Every Major John Cena Vs AJ Styles WWE Match, Ranked Worst To Best
The rivalry between AJ Styles and John Cena has been one of the most intriguing WWE rivalries in recent memory. Both men were drafted to SmackDown in the reintroduction of the WWE Draft lottery in 2016. Styles made his WWE debut at the 2016 Royal Rumble, and he was treated as a big star instantly as he feuded with Chris Jericho and Roman Reigns over the WWE Championship. However, Styles turned heel and began feuding with John Cena in the summer of 2016 and into early 2017.
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Cena was an established star in WWE and he had a run as the leading man in WWE for a decade. The matches between Cena and Styles were some of the best in both men's careers and fans were mesmerized by what they were witnessing, and they fought over the biggest prize in the industry on multiple occasions.
8 SmackDown (2/27/18)
The most recent one-on-one encounter between John Cena and AJ Styles was on the February 27, 2018 edition of SmackDown. The Phenomenal One was the reigning WWE Champion in this non-title match with Cena looking to be added to the multi-man match for Styles' WWE Championship at Fastlane 2018.
Styles connected with his trademark Styles Clash but Cena kicked out. Cena blocked the Phenomenal Forearm and Cena executed the AA but Styles expertly kicked out. Both men attempted their finishers again, and Cena successfully put Styles through the broadcast table with an AA. Furthermore, Styles managed to get back into the ring in the nick of time. Cena countered the Calf Crusher and the AA was enough to seal the deal.
7 No Mercy 2016
The main event of No Mercy 2016 was the curtain-raiser with AJ Styles' WWE Championship at stake in a triple threat match with John Cena and Dean Ambrose as his challengers. They easily should have gone on last and no match managed to topple this fantastic contest.
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Styles was in an unfortunate position as Cena cinched in the STF and Ambrose used Styles' Calf Crusher with the moves applied simultaneously. Styles tapped out but the match restarted, and a couple of stiff chair shots from Styles to Cena were enough for the Phenomenal One to continue his WWE Championship reign.
6 Money In The Bank 2016
The first match in the trilogy of matches between AJ Styles and John Cena took place at Money in the Bank 2016. They knocked it out of the park with both men throwing the kitchen sink at each other. Styles looked right at home with Cena, and he pushed Big Match John to his limit.
Cena was closing in on victory but Styles' stablemates Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson got involved in proceedings as they attacked Cena with Magic Killer. Styles took advantage of it and he earned one of the biggest wins in his WWE career.
5 Fastlane 2018
AJ Styles, John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Owens, Baron Corbin, and Sami Zayn slugged it out in a star-studded six-pack challenge for the WWE Championship at Fastlane 2018. Styles and Cena went head-to-head after the ring was cleared by the other participants. Cena and Styles both attempted their finishers but it was to no avail. This was an intriguing match with fast-paced action throughout.
In the closing stages, Styles was put through the broadcast table by Cena. Shane McMahon was watching the drama unfold at ringside until he was taken out by KO. Owens thought he'd done enough to win the WWE Championship by connecting with the Pop-Up Powerbomb on Cena but Styles intervened at the last second by performing the Phenomenal Forearm on Owens to retain the WWE Championship.
4 SmackDown (2/14/17)
Bray Wyatt defended his newly won WWE Championship against John Cena and AJ Styles in a triple threat match on the February 14, 2017 episode of SmackDown. Before the bout began, Luke Harper assaulted the reigning WWE Champion. That left Styles and Cena to their own devices before the Eater of Worlds re-entered the fray.
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Styles attempted to put Wyatt through the broadcast table with a splash but it didn't break. The crowd was chanting for Styles to do it "one more time" and he was second time lucky with the table breaking. Styles cinched in the Calf Crusher on Cena but Cena reversed it into the STF, and Wyatt hit Cena with Sister Abigail to retain the WWE Title.
3 Elimination Chamber 2017
John Cena had his hands full in the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship. Cena's challengers were AJ Styles, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, The Miz, and Baron Corbin. This night belonged to Wyatt who had a breakthrough performance.
Wyatt brought the curtain down on Cena's WWE Championship reign with Sister Abigail, and a new WWE Champion was guaranteed to be crowned. Styles was closing on the victory with the Phenomenal Forearm but Styles countered it with Sister Abigail to remain as WWE Champion.
2 SummerSlam 2016
The hotly anticipated rematch between AJ Styles and John Cena occurred at SummerSlam 2016, and they hit a home run in a superb wrestling match. Credit has to be given to Cena for making Styles look like a major star in their bout.
The Phenomenal One executed the hurricanrana and he followed it up with the Phenomenal Forearm which Cena kicked out of. Cena responded with an AA from the top rope but that couldn't keep Styles down with Styles registering a second win over Cena with the Phenomenal Forearm.
1 Royal Rumble 2017
History was on the line for John Cena at the 2017 Royal Rumble as he was looking to equal Ric Flair's record haul of 16 World Championships. This was one of the greatest WWE Championship matches in the history of the Royal Rumble.
Cena executed the AA onto Styles off the top rope and that would have been a picture-perfect ending for Cena to capture the WWE Championship. However, Styles wasn't going down without a fight. They pulled out all of the stops in an instant classic and Cena connected with two AAs to put Styles away to become a record-equaling 16-time World Champion.
