal Rumble 2017, when John Cena beat Styles clean to win his 16th WWE Championship. It was a five-star match in this writer’s opinion, and a match that most WWE fans will remember forever as being one of the best matches from that year and that decade.
AJ Styles Makes Retirement Plans Clear
It is well known among WWE fans that John Cena plans to wrestle his final match on December 13th in Washington, D.C. at a Saturday Night’s Main Event special.
As for AJ Styles, he made it clear on the Crown Jewel Kickoff Show that 2026 will likely be his last year as a wrestler.
“I’m getting old folks. Listen if I could find the fountain of youth and take a couple of sips I’d wrestle for the rest of my life. But you know, I am getting older, the fear of embarrassing myself is getting closer.
And you know what? There comes a time In a man’s life when he has to take care of business but when business is done it’s time to take care of his family. I need to spend time with my family.
The whole idea with wrestling and having an amazing future in this business is to be able to retire one day and in 2026 I will retire.”
Styles didn’t specifically say when his final match will be, but it’s coming in 2026 at some point. Styles is married with four kids, so he has a big family, and that means he’ll stay plenty busy when he’s not competing in a wrestling ring.
The lineup for WWE Crown Jewel is below.
* Men’s Crown Jewel Championship: Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes vs. World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins
* Women’s Crown Jewel Championship: WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton vs. Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer
* John Cena vs. AJ Styles
* Australian Street Fight: Roman Reigns vs. Bronson Reed
* Rhea Ripley & Iyo Sky vs. Kabuki Warriors – Asuka & Kairi Sane
You can watch WWE Crown Jewel, STREAMING LIVE from Perth on Saturday, October 11th at 8 a.m. ET/5 a.m. PT on the ESPN App in the United States and on Netflix everywhere else.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the original source and h/t with a link back to TJR Wrestling for the transcription.
