Tag: AJ Styles

AJ Styles: Opportunity to learn from Shawn Michaels would have been ‘priceless’

Posted on by Ian Carey

AJ Styles discussed never getting the chance to wrestle Shawn Michaels during a recent interview.

WWE previously approached Michaels about potentially wrestling Styles at WrestleMania 33, but Michaels turned the offer down, saying he wished Styles had been with the company 10 years earlier. During a recent interview with Justin Barrasso of The Undisputed, Styles said the opportunity to have learned from Michaels would have been “priceless.”

“The thing that I regret the most about not being able to get in the ring with Shawn Michaels is the opportunity to learn from him,” said Styles. “That would have been priceless.”

“It just wasn’t meant to be. Hopefully we’ll get the opportunity to work together in some capacity, whether it’s developing talent or just helping the brand get better altogether.”

It was noted in the article that Styles is considering a role with WWE helping to develop talent at the Performance Center following the end of his in-ring career in 2026. Such a role would have him working alongside Michaels at the Performance Center. Styles said that if that were to happen, perhaps he and Michaels would finally get to wrestle each other, albeit behind closed doors.

He continued:

“One day we might be rolling around with no one watching it. That would be enough for me.”

The full interview with Styles is available on Barrasso’s Undisputed Substack.

AJ Styles vs. Gunther announced for next week’s WWE Raw

Posted on by Vincent Verhei

The WWE has announced a first-time match for Raw in Germany next week pitting AJ Styles against Gunther. 

The Ring General has been gloating about his victory over John Cena for weeks, reminding fans weekly that he made Cena tap, in his words, “like a little b****.” He continued to do so on Raw tonight, showing off his t-shirt that shows him putting Cena in a sleeper with text reading “TAP LIKE A…” 

Gunther then got in the ring and cut a promo. He was about to repeat his boast when Styles—one of Cena’s greatest rivals, who had taken notable umbrage to Gunther’s behavior—interrupted. 

After Gunther mocked Styles and asked what he was going to do about it, Styles responded by smacking him in the face. Infuriated, Gunther went nose-to-nose with Styles but refused to return fire. Styles called Gunther out for his cowardice and then left the ring. 

Gunther then went to WWE Raw general manager Adam Pearce backstage and demanded a match with Styles next week. Styles appeared and buried Gunther for complaining to the boss instead of handling things himself, saying he was standing there “like a little b****.” Gunther repeated his demand for a match and left. Pearce made the match official.

Raw airs live on Netflix next week from the PSD Bank Dome in Dusseldorf, Germany. The show will start at 2 p.m. EST/11 a.m. PST.

Click here for full WWE Raw results.

WWE Raw (January 12)

  • Gunther vs. AJ Styles

AJ Styles, Finn Balor pay tribute to Hiroshi Tanahashi

Posted on by Bryan Rose

More former NJPW stars are paying tribute to Hiroshi Tanahashi.

Following his retirement at Wrestle Kingdom 20, former IWGP Champion AJ Styles wrote on social media saying some of his favorite memories were in Japan, as well as with Tanahashi.

“Some of my favorite memories are in Japan. Some of my favorite matches were with this guy @tanahashi1_100. He is truly one of the best,” he wrote.

Finn Balor also shared his thoughts on Tanahashi in a post. The former Prince Devitt congratulated him on an “incredible career.”

“I will never forget being star struck as a ‘young boy’ sitting next to @tanahashi1_100 on the Njpw bus, only to be greeted by a gentle welcoming smile. A true leader, leading by example with unrivaled professionalism. You inspired me, guided me, and pushed me to be better. Thank you Senpai and Congratulations on an incredible career. Otsukaresama deshita,” he wrote.

Tanahashi had his final match at the Tokyo Dome on Sunday, losing to Kazuchika Okada. After the match, his retirement ceremony was held that featured the likes of Jay White, Will Ospreay, Keiji Muto, and Tetsuya Naito paying their respects to the NJPW icon.

WWE Raw live results: Two title defenses

Posted on by Jeff Moss

Two title defenses headline tonight’s live WWE Raw from Orlando, Florida.

In one, WWE Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer defends against both Nikki Bella and Raquel Rodriguez in a triple threat. Vaquer has defended against both women individually with Bella interfering in the Rodriguez match two weeks ago.

WWE World Tag Team Champions AJ Styles and Dragon Lee will look to defend their titles against The Usos who are looking for their first title reign since April 2023.

In his first singles match since his return, The Vision’s Austin Theory will battle Rey Mysterio after Theory pinned him in a tag match last week.

The announced card is rounded out by an appearance from The Vision (Theory, Bron Breakker, Logan Paul, Bronson Reed and Paul Heyman) who will kick off the show at 8 pm Eastern.

**********

It’s the final RAW of 2025, which means we will hopefully get a glimpse into some of what might be coming down the pipe in early 2026! The Royal Rumble is just over a month away and we are knocking on the door of Wrestlemania season.

The show opened with a recap of Austin Theory’s return as the masked man and as a new kind of “taker” now that he’s aligned with The Vision. Then they showed Rey Mysterio Jr with his dog and the Usos arriving to work. Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer also arrived to work without incident.

Backstage, The Vision; Austin Theory, Bron Breakker, Logan Paul, Bronson Reed and Paul Heyman all met up and headed to the ring. As he does, Heyman spoke for the group first. Before he could fully let us know what his name is though, the crowd began chanting “CM Punk.”

Heyman said that Punk could have been in Vision if he had listened to him, but he stupidly placated the audience instead. Heyman claimed that in five years, fans would look back at all the Wrestlemania main eventers standing in the ring right now started their journey tonight.

Heyman then officially welcomed Theory to The Vision, but did so without mentioning his awesome new coat. Theory took the mic, saying he had waited his entire life and career for this moment. Before he could get too deep into it though, In Living Colour played out sauntered the World Heavyweight Champion, one Chick Magnet Punk.

Punk said that he didn’t come out here to listen to Theory, he came out here to talk to Breakker. Punk said, yeah The Vision could attack him, but it would probably mean that there wouldn’t be a title match between him and Breakker on Jan 5th.

With that safety net in place, Punk asked Breakker to send The Vision away so they could talk one on one. Breakker guaranteed Punk’s safety and invited him into the ring, sending the other members of the Vision to ringside.

Punk and Breakker went nose to nose and Breakker said that he’s tired of people saying he’s the “future” he’s the “now” and Punk shouldn’t take his experience lightly. He got really animated and sounded very much like a Steiner in this moment.

Breakker went on to say that because of his family name his entire career has been under a microscope and so what if he didn’t “pay his dues” on the indies? On Jan 5th, Breakker said that he is willing to die for the World Heavyweight Champion and knows Punk is too, and he’s more than happy to bury him.

Punk said that he knows Breakker is ready for the big time, but Punk isn’t ready to give it up to him. Punk put the belt on the mat and dared Breakker to pick it up. Punk said that Breakker doesn’t get that the title is a heavy privilege, and Breakker isn’t CM Punk and that’s the difference. Punk will see him on Jan 5th, and with that the segment was over.

