John Cena vs. AJ Styles Match Planned Months Ago

Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio shared some backstage details regarding the Cena vs. Styles match at Crown Jewel: Perth on October 11. Everything was planned out a while ago, and the things that did happen basically were to hype the match. Though honestly, seeing Styles vs. Cena doesn’t need a lot of help. According to Meltzer, that’s one of the reasons Cena did a tribute in the ring for him was to make fans think it wasn’t going to happen. What’s also interesting is that the whole promo Styles did during commercials on RAW about him being alone and “somebody” in the business didn’t want him there was just part of the storyline. Meltzer wrote:

“This (John Cena vs. AJ Styles) match was always scheduled for Australia. Always. So the whole deal about Cena and AJ, with Cena doing the tribute to him because he wasn’t gonna get to wrestle him. That was actually to build to this match, that was not actually ever the case. The idea was they’d tell people ‘you’re not going to get this match’ — so to create a demand for the match, they basically told the story that Cena is paying tribute to him because he’s only got limited dates, and AJ ain’t getting it. Then AJ did that dark speech on RAW during the American commercials about how ‘I’m mad at how I’m being booked’ and whatever. It was all to build up this match.” (h/t: WrestlePurists)

It’s not surprising that WWE would already have Cena’s opponents picked out. After Crown Jewel: Perth, the former WWE Champion will have only four scheduled dates left on his WWE farewell tour.

Who Will John Cena Face Next?

As noted , there has been some backstage talk of WWE wanting AAA Mega Champion and WWE Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio to be Cena’s next opponent. There’s also speculation that Cena vs. Edge could happen, which would be an epic moment. Edge is currently signed with AEW.

The rest of his schedule includes the November 10 episode of WWE RAW, which is set in Boston, and the November 17 episode of RAW, which is taking place in New York City at Madison Square Garden.

Also, Cena is going to be at the Survivor Series: WarGames PLE on November 29 in San Diego, California, and his final match, December 13 at Saturday Night’s Main Event. His final match will be taking place in Washington, D.C., so we’ll just have to wait to see what happens next.