One Year Ago, John Cena & AJ Styles Wrote a Love Letter to Pro Wrestling
One year ago, John Cena and AJ Styles stepped into the ring at WWE Crown Jewel in Perth, Australia, for what felt like much more than another match between two longtime rivals.
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It was a celebration of professional wrestling.
Cena defeated Styles in one of the best matches of his farewell tour, but the result was almost beside the point. For more than 25 minutes, two of the greatest wrestlers of their generation used their final singles match together to honor the people, promotions and eras that shaped their careers.
Cena and Styles Celebrated Wrestling History
The match became a tour through wrestling history as Cena and Styles broke out moves associated with The Miz, Chris Jericho, Samoa Joe, Bray Wyatt, Christopher Daniels, Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker and others.
Even Styles’ presentation mattered. He wore throwback gear reminiscent of his TNA years, while Cena gave ring announcer Alicia Taylor a special introduction to read for his opponent that acknowledged Styles’ history outside WWE.
As my colleague wrote after the match, Cena and Styles delivered a “love letter to professional wrestling,” ultimately concluding that while Cena won the match, professional wrestling itself was the real winner.
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That description feels even more appropriate a year later.
Personally, this was my favorite match of 2025, and a year later, very little has come close. Roman Reigns and CM Punk at WrestleMania and the Mask vs. Mask match between the El Grande Americanos are the only matches since that have reached that level for me.
Looking back, Cena vs. Styles feels even more special now that both men are retired. We knew at the time that we were watching one of Cena’s final matches. We didn’t know it would also be one of Styles’. That only adds to the legacy of a match that already felt special in the moment.
If you haven’t seen it, or haven’t watched it recently, do yourself a favor and watch it below.
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This story was originally published October 13, 2026 at 4:01 PM.
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