-Backstage, Raquel Rodriguez was interviewed about her spot in the triple threat match for the Women’s World Championship. Before she could get into it though, Liv Morgan showed up and told Rodriguez that she needs to win for the Judgement Day. Rodriguez said she could handle it and that she didn’t need luck.

Triple Threat Match for the WWE Women’s World Title: Stephanie Vaquer (c) vs Nikki Bella vs Raquel Rodriguez

Here’s what I like about Stephanie Vaquer: Everything.

However, Rodriguez and Bella have both had multiple bites at the apple and if one of them can’t get it done here, then hopefully Vaquer and the title will move into a new feud, possibly with the literal Christian Devil who wants their horns back.

The bell rang and they started arguing with Bella declaring “Ima legend!” Rodriguez took that opportunity to throw her to the ground and Vaquer tried to steal one with a rollup. They moved to the outside and fought with Bella taking control.

It was here that the announce team decided to let us know that Dirty Dom Mysterio is out indefinitely with a shoulder injury (!!!). They also added the context that JD McDonagh is out as well, so The Judgement Day could really use this win.

Anyway, back in the ring Bella and Vaquer fell victim to Rodriguez’s power. Bella was taken out and Vaquer fought back with a headbutt, but Rodriguez immediately struck back and put her in twisting wristlock before throwing her to the mat for an elbow. Vaquer kicked out at two.

Bella leapt off the top turnbuckle, but Rodriguez caught her and threw her aside. She grabbed Vaquer and put her in a Gory Special, trying to make her tap. Vaquer was able to keep her cool and reverse it into a sunset pin, but Bella broke it up.

Vaquer took control and went for a Devil’s Kiss on Bella, but Rodriguez broke it up and sent Bella to the outside. Vaquer tried to go up top, but Bella pulled her off, then ripped Rodriguez’ leg out from underneath her. Bella locked an STF on Rodriguez, but Rodriguez out powered here and reversed it into a leg lock.

Vaquer flipped them both over and delivered a double Devil’s Kiss to both women. She then put them both in opposite corners for duelling meteoras. She hit a dragonscrew on Bella and then twisted Rodriguez’ knee with another.

Bella slipped to the outside and tripped Vaquer on the apron (the Devilest part of the ring!) and Rodriguez knocked them both to the outside. Rodriguez bounced Bella’s head off the announce table and tried for a pin on Vaquer, but no dice as Vaquer kicked out.

Rodriguez came back with a lariat and exited the ring to make sure Bella wasn’t an issue by dropping her face first on the ring apron. She tossed her back in the ring, but Bella kicked her off before she could make a pin. Rodriguez was still in control though and hit a twisting Vader bomb on Bella.

She then went back to Vaquer in the corner, peppering her with elbows. She set Vaquer up on the turnbuckle, but Vaquer kicked her in the face about it and put on a rope-assisted armbar. Bella broke it up though because we can’t have nice things.

All three climbed to the top turnbuckle and somehow Bella got a double superplex on them both. She couldn’t land a pin on either woman though and went for an AA on Vaquer, but Rodriguez interrupted it with a big boot. She then tried a powerbomb, but Bella got free and walked right into Vaquer hitting a big angel wing piledriver. Rodriguez broke up the pin though.

Vaquer hit a jawbreaker on Rodriguez but she blocked the next move and Vaquer was forced to resort to a small package that didn’t land. Rodriguez dragged Vaquer to the corner and went for a high move, but Bella pulled Vaquer out of the way and tried to get a quick pin.

Rodriguez then picked up Vaquer and Bella, but Vaquer worked herself out and Bella took the brunt of a powerbomb. Vaquer then threw Rodriguez out of the ring after she had given Bella a tahana bomb and scooped up Bella for the pin to retain the title.

Match Result: Stephanie Vaquer defeated Nikki Bella and Raquel Rodriguez

-Backstage Gunther was interviewed about his disrespectful behaviour but was interrupted by John Cena’s #1 fan, R-Truth. Truth called Gunther some bad names and warned him that after retiring Goldberg and Cena, there wouldn’t be a third. Gunther laughed and said “see you in the ring” to Truth, so I assume they are having a match eventually. Maybe even tonight!

-Next, the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Auska and Kairi Sane aka The Kabuki Warriors came to the ring with fans and parasols at the ready. They danced through a commercial break and a recap of Auska and Rhea Ripley’s match last Monday.

Auska grabbed a mic and gloated about beating Ripley last week. She then did a lot of yelling in Japanese (probably saying that she really was enjoying herself and had a nice dinner) and then switched to english to call the crowd “stupid babies.”

Sane went next and talked for a bit, but Auska grabbed her mic and said that Rhea and Iyo Sky would pay for their disrespect. Suddenly we were all treated to her brutality as Ripley’s music hit and she and Iyo Sky marched to the ring. The Kabuki Warriors bailed, but that didn’t stop Ripley and Sky who started a brawl.

Ripley took out Auska, but Sane threw Sky back-first into the announce table. When Ripley went to check on her, Auska jumped her and the Kabuiki Warriors set her up for the Insane Elbow. Sky came back though and broke it up. They both took out the champs who slunk away with their belts, setting up a match between the two teams for Jan 5th.

-Backstage, Rey Mysterio was warming up and chatted with CM Punk. Mysterio said that he’s covered tonight and Punk doesn’t need to worry about him. Punk said OK, and left, presumably to take Mysterio’s Dog out for a piddle.

Gunther vs R-Truth

So hey, look at that! Gunther absolutely soaked up the crowd’s hatred of him, loving being the heeliest of heels that ever done heeled. He climbed up on the announce table and took off his jacket to reveal he was wearing a shirt that looked like he made himself with a picture of John Cena tapping out and the words “Tap Like a…” underneath (more than likely now available at wweshop.com).

Gunther grabbed a mic and said that the audience’s anger is misdirected. They should be mad at Cena who tapped out like “a BITCH!” (this was during a commercial break so they can use devilishly salty language if necessary).

Truth arrived to avenge his childhood hero and went right at Gunther off the bell. He caught him looking and peppered him with punches and kicks for a few minutes until Gunther chopped him into next week. Truth tried to fight back, but Gunther was in control and went for a powerbomb. Truth countered but still ended up getting chopped in the corner.

Gunther threw a devastating lariat and asked if Truth was going to give up. He pounded on Truth again and again, doing the Cena “you cant see me” gesture. That fired up Truth and he hit a shoulder tackle, but unfortunately, Gunther has huge shoulders and he barely felt it. Gunther then powerbombed Truth, pinned him, but pulled him up at two.

Gunther laid in some elbows then put Truth in the same sleeper he put Cena in. Truth tapped out and Gunther celebrated his victory.

Match Result: Gunther defeated R-Truth

-Backstage, the Usos were shown with Jimmy in high spirits, but Jey seeming a little down in the dumps. Jey said that he feels like everywhere he turns, he’s losing. He doesn’t want to put his brother in a bad spot. Jimmy said that was nonsense, Jey’s a world champion and multiple tag champion. He’s got everyone ready to yell “yeet” and he needs his brother. Jey stood up, seemingly back into it, but took a bit of a lingering moment to leave after Jimmy.

