When AJ Styles made his blockbuster debut at the 2016 Royal Rumble, a dream match with John Cena seemed inevitable. The two men, who were the faces of TNA and WWE, went on to have a legendary trilogy of matches. However, “The Phenomenal One” recently revealed that when their feud began, he was genuinely unsure if Cena even knew who he was or was familiar with his extensive career outside of WWE.
Styles, who came to WWE after iconic runs in both TNA and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, discussed the “WWE bubble” and his initial uncertainty about Cena’s knowledge of his work. Speaking to Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated’s “Undisputed,” Styles explained his mindset heading into their first match.
“When you’re in the WWE bubble, it’s very difficult to keep up with anything else, so I wondered how familiar he was with it. My thinking is that, over time, he heard more and did more research. Before our first match, he told me that he was trying to find stuff on me to cut a promo, but he couldn’t really find much. I’m assuming a lot of his research came from the Bullet Club, and that’s what he knew about it.”
This reflection comes just weeks after the two men had their final one-on-one encounter at the WWE Crown Jewel on October 11. During that match, Cena paid a special tribute to Styles’s history, having the ring announcer introduce him as “The definition of Total Nonstop Action” and “The ace and total boss of the Bullet Club.” Styles has since stated that the custom introduction was a complete surprise to him.