Is John Cena Vs. AJ Styles The Best In-Ring Trilogy In WWE History?
When AJ Styles made his electric WWE debut at the Royal Rumble of 2016, people knew that something special was due to follow. Through his sheer talent and fan adoration, Styles forced himself to the top of the card in no time at all, competing in a featured Wrestlemania match, and endtering the mix for the WWE Championship. Before long, he was face-to-face with arguably one of the biggest names in wrestling history, John Cena. The pair competed in three high profile one-on-one matches, in one of the greatest in-ring trilogies in WWE history.
The First Match With Cena Made Styles Feel Extra Special In WWE
After Styles had lost a couple of championship challenges against Roman Reigns, it was important for WWE to quickly find a plan for the 'Phenomenal One', and he was put into a program with John Cena. Very quickly, Styles turned heel, aligning with the newly debuted Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, who had been previously aligned with Styles in Japan. A new heel with a lot of momentum going up against the ultimate hero in Cena, was a recipe for disaster for Styles, as looking at Cena’s career, he has toppled any and all foes that have come his way.
However, when the two faced off at the Money in the Bank PPV, Styles came out on top, albeit via nefarious means. When Styles came into WWE, he brought a fresh in-ring style, which was very unique. But by this point, WWE fans had become accustomed to Styles' style and accepted him wholeheartedly. Cena has a history of working well with talents reminiscent of Styles, for example against the likes of Shawn Michaels, CM Punk, and Daniel Bryan. Cena and Styles mixed perfectly in a great match, but it was clear there was still more left to come in their tale.
The Second Match Propelled Styles Into Stardom
Their next contest came at Summerslam, in which Cena was the clear favorite going in, after the event of the last match. With Anderson & Gallows drafted away from Styles, there was less chance of outside interference to benefit him, bolstering the likelihood of Cena once against getting his win back on a heel. The two tore the house down in the match of the night, with Cena throwing absolutely everything at Styles, who kicked out, kicked out, and kicked out again, before hitting Cena with two big moves and pinning him clean as a whistle.
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The shock factor of this, and the clear, emphatic statement made by Styles, made this moment huge. Styles had counters for everything, and even when he didn’t, Cena still couldn’t keep him down for the three-count. It gave Styles, who had been bragging about Cena not having his number, huge credibility, and he was established as a true star in WWE so early on in his time with the company, propelling him towards winning the WWE Championship the following month.
Cena Finally Earned His Victory, But Styles Wasn’t Hurt One Bit In Defeat
Their third showdown came at the start of the next year, at the Royal Rumble. By this point, Styles was the reigning WWE Champion, riding a wave of momentum in one of the most successful rookie years in WWE history. Cena was not only chasing redemption, but a record-equalling 16th World Championship victory.
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This match was the most unique of the three, as Cena and Styles didn’t leave the confines of the ring at all, making this a pure, skillful, tactical wrestling match, with a mesh of styles and telling of a great story. Cena hadn’t done enough in previous attempts to beat Styles, so he went one step further, hitting Styles with multiple finishing moves to make sure he finally got the job done, and emerged victorious. As opposed to other feuds in which Cena defeated and, at times, irreparably damaged his heel opponent, this win felt different. Styles had soundly defeated Cena two times prior to this, leading him to a reign at the top of the SmackDown brand, establishing and elevating him to the main event, so this loss didn’t hurt him one bit.
Each of the three matches all had their own unique twists and turns, and above all, were high-quality contests, with the two men mixing perfectly in some of the best matches in modern day wrestling. Of course, there are other wrestling trilogies that could make a claim to being the best, as well as others outside of WWE. But within the timespan of just one year, with each match feeling like true epics in their own right, this felt like a proper, three-part story, told beautifully in the ring. In other words, it was a perfect wrestling trilogy.