-Teenage moustache enthusiast Byron Saxton interviewed Finn Balor at ringside about the state of the Judgement Day. Balor said that they are ending 2025 on a rough note with injuries and failed championship attempts. Balor said that all of it had him thinking about the success he had in NXT. Balor said that he was going to put The Judgement Day on his back like he did for NXT and carry them all into 2026.

-World Tag Team Champions AJ Styles and Dragon Lee were shown talking to Je’Von Evans backstage. They said that they were proud of Evans no matter where he ends up. They were interrupted by El Grande Americano and his Americanos. They stepped to Evans, but Styles and Lee had his back. They all spoke a lot of Spanish (I assume they were discussing the Toronto Maple Leaf’s chances at a Stanley Cup) and then left with Evans and Styles admitting they had no idea what was said.

-Austin Theory was shown warming up backstage. The rest of the Vision showed up to encourage him and welcome him to The Vision. Again. Someone made the mistake of giving Logan Paul a chance to talk and he admitted that he was a little nervous joining the Vision, but Theory has it locked down. Heyman suggested that Paul and Theory bond by having Paul walk Theory to the ring for his match against Rey Mysterio.

Austin Theory vs Rey Mysterio Jr.

Theory came down to the ring with Paul, new music and a new entrance pose. So couple that with his new haircut and jacket and things are going pretty good for AT!

The bell rang and Theory aggressively went at Mysterio, throwing him into the corner. Mysterio countered with a back elbow and hurricanrana. Theory popped back up and laid some haymakers on Mysterio though, until Mysterio countered with a jawbreaker.

Theory kept up the agression until Mysterio got him in position for a 619. Theory rolled out of the ring and Mysterio followed. Theory caught him and slammed him into the ring post (the postiest part of the ring!) and the ring apron (The mysterioest part of the ring!) before tossing him back in for an irish whip off the turnbuckle.

Theory stomped Mysterio’s hand then set him up for a flapjack, but Mysterio tried to roll him up and steal one. Theory kicked out at two and began stomping Mysterio’s knees. A sneering Theory continued beating Mysterio from post to post, working his back and legs, both of which Mysterio has a history of injuries with.

Theory put Mysterio in a tree of woe, but Mysterio countered when he charged and hit a West Coast Pop into a hurrucanrana. He then punched him in the head 10 times, but Theory countered with a big boot. Paul began offering advice and Theory picked up Mysterio in a torture rack position. Mysterio countered into a DDT, but could only get a two count.

Mysterio set Theory up and landed a 619, but after that Paul tripped him from the outside causing a DQ.

Match Result: Rey Mysterio defeated Austin Theory via DQ.

After the match, Paul and Theory beat down Mysterio until who should arrive? PENTA! He came down and made the save, setting up Paul for a 619 before throwing him over the top rope via lariat. The two Luchadores celebrated in the ring as Theory and Paul slipped away.

-Backstage, Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky cut a pre-taped promo about how they are going to beat the Kabuki Warriors next week.

-Then AJ Styles and Dragon Lee were shown working out in preparation for their match with Lee working out WITH HIS DRAGON WINGS ON. Amazing. In my head, he now wears them everywhere.

-Next, The New Day joined Byron Saxton at ringside and cut a promo about how the WWE Tag Division is dead with Lee and Styles as Champions. If the Usos win tonight, then the division will be in Hell. Woods took the mic and reminded everyone who the most decorated tag team in WWE is. (spoiler, it’s them). Woods said that the audience should thank gaaaaaaaawd for the New Day, and it was over.

-Then Joe Tessitore reminded everyone that Smackdown and Saturday Night’s Main Event are coming to Montreal in January and I can afford to go to neither of them.

-After I’d finished crying about that, Women’s Intercontinental Champion Maxxine Dupri came to the ring to “you deserve it” chants from the crowd. Dupri said that Becky Lynch can complain about not being champion all she wants, “but on Jan 5th–” and then then Man came around and Lynch walked to the ring mic in hand, denying that she tapped to Dupri last week.

Lynch said the only thing she tapped over was living in Orlando. She went to enter the ring and Dupri stopped her, threatening to make her tap again. Lynch called her a “moody Maxxine” and said she came to give Dupri credit. She used to think Dupri was awful, the worst she’d ever seen. But over the last few weeks, she’s gotten a tiny bit better and managed to steal a title, so that’s pretty good.

Dupri said that she earned this title and will prove it next week as she defends her title against Lynch again. Lynch became enraged, saying she came out here to be nice and is a “very nice person” but Dupri has nothing on her. She is the greatest female wrestler of all time and even Sports Illustrated and The Bleacher report say it (No F4W shoutout, I see. Such a heel).

Lynch said that Dupri needs to ask herself if shes as good as she thinks and then welcomed Dupri to “the big time” and left.

-Trick Williams was shown talking with Adam Pearce in the back. Trick is in a bidding war between RAW and Smackdown and left a card with Pearce. Bayley and Lyra Valkyria arrived complaining about their lack of Women’s Tag Championship matches. Bayley called Pearce an idiot and they left. Pearce called for a drink.

WWE World Tag Team Championship Match: AJ Styles and Dragon Lee (c) vs The Usos (Jimmy and Jey)

The Usos Yeeted their way through the crowd (giving this reporter a chance to pee) and the Main Event of the evening was here. Lee and Styles came to the ring prompting me to wonder aloud to no one “how is this team not called Dragon Style?” I recieved no answer from the empty room, so I went back to focusing on the match at hand.

Jey and Styles started things off with a lockup. Jey got Styles into the corner and the ref broke it up. Off of that, Jey dodged a Styles charge and threw a fist in his face. Styles responded with a dropkick and tagged in Lee. They double teamed Jey who rolled out of the ring. Jimmy tried to intervene and they sent him out too.

Lee and Styles let them collect themselves and get back up on their corner. Jey was still legal and faced off against Lee, who had him out of the gate with some hard punches. Lee used Jey’s Yeet gesture and tagged Styles back in who went for a quick cover. Jey kicked out at two.

Jey managed to get near enough his corner for Jimmy to tag in and he locked a wrenching headlock onto Lee, twisting his neck back and forth. Lee started fighting out of it, but Jimmy threw him at the ground and locked it back in, working the head and neck even harder.

Lee got out of it and landed a double stomp on Jimmy to change the momentum. Styles made a blind tag and chopped Jimmy against the ropes. He delivered a back elbow to Jimmy and Jey hit a high kick through the ropes while the ref’s back was turned.

Jey tagged in officially and stomped Styles’ midsection. He tagged in Jimmy and held Styles for Jimmy to throw some chops. Lee tagged in and hit a headscissor on Jimmy. He then hit a springboard dropkick in the corner and charged Jimmy as he staggered to his feet. Jimmy dodged it and tagged in Jey.

