Report Details Reasoning Behind Unusual Build For Upcoming WWE Match
The next stop on the John Cena retirement tour is going to be big one as it has recently been confirmed on social media that at Cena will face AJ Styles one final time at the Crown Jewel Premium Live Event in Perth, Australia on October 11. The match originally came about when Cena took to his X (formerly known as Twitter) account to see what people thought about him potentially facing Styles, which led Styles to respond by saying that he would be up for it and the match being made official shortly afterwards. It's a build that puzzled a few people, but in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer looked to clear up those confusions.
One of the reasons why the match was built and announced on social media was to make the fans feel like they were the ones responsible for the match happening, playing into the fact that Cena and Styles wasn't meant to happen when it was part of the retirement tour this whole time. WWE, but more specifically Paul "Triple H" Levesque, wanted to make the fans feel like their voices were heard and that Triple H and the higher-ups in WWE actually listen to their opinions, thus leading to the match being built exclusively on social media to keep fans on their toes.
However, the more logistical reason why the match was built in the way that was is in large part due to Cena's schedule. Cena only has a handful of dates left on his current WWE deal, and with three months still to go until the end of the year, there was no way that Cena would be able to appear on WWE TV between now and Crown Jewel. Meltzer said that they could have had Styles try and build the match up by himself on TV before it being officially announced, but the company opted to go for the "we listen to the real fans" route. The match has since gained even more excitement following the recent news that Styles will also be retiring in 2026, making this the official last match between the two men, but it has not been confirmed what date Styles will hang up his boots on.