John Cena Edges past AJ Styles in Stellar Tribute Fest to Close Their Epic Rivalry at Crown Jewel

In arguably their most enjoyable match together at Crown Jewel, John Cena pulled out all the stops to draw level with AJ Styles in PLE clashes at two wins apiece.

John Cena Edges past AJ Styles in Stellar Tribute Fest to Close Their Epic Rivalry at Crown Jewel

John Cena and AJ Styles at Crown Jewel [via- WWE]

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In their last dance together, John Cena and AJ Styles left no stone unturned and let their chemistry do all the talking. On Saturday at Crown Jewel, these vets of the game went one-on-one for the fourth time on a WWE PLE. And boy, did they deliver! In a match that went a touch over 27 minutes on the clock, Cena had the last laugh.

The closing sequence saw Cena plant Styles with the Tombstone Piledriver into an Attitude Adjustment for the pinfall. It involved a masterful ode to The Undertaker, who even raved about the stellar performances of Cena and Styles via a post on X. Not only Taker, but also a plethora of other wrestlers received a shoutout in some form or another from ‘The Phenomenal One’ and ‘The Cenation Leader’.

Take, for instance, Cena using Randy Orton‘s RKO and Vintage DDT, The Miz‘s Skull Crushing Finale, attempting Rey Mysterio‘s 619, Chris Jericho‘s Walls of Jericho, and Rusev‘s Accolade; it was his way of honoring men who have been instrumental to his career.

On the other hand, Styles borrowed pages out of many playbooks, like Samoa Joe‘s Kokina Clutch, Frankie Kazarian‘s Fade to Black, Christopher Daniels‘ Vertebreaker, etc.

The late Bray Wyatt was also remembered during that tribute fest, with Cena hitting a Sister Abigail on ‘Mr. TNA’ with the Perth crowd coming unglued for it. Almost everyone in the RAC Arena turned their flashlights on as if the fireflies were out once again. An emotionally wrecked Cena looked up to the heavens in a beautiful callback to his rivalry with Wyatt.

After transcending those adrenaline levels of the rabid Aussies in attendance, Cena and Styles hugged it out in the middle of that ring. As the ‘Phenomenal One’ was heading to the back, Michael Cole regurgitated on commentary that 2026 will be the year when Styles will hang up his wrestling boots for good.

Triple H hails John Cena vs. AJ Styles’ Crown Jewel clash as an all-time match

The foundation stone to the deep-rooted rivalry between John Cena and AJ Styles was laid out in 2016 itself. Almost a decade later, it received its closure. Blown away by what these icons pulled off at Crown Jewel, Triple H took to X and affirmed that an all-time rivalry ended with an all-time match. ‘The Game’ didn’t miss out on urging the fans to enjoy every bit of Cena and Styles while they’re still active.

Triple H reacts to John Cena vs. AJ Styles
Triple H reacts to John Cena vs. AJ Styles [via- WWE]

One of the most wholesome moments from Cena vs. Styles happened even before the bell rang. ‘The Cenation Leader’ handed a self-written introductory note for Styles to ring announcer Alicia Taylor for her to read aloud. The note described the two-time WWE Champion as the definition of Total Nonstop Action and the ace & undisputed boss of the Bullet Club.

The crowd popped big for it, and Styles was visibly taken aback in the meantime. It’s no secret that while Cena was holding the fort for WWE in his prime, Styles was pretty much the torchbearer for TNA. One of the biggest WWE names who didn’t have a match at Crown Jewel, viz., CM Punk, was spotted by fans in attendance while Cena and Styles were wrestling their hearts out.

‘The Best in the World’ also got a chance to take on someone whom he loves to call ‘John Boy’ earlier this year in Saudi Arabia at Night of Champions. But unlike Cena’s barn-burner against ‘The Face That Runs the Place’, Punk’s singles bout with the 17-time world champion got marred by shenanigans.

Coming on to what Cena accomplished from putting away Styles at Crown Jewel, outside of the fact that it was arguably the best match of his farewell tour so far, it also earned the Peacemaker star his 100th WWE PLE win. He’s risen to the second spot in the list of WWE Superstars with the most PLE wins, with only The Undertaker ahead of the Hollywood mogul.

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