Lee caught Jey in a sit out powerbomb, but Jey kicked out at two. Jey rolled out and Lee went to dive after him, but Jimmy grabbed his ankles and dragged him to the outside. Jimmy pulled the cover off the announce table, but Styles leapt off the stairs to stop him. Jey leapt over the top rope to take out Styles and put Jimmy back in the ring.

Lee rolled back in and the crowd chanted for tables. Jey tagged in for a headbutt on Lee, then Jimmy tagged back in. They traded shots and tags on an isolated Lee for a few minutes, cutting him off from making the tag to Styles.

Jey snuck another shot to Lee behind the ref’s back and Jimmy pounded him in the corner. “Lets Go Usos/AJ Styles” chants broke out, much to Jimmy’s confusion. Jey tagged in and knocked Styles off the apron. Jimmy tagged back in and chopped Lee in the corner, setting him up on the top turnbuckle.

Jimmy went for a DDT, but Lee countered it into a big double stomp. Lee got the hot tag to Styles as Jimmy got one to Jey and they met in the middle of the ring. Styles started spamming kicks and punches, taking out Jey and Jimmy. He set Jey up for a Styles Clash, but Jey powered out and hit a spear before tagging in Jimmy who hit an Uso Splash off the top.

Jimmy pinned Styles, but he kicked out at 2.9. Jimmy went up top for another one, but Lee pulled him off the turnbuckle. Jey charged him, but Lee dodged and Jey hit his head on the ring post. Jimmy moved to the outside and Lee dove after him driving him onto the announce table.

Back in the ring, Styles and Jey battled until Styles was able to get a Styles Clash in. He pinned Jey, but he kicked out at two. “This is awesome” chants rained down as all four caught their breath and returned to their corners.

Lee hit a double stomp, and Styles went for another Clash, but Jimmy came back in and took out Lee. Styles went for the Phenonmenal Forearm but met a double superkick from the Usos. The Usos quickly hit a flurry of moves including a 1D on Lee to pin Styles to win the World Tag Team titles for the ninth time!

Match Result: The Usos defeated AJ Styles and Dragon Lee

The Usos celebrated as they left through the crowd with their titles and as the fireworks went off, I dare say that Jey Uso has found his smile again.

AJ Styles says he can’t sign AEW title belt at WWE house show

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

AJ Styles recently refused to sign a fan’s AEW title belt during a WWE house show.

WWE was recently present in Tampa, Florida, hosting a house show on the same date as AEW’s World End PPV on December 27th, 2025. A video is now going viral on social media after the show, which features Styles taking time to sign fans’ items. However, when offered an All Elite Wrestling Championship belt, he gracefully denies signing it after offering his respect to it.

“Nick [Jackson], Matt [Jackson], I love ya, I can’t sign this though!”

Styles referred to Nick Jackson and Matt Jackson of The Young Bucks, with whom Styles was aligned in Bullet Club during their villainous run together in NJPW. While Styles is currently a champion in WWE, The Young Bucks are two of the premier stars in AEW and former EVPs.

Earlier in the night, Styles teamed up with Dragon Lee to defend their WWE World Tag Team Titles at the live event.

WWE house show results – December 27th, 2025 | Tampa, Florida

Here are the results (via wrestling headlines) for the recently concluded WWE House Show in Tampa, Florida.

  • Rey Mysterio def. Grayson Waller.
  • Iyo Sky def. Roxanne Perez.
  • Jey Uso def. Bron Breakker via DQ.
  • Liv Morgan def. Lyra Valkyria.
  • WWE World Tag Team Championship Title Match: Champions AJ Styles and Dragon Lee def. The New Day and The War Raiders.
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Title Match: Champions Asuka and Kairi Sane def. Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss.
  • Gunther def. Je’Von Evans.
  • WWE World Title Championship Match: Champion CM Punk def. Bronson Reed.

Gunther on WWE SNME victory: ‘John Cena tapped out like a little b****’

Posted on by Vincent Verhei

This weekend, Gunther defeated John Cena in the latter’s retirement match. Tonight’s episode of Monday Night Raw opened with a segment suggesting who Gunther’s next opponent might be. 

Gunther came out to celebrate his win, climbing on the announce desk before entering the ring to speak. 

“I did what I said I would do,” Gunther said. “I made John Cena give up. And when he gave up, he tapped out like a little bitch.” 

Gunther then started to leave before returning to the announce desk to repeat his claims.

“I made John Cena tap out like a little b****,” he said. “It is my time now. I will forever be the man that made John Cena give up.”

When he finally went backstage, Gunther was confronted by Raw general manager Adam Pearce.

“You go to the ring against the greatest of all time, you beat John Cena right in the middle, you send him into retirement,” Pearce said. “And then you show up tonight and you walk all over that man’s legacy because you know he’s not coming back. You think you’ve got it all figured out.”

“I do,” Gunther confirmed.

“Doing that, Gunther, does not make you the Ring General,” Pearce replied. “It makes you an *ssh*le.” Pearce then told Gunther he was done for the night and kicked him out of the building. 

Gunther, all too happy to call it a night, approached his car, where he found AJ Styles waiting for him. 

Styles, of course, is one of Cena’s most notable rivals—he lost to Cena at Crown Jewel 2025 in October. 

“Is there anything you want to tell me?” Gunther asked? Styles said nothing, silently gesturing toward Gunther’s car. Gunther drove away, stopping to flash Cena’s “You Can’t See Me” taunt at Styles before cackling and driving away. 

Styles and Gunther have wrestled a handful of times before—Gunther defended the Intercontinental championship against Styles on a pair of house shows in 2022, then defended the World title against him in steel cage matches on a tour of Germany this spring. 

Styles has said that he is close to retirement himself. He could be the third notable wrestler to wrestle his last match against Gunther, joining Cena and Bill Goldberg, whose last match was a loss to Gunther in Atlanta last July. 

John Cena apologized for ‘going into business for himself’ at WWE Crown Jewel

Posted on by Joseph Currier

John Cena created a special moment at WWE Crown Jewel: Perth — but it was something he felt the need to apologize for afterwards.

Before his match against AJ Styles at the October PLE, Cena handed ring announcer Alicia Taylor an introduction that he personally wrote for Styles. It paid tribute to Styles’ past, referencing his career in TNA and being part of the Bullet Club in NJPW. According to Cena, the introduction was a surprise to everyone.

“Dude, I just wanted to do something nice for my guy,” Cena said on Insight with Chris Van Vliet. “I didn’t even show Alicia until I handed her the paper.”

Cena was trying to create something special with the introduction, but he regrets not informing people about it in advance. Even if he kept it secret from Styles and Taylor, Cena feels like he should have been a team player by telling those in WWE creative. He apologized to a few people in creative for surprising them with what he did.

“I went about it the wrong way. I went into business for myself. I should have gotten permission to do that. And I would have gotten permission to do that, but I told no one about it because I wanted to do something special,” Cena said. “And in doing so, the people running the show felt surprised. And that’s not a position I ever want to put them in because they award me such creative liberty.

