A new report from Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio has provided insight into the booking of the recently announced match between John Cena and AJ Styles. While the match was made official this week through a social media campaign initiated by Cena, Meltzer reports that the bout has been the plan for the upcoming WWE Crown Jewel Premium Live Event for a long time. The narrative of the match coming together spontaneously was reportedly part of the intended storyline build.
According to Meltzer, several moments in recent weeks that seemed like standalone tributes or frustrations were actually deliberate seeds being planted for this encounter.
“This match was always scheduled for Australia — always. So the whole deal about Cena and AJ, you know, the idea that Cena was doing the tribute to him because he wasn’t going to get to wrestle him. That was actually to build to this match, that was not actually ever the case.”
Meltzer noted that a “worked-shoot” promo that AJ Styles cut during a commercial break on a recent episode of Monday Night Raw was also part of the subtle, long-term build to the match announcement. The one-on-one encounter will be the first between the two legendary rivals since 2018. It will be one of the final four matches of John Cena’s career.