‘The Phenomenal One’ was taken by surprise in Perth, Australia.
At WWE Crown Jewel: Perth on October 11, AJ Styles faced John Cena for the final time as part of Cena’s ongoing retirement tour. Ahead of the bout, Styles received a surprise from his opponent, as Alicia Taylor introduced him with the following: “The definition of Total Nonstop Action. The ace and total boss of the Bullet Club. It is my honour, as an opponent, to see if he can beat up John Cena one final time. He is the face that runs the place. The Phenomenal AJ Styles!”
Speaking to Justin Barrasso of the Boston Herald, Styles revealed that the introduction took him by surprise and credited Cena for the selfless gesture.
“It definitely caught me off guard. When I heard ‘The definition of Total Nonstop Action,’ I thought to myself, ‘Wait a minute.’ He took this from just being about John to making it about John and AJ Styles. It’s something he didn’t have to do, but that’s John. That’s just who he is.”
-AJ Styles
Whilst Cena ultimately emerged victorious, both men have received praise from fans and critics alike for the match, which included several callbacks to some of their most iconic rivals.
Elsewhere during the interview, Styles claimed that there may not be anyone he trusts in the ring as much as John Cena. You can read more about that here.
Styles also recently revealed his plans to bring his own in-ring career to an end in 2026. You can read more about that here.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on future plans for AJ Styles as soon as we hear more.