“Wonderful moment, but like, we’re all trying to make these moments special and we’re all on the same team. And it shouldn’t be me doing something outside of that realm. If I tell my teammates, ‘Hey, let’s do it.’ I can keep it from AJ, I can keep it from Alicia, but if I tell my teammates who are crafting this show, maybe they make it look better. And the first thing I did was thank AJ. The second thing I did was pull a few creative individuals aside and say, ‘I’m sorry, that will never happen again. I know where I f*cked up. I’m so sorry. And I went into business for myself. That’s not me. I hope you look at my body of work and all the times I’ve asked for permission. And this is the one time I asked for forgiveness.’ It got the best of me, but I wanted to do something nice for AJ.”

Crown Jewel: Perth was the last-ever match in the Cena vs. Styles rivalry. Cena is retiring from the ring this weekend at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event. Styles’ retirement is not quite as imminent, but he plans to end his in-ring career at some point in 2026.

AJ Styles told John Cena he doesn’t want WWE farewell tour

Posted on by Joseph Currier

AJ Styles doesn’t plan to end his career in the same fashion that John Cena did.

Retirement is approaching for Styles with the 48-year-old WWE star announcing that he will step away from the ring at some point in 2026. A date has yet to be set for his final match, but Styles has already said farewell to Japan and Australia because he does not plan to make it back to those countries before his in-ring career ends.

Appearing on a new episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Cena recounted a conversation he had with Styles about retirement. Styles told Cena that he does not feel like he’s physically capable of delivering a full-fledged farewell tour.

“AJ Styles, such a great dude. I got to talk to him a little bit while we were locked in our program this year,” Cena said. “And I’m like, ‘Man, AJ, there’s a lot of people who really admire you out there. I know you’re thinking of calling it quits soon. Do you think that there’s any possibility you would try to do something like this? Because I honestly think people would pay to see you one last time.’

“He’s literally tying his shoes. He turns to me and goes, ‘Man, I’m 48.’ And as soon as the words left his mouth, he didn’t have to say anything else. It’s something about that late 40s, man, where he’s like, ‘I’m already overstaying my physical welcome. They just don’t see it. Because they don’t see what goes into prep, cooldown, recovery. I’m already riding that razor’s edge. You can’t tell.’ He still looks great, still does some great stuff. But he can’t stay another second because he doesn’t want to put out a product that isn’t AJ Styles.

“And the same goes for me. Like, yeah, this is why I’m going, because I can still give you what you want. I don’t want to walk away when I can’t. When people are like, ‘Man, I wish it had gone two years ago.’ We got one date left and we’ve done some entertaining stuff this year. And in doing so, I’ve used every effing trick I got in the book, but we made it.”

With both of their careers winding down, Cena and Styles got to face each other one last time at Crown Jewel: Perth this October. Cena — who got the win in their final meeting — praised Styles on Insight by calling him the “best to ever do it.”

Styles has said he doesn’t have post-wrestling plans locked in yet, but he expects to stay with WWE in a behind-the-scenes role like coaching.

Cena’s final match is taking place this weekend at Saturday Night’s Main Event in Washington, D.C. He’s facing off against Gunther at the show.

The Usos say they’re back in WWE Raw’s tag team division

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The Usos are back in the tag team division.

After AJ Styles & Dragon Lee retained the World Tag Team titles on Raw against The War Raiders, The Usos came out and confronted the champions as well as The New Day, who still want another shot at the titles despite their recent loss. Jimmy Uso said it was his idea to reform the team after Jey recently experienced a series of losses. After knocking out The New Day, the segment ended with The Usos having a staredown with Lee & Styles.

The recent storyline involving the Usos has seen Jey become despondent over a string of losses, the biggest one taking place on last week’s Raw when LA Knight defeated him in the semifinals of The Last Time is Now tournament. After losing, Jey threw a fit on the outside of the ring, knocking over a Prime Energy display. When leaving the area, Jey suggested that titles looked better on Roman than himself.

Jimmy & Jey have reunited a few times in the last year as a tag team. The two most recently teamed together at Wrestlepalooza, losing to The Vision’s Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker.

Interpromotional tag team match added to WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event

Posted on by Bryan Rose

An interpromotional tag team match is set for Saturday Night’s Main Event.

During Raw, it was announced that World Tag Team Champions AJ Styles & Dragon Lee would take on Je’Von Evans and TNA’s Leon Slater this Saturday in Washington, D.C.. The news comes after earlier on Monday it was announced that Slater was pulled from wXw’s 25th Anniversary show this comming weekend as well as Revolution Pro Wrestling’s Uprising 2025 show.

Evans won the Iron Survivor Challenge this past weekend at NXT Deadline, earning himself a NXT Championship match against Oba Femi at NXT New Year’s Evil on January 6. Slater, the current TNA X Division Champion, successfully defended the title against AJ Francis at Final Resolution and also took part in the Iron Survivor Challenge at Deadline.

Styles & Lee successfully defended the World Tag Team titles on Raw, defeating The War Raiders.

WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event lineup | Saturday, December 13 | Washington, D.C.

  • John Cena vs. Gunther
  • Cody Rhodes vs. Oba Femi
  • Bayley vs. Sol Ruca
  • AJ Styles & Dragon Lee vs. Je’Von Evans & Leon Slater

WWE Raw live results: Gunther speaks ahead of John Cena’s final match

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: December 8, 2025
Location: T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, MO 

The Big Takeaway —

Gunther wants to make John Cena give up, The Usos are back in the tag division (and have a date with The New Day next week), and Raquel Rodriguez is next in line for Stephanie Vaquer’s world title. 

Logan Paul beat LA Knight with help from the masked man before The Vision seemingly wrote Knight off television. Bron Breakker had another message for CM Punk. 

**********

Show Recap — 

Raw started with a video package highlighting the John Cena tournament, culminating with Gunther beating LA Knight in the finals on Friday. 

Gunther kicks off Monday Night Raw

Gunther entered wearing all black and was roundly booed. The boos turned into chants for John Cena as Gunther egged them on. 

Gunther said he would be the final opponent for the greatest sports entertainer of all time, but Cena would be facing the greatest professional wrestler of all time. 

Gunther called Cena the man who never gave up. But beating Cena wasn’t enough. He would break Cena’s spirit, bully him, drop him on his head, wrap his arms around his neck, and squeeze until the last bits of hustle, loyalty, and respect left his body. 

There was only one way out, and Cena would do the one thing he said he never would: give up. 

Gunther dropped the mic and left. 

********

Rey Mysterio, Lyra Valkyria & Bayley, AJ Styles & Dragon Lee, Stephanie Vaquer, and Iyo Sky & Rhea Ripley were shown arriving earlier today. 

Oba Femi was shown in the front row with his NXT Championship belt, and they plugged his (non-title) match against Cody Rhodes on Saturday Night’s Main Event. 

Iyo Sky (w/ Rhea Ripley) vs. Tag Team Champion Kairi Sane (w/ Asuka)

Sky was about to go for a dive, but Asuka leaped on the apron to block it (as Sane distracted the referee). Sky went after Asuka, but Asuka dropped the rope, and Sky spilled out of the ring. Ripley confronted Asuka, and Sane used the distraction to knock down Sky with a leaping forearm off the apron. (There was another distraction spot during the break, and Ripley decided not to do anything about it this time.) 

Sky fought back when they returned from break and hit a springboard missile dropkick and corner meteroa for two. Sky set up for a moonsault, but Sane quickly went up to block it and followed with a double foot stomp for two (as Sky held herself upside down in the corner).  

Sane tried a back drop on the apron, but Sky landed on her feet. Sane didn’t notice, so Sky gave her a German suplex on the apron. Sky followed with an Asai moonsault. 

Sky set up for her moonsault in the ring again, but yet another Sane distraction allowed Asuka to interfere again, this time by knocking Sky off the top rope. Ripley had enough and dumped Asuka into the timekeeper’s area. 

Sane failed to take advantage of the distraction, and Sky hit a moonsault for the pinfall win. Sane leaped into Ripley’s arms to celebrate. 

Match result: Iyo Sky defeated Kairi Sane (11:34) 

A perfectly good TV match, and the crowd was into Sky (and Ripley).

******** 

Logan Paul approached the rest of the Vision backstage. He asked if they didn’t see Rey Mysterio smack him in the face last week. Bronson Reed said he didn’t like it. Bron Breakker seemed unperturbed. Logan wanted something to be done about it. The Brons stood up and said they would handle it tonight. Logan was glad. 

Logan pulled Paul Heyman aside and said he wanted the situation handled tonight. Heyman assured him that, for the first time in his life, he had backup. Logan was cool with that, but wanted them to know he was their backup if needed. Heyman was happy to hear that, but handed him brass knuckles, just in case. 

(Normally, it’s stupid when these stablemates seemingly don’t speak to each other when they’re not on the show, but it’s believable that the Brons don’t talk to Logan in their free time.) 

******** 

Mysterio walked through the back and walked by Adam Pearce, who was off to the side, arguing with The New Day. 

There was a Cena video package about the ‘you can’t see me’ hand gesture. 

There was a War Raiders video package. 

********

Rey Mysterio / Logan Paul / LA Knight segment 

Mysterio made his way to the ring (presumably to face Finn Bálor) but was decked from behind by Logan Paul. Mysterio fought him off and set up for 619, but was attacked from behind by the masked man. The man superkicked Mysterio and hit a curb stomp before being chased away through the crowd by security. 

Mysterio slowly got to his feet, but Logan knocked him out with the brass knuckles. 

LA Knight ran out to his music, and Logan bailed. Knight said he would have an aneurysm if the masked man really was Seth Rollins. Knight wanted to stomp his head in. Knight said he thought the Vision couldn’t suck anymore, but then Logan joined them. 

Knight was pissed off, and it didn’t help watching Logan attack a legend like Mysterio. Knight said Logan would pay, not on Friday or Saturday, but tonight in KC. Knight said “Yeah” over and over as the fans sang along. 

The crowd was really into Knight here. Knight vs. Paul was made official after a break. 

******** 

The announcers congratulated Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on being nominated for a Golden Globe for best male actor. 

Je’Von Evan was shown in the crowd. Evans and Leon Slater will face AJ Styles and Dragon Lee on SNME. 

World Tag Team Championships: AJ Styles & Dragon Lee vs. The War Raiders

Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, and Grayson Waller watched the match at ringside. 

Erik and Ivar blocked early dive attempts by Styles and Dragon Lee. Erik drove Dragon into the barricade, and Ivar squished Styles into the side of the ring ahead of a break. 

They worked over Styles until Dragon Lee got a hot tag and ran wild after a break. With Erik hanging upside down in the ropes (holding himself up), Dragon Lee hit a double foot stomp—a spot we saw in the opening match. (It’s ok to repeat spots, but not that one.) 

There was an ill-advised spot where Dragon Lee hoisted Ivar up on his shoulders for something, but he collapsed. The crowd cheered as Lee hoisted Ivar up again on his shoulders. He stumbled again, and Ivar tried to make up for it by pretending to counter. Dragon Lee tried it a third time and hit an accidental DVD that didn’t look like much. (The crowd was very forgiving.) 

Lee continued to fight off both men on his own until Ivar powerslammed him outside the ring. Ivar followed with a moonsault, but Styles just barely broke up the cover. Erik got a two count on Styles with a knee strike. 

Moments later, Styles used a hurricanrana to bring Ivar off the top rope, and Ivar collided with Erik on the way down. Dragon Lee wiped out Erik with a dive, and Styles hit Ivar with a Phenomenal Forearm for the pinfall win. 

(This wasn’t the smoothest match you’ll ever see. It certainly wasn’t boring.) 

Match result: AJ Styles & Dragon Lee defeated The War Raiders to retain the World Tag Team Championships (11:22)

The New Day and Waller approached Styles and Lee in the ring when Jey Uso’s music hit. The Usos entered together, and they ran the music back as the other men in the ring patiently waited. 

Jimmy Uso had a big announcement: The Usos were back in the tag division. They’ve been getting hit hard the past few months. They lost at WarGames and Wrestlepalooza. Jey lost his world title and lost in the Cena tournament. Jimmy saw his brother crashing out and knew he had to do something. He called Jey in the middle of the night and asked him what they would do about it. 

Jey said they would get back to us. They would block the noise, body them all, and put the tag team on notice. The best damn tag team was now in your city. “We need gold. We need gold, Uce.” 

The Usos meant no disrespect to the current champs, but said Styles and Lee didn’t know the Usos. But the New Day did. The Usos got in the faces of Kingston and Woods and compared their rivalry to Ali vs. Frazier and The Rock vs. Stone Cold. (This confrontation might’ve meant more if New Day weren’t ice cold.) 

The Usos turned their attention to Styles and Lee until New Day tried to attack them from behind. The Usos decked Kingston and Woods. (Waller bailed.) 

The Usos faced off with Styles and Lee as the segment ended. 

********

There was a Cena video package on his feud with The Rock. 

SNME card (start time 8 pm ET / 5 pm PT): 

  • John Cena vs. Gunther — Cena’s retirement match 
  • Bayley vs. Sol Ruca 
  • World Tag Team Champions AJ Styles & Dragon Lee vs. Je’Von Evans & Leon Slater (non-title) 
  • WWE Champion Cody Rhodes vs. NXT Champion Oba Femi (non-title) 

********

Stephanie Vaquer segment 

Jackie Redmond interviewed Stephanie Vaquer in the ring, although Vaquer quickly took the mic to speak on her own. Vaquer said she wanted to face everyone. She didn’t talk much, but she spoke with her actions. She was the best—and not because of Devil’s Kiss. 

Vaquer said Nikki Bella was a legend, but the women’s division was different than what it was 15 years ago. They had Ripley, Bayley, Natalya, Iyo Sky, and they were all amazing. Vaquer asked Bella if she knew who was on top. 

Bella interrupted. Bella called herself a legend, a Hall of Famer and a celebrity, and she was not done with Vaquer. Bella demanded a rematch. 

Raquel Rodriguez suddenly hopped the apron, effortlessly yanked Bella off the apron, and lawn darted her into the ring post. (That was a great spot, but Rodriguez didn’t get much of a reaction.) 

Rodriguez confronted Vaquer. She told her to name the time and place so she could kick her ass and take the title. 

******** 

Byron Saxton interviewed Ivy Nile during a break, and she appeared with the Creed Brothers. Nile has an IC title shot against Maxxine Dupri next week. Nile didn’t care that Natayla, her old friend, was training Dupri. She said Dupri would drop the ball just like the KC Chiefs did yesterday (the crowd booed). 

(Nile hasn’t wrestled on Raw since June, and her last televised win was over a year ago.) 

******** 

The Judgment Day met backstage. Bálor was happy he had an easy night after Mysterio got laid out. 

Morgan was surprised that Rodriguez didn’t run her plan by her. Rodriguez said she didn’t realize she needed to. Morgan played it down and said it was cool. She wanted to see Rodriguez become world champion. Rodriguez was content and left to talk with Pearce. 

Morgan turned her attention to Roxanne Perez and said they could be the next tag team champions. 

********

Sol Ruca was shown in the crowd. It’s been almost 30 minutes since the previous match ended.

Lyra Valkyria (w/ Bayley) vs. Roxanne Perez (w/ Liv Morgan)

Morgan distracted the referee so Perez could rake Valkyria’s eyes as she set up for her finisher. Bayley knocked Morgan down, so Perez kicked Bayley down. 

Perez countered a roll-up attempt and shoved Valkyria into the ropes. Morgan was still down on the apron, but alert enough to kick Valkyria in the face (and the ref just simply wasn’t watching). 

Perez took advantage of the interference and hit Pop Rox for the pinfall win. 

Match result: Roxanne Perez defeated Lyra Valkyria (10:15) 

They were having a nice match until the finishing interference sequence, which looked pretty bad. We also saw tons of interference in the first match, but the heel happened to win this time. 

********

Kingston and Woods cut a promo during commercials. Kingston mocked Jey for losing his smile, and Woods said they would bury the Usos under their own penitentiary next week. 

There were clips from a John Cena interview. He spoke about the ‘you can’t wrestle’ chants. They were spawned from him winning matches with the same five moves every night. He seemed to take it to heart and decided to do more stuff. Over time, he worked with the likes of Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens and AJ Styles to teach him stuff and do better. He didn’t resist the audience’s chants; he used them to get better. (Full interview is on WWE.com.) 

They aired the Dupri/Natalya training video again. Or maybe it was a new one. Joe Tessitore said he was impressed with Dupri’s level of training based on this dimly lit video. 

******** 

LA Knight vs. Logan Paul (w/ Paul Heyman)

Logan gave Knight a cheap shot as he entered the ring, and the ref decided this was a good time to start the match. Knight fought back anyway and cleared the announce table before bouncing Logan’s head off of it repeatedly. Knight was in control until Logan hit a Zig-Zag for two. 

Logan maintained control through a break and hit an alley-oop facebuster when they returned. Knight fought back with a leaping clothesline, Russian leg sweep, and neckbreaker for two. 

Breakker and Reed marched out as Knight set up on the top rope. Logan used the distraction to knock Knight off the top and hit a clunky-looking flying crossbody for two. Knight countered a gut-wrench slam and hit a reverse DDT, followed by a flying elbow drop. 

Knight knocked Breakker off the apron, but was knocked down instead by Reed. The referee eventually figured out what happened and ejected the Brons from ringside, but they didn’t immediately leave. 

Knight attacked Logan by the announce desk as the referee tried getting rid of the Brons. The distraction allowed the masked man to fly in and give Knight a curb stomp on the announce desk. 

Logan followed with a frog splash in the ring for the pinfall win. 

— The Brons attacked Knight after the match. Breakker speared Knight, and Reed hit consecutive Tsunamis. 

Match result: Logan Paul defeated LA Knight (12:44) 

Officials and medical staff rolled Knight out of the ring as the Vision stood tall. 

Heyman grabbed a mic and started his promo as they went to a commercial break. (Heyman told a stagehand that he would still be talking when they returned, and he was.) 

Heyman put over his guys before stating that Bron Breakker would beat CM Punk for the world title on the anniversary of Raw’s debut on Netflix. The crowd chanted for Punk. 

Breakker grabbed the mic. He wondered where Punk was. He wasn’t wondering where Punk was physically—he wondered where the CM Punk was. He didn’t buy this new, nice guy CM Punk. All of a sudden, Punk returned and was the nicest guy ever. He followed the rules and took pictures with the young talent just to post them on social media for people to see what a nice guy he was. 

Breakker repeated a joke we’ve heard before, saying Punk preached about being straight edge, but still looked like the biggest crackhead anyone has ever seen. 

Breakker didn’t want to face the nice guy because he could beat that guy easily. He wanted the old Punk. The guy from 2011-2013. The guy who walked the halls as a feared man. The guy who beat The Rock. (Punk never beat The Rock.) The guy who held the world title for over 400 days. The guy who was one of the greatest wrestlers to lace up a pair of boots. 

Breakker was on his hands and knees, begging for the old Punk. He wanted to beat the greatest superstar ever to lace up a pair of boots. Otherwise, he would destroy Punk and send him to the hospital. He would break Punk, take his championship, and while he was at it, take his wife, too. 

Breakker wanted to keep it simple for Punk: it would be spear, one-two-three. Spear, one-two-three. Spear, one-two-three. Spear, one-two-three. 

A camera showed Knight in the back getting to his feet, so Logan and Reed ran back to deal with him. Knight fought them off and punched a security guard, too. It was all too much for Knight, so Reed slammed him through a table. 

Reed and Logan were about to leave, but Knight wouldn’t stay down. They slammed Knight into a car and placed him on the roof. Reed climbed atop some stacked-up equipment boxes and gave him a Tsunami onto the roof of the car. Pearce appeared with officials and screamed for medics as the show ended.

AJ Styles to appear on live Undertaker WWE podcast episode

Posted on by Joseph Currier

This Friday night, AJ Styles will be joining The Undertaker for a conversation in Washington, D.C.

Undertaker announced today that Styles will be the guest for a live recording of Six Feet Under at The Howard Theatre on December 12. The podcast is hosted by Undertaker and Michelle McCool and is part of the WWE & Fanatics podcast network.

On the episode, Undertaker and Styles will be looking back at their cinematic Boneyard Match from WrestleMania 36 in 2020 — which was the final match of Undertaker’s career.

For those not attending the live taping, the show will presumably be uploaded to YouTube and all podcasting platforms at a later date.

“I’m excited to announce that our guest during the live episode of #SixFeetUnder this Friday will be the Phenomenal @AJStylesOrg,” Undertaker revealed. “For the first time ever, we’ll breakdown the Boneyard Match and so much more. Don’t miss this show…get your tickets now!”

The podcast recording is happening in Washington, D.C. as part of the festivities surrounding John Cena’s retirement match. Cena will compete for the final time on December 13 when he faces Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Capital One Arena is hosting the match.

Last month, WWE launched an official Undertaker YouTube channel that includes episodes of Six Feet Under. The podcast originally launched outside of the WWE umbrella but was added to the WWE & Fanatics podcast network this summer. When that happened, McCool replaced former co-host Matthew Lyda.

John Cena: AJ Styles is ‘the nicest human being’ in WWE

Posted on by Joseph Currier

When his WWE feud with AJ Styles began, John Cena had a difficult time coming up with a storyline reason to explain why they were feuding.

Cena made an appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast this week to discuss the impending end of his WWE career. Looking back at his run, Cena said he loved finding anecdotes to explain why his character did not like his opponents. He would look for shots rivals had taken at him in interviews or anything like that. But because Styles is “such a good guy,” Cena could not find any material.

“I never ask, ‘How can I look good?’ When I sit down with an opponent, I love anecdotes. The first time I ever worked with AJ Styles — he is the nicest human being in sports entertainment,” Cena said. “And I always have some sort of, I can find some energy of, like, ‘You said this about me in an interview once’ or ‘Man, I don’t like the way you work’ or whatever. AJ’s such a good guy. And I sat down and I’m like, ‘Man, this is going to be okay. Why are we fighting?’ It’s like, ‘What do you mean? Why are we fighting? I want to be the champ.’ That’s not good enough. ‘Take a second to yourself, figure out why we’re fighting.’ I went on my bus, scoured the web to try to find out anything this guy’s ever said. Just anything, a sentence. Never speaks bad about anybody.”

Cena credited Styles for finally coming up with a story idea that would work. Styles said that — as a character — he would feel like he deserved to be in the top spot Cena had for so many years because he is a better in-ring wrestler than Cena is.

“So then I came back to him and literally after two and a half hours, he was finally like, ‘Okay, this is AJ, this isn’t Allen. But maybe AJ’s thinking that if you were never around, I would be where you’re at and I’d be so much better. Because when in that ring, I am better.’ I’m like, ‘We got it,'” Cena said.

“And we built our story, culminating with even the match at the Royal Rumble, with — ‘I, AJ, am a better in-ring performer. You are charismatic, but hella lucky. You put these two in a ring together and I will run circles around you every time.’ And that’s where [Cena fans] are like, ‘Hell no, that’s my guy.’ Anybody that watched TNA would be like, ‘Our guy is finally getting a shot. This dude’s awesome. Wait until he can do his stuff.’ And now you’re divided and now you’re interested. And that’s an issue that you can run with. But you have to sit and ask, ‘Why are we fighting?'”

On his retirement tour, Cena got to face off against Styles one final time with a victory at Crown Jewel: Perth. Cena now only has one last WWE date before his in-ring career ends. He will face off against either Gunther or LA Knight at Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13.

Styles himself does not have much time left in the ring. Styles has announced that he will be retiring in 2026 but has not set a date for when his final match will happen.

Kenny Omega gives AJ Styles credit for inspiring AEW

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Kenny Omega has credited AJ Styles for getting his career on the right track two decades ago, and ultimately inspiring AEW’s formation.

Speaking to CBS Sports to promote this weekend’s AEW Full Gear pay-per-view, Omega recalled a 2006 independent match against Styles, the only career singles meeting between the two, and how it set Omega up for success.

Omega and Styles went one-on-one for PCW in Winnipeg in September 2006 after Omega had requested and been granted his release from WWE’s Deep South Wrestling developmental territory, Omega said:

“I wasn’t sure if I’d continue wrestling after I left developmental… [Thought the bout with Styles would be] a good last match.

“We had no interactions ever before, but there were moments in that match that really felt like the give and take felt so symbiotic. The chemistry was naturally there. I thought, ‘Wow, this is what wrestling someone at this level feels like. I’m not embarrassing myself. Maybe I’m not exactly keeping up, but I’m not embarrassing myself. Maybe if I push myself harder, I can reach this level.'”

Omega and Styles would of course cross paths a decade later in NJPW, where Omega ultimately assumed the Styles role of Bullet Club leader with an angle where Omega and Bullet Club booted Styles from the group on his way out of NJPW and on to WWE.

Omega recalls :

“AJ, having a keen sense of what’s best for business, knew exactly how to go along with it. In a way, by his turning his back and allowing for that moment to happen, whether he knows it or not, that led to the forming of The Elite.”

“Ultimately, it kind of led to AEW. Him being involved in our lives is very pivotal for [AEW] and our careers.”

AEW Full Gear, Saturday, November 22, 8 p.m. Eastern time on pay-per-view —

  • AEW World Champion Hangman Adam Page defends against Samoa Joe in a steel cage match
  • AEW Women’s World Champion Kris Statlander defends against Mercedes Mone
  • AEW Tag Team Champions Brody King and Bandido defend against FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler)
  • TNT Champion Kyle Fletcher defends against Mark Briscoe in a No DQ match
  • Casino Gauntlet match to crown the first AEW National Champion
  • $1 million trios match: Kenny Omega, Jack Perry, and Luchasaurus vs. The Young Bucks and Josh Alexander
  • No Holds Barred match: Jon Moxley vs. Kyle O’Reilly
  • PAC vs. Darby Allin
  • Four-way tag team match: Toni Storm and Mina Shirakawa vs. Megan Bayne and Marina Shafir vs. Willow Nightingale and Harley Cameron vs. Julia Hart and Skye Blue

AEW Full Gear Saturday Tailgate Brawl, Saturday, November 22, 7 p.m. Eastern time on TNT and HBO Max —

  • CMLL World Trios Champions El Sky Team (Mistico, Mascara Dorada & Neon) defend against Kazuchika Okada, Hechicero & Konosuke Takeshita
  • $200,000 four-way: Max Caster & Anthony Bowens vs. Bang Bang Gang (Juice Robinson & Austin Gunn) vs. Big Bill & Bryan Keith vs. The Outrunners (Turbo Floyd & Truth Magnum)
  • Big Boom AJ & QT Marshall vs. Rocky Romero and Trent Beretta
  • Eddie Kingston & Hook vs. The Workhorsemen (JD Drake & Anthony Henry)

AJ Styles makes surprise appearance at indie show

Posted on by Ian Carey

AJ Styles made a surprise appearance at an indie show on Friday night.

According to fan reports, Styles appeared at Southern Honor Wrestling’s 7th Anniversary event in Canton, Georgia. He came out after the main event steel cage match, where Alexander Lev won the promotion’s top title by using a Styles Clash.

Photos from the appearance show Styles standing inside the cage and holding the promotion’s championship belt. Video of Styles’ appearance is not available as of this writing.

Styles is coming off an eventful month in WWE. That stretch included his match against John Cena at Crown Jewel in Australia, a bout that featured tributes and homages to many of Cena and Styles’ past rivals and opponents. After that, Styles and Dragon Lee won the World Tag Team Championships from Finn Balor and JD McDonagh on the October 20 episode of Raw. They successfully defended the titles against the former champions again on the November 3 show.

AJ Styles just showed up at Southern Honor Wrestling in North Georgia!
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