WWE Crown Jewel 2025 in Perth, Australia, featured the final match between John Cena and AJ Styles. It was an emotional and important moment as Cena’s retirement tour has a few weeks left on the calendar. Not only that, but Styles has revealed that he’s planning on retiring at some point in 2026. That added weight to this moment and this match. With so many complaints about how WWE managed Cena’s retirement, hope that Styles will get a decent run to end his career is quickly waning.
John Cena is perhaps the most important performer in recent WWE history. His name is up there with the likes of The Rock, Hulk Hogan, and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Yet, that didn’t stop Triple H and the WWE Creative team from putting together a lackadaisical final run for Cena. The company had more than a year to plan a quality, impactful tour that not only solidified Cena’s legacy but also helped build the future. That didn’t happen in any fashion, and many are upset about it.
Fast forward to next year, and the treatment of Cena’s retirement tour should give pause to those looking forward to AJ Styles’s turn up next. Will WWE give Styles the opportunity to hold one last major title before he wraps things up? Or will he continue to be booked as an upper-midcard talent who loses in the big matches? Look at Styles’s recent resume in big matches and he certainly loses those moments more than he wins. It is hard to expect WWE to do something different when it has had years to present Styles as the top name many wanted to see.
There is the possibility of a run in TNA Wrestling as a part of that retirement tour. Imagine Styles winning the TNA World Title, that very belt held by Trick Williams in WWE NXT. Seeing Styles defend that title in TNA and perhaps on a WWE PLE would be a big deal. In referencing the need to build the future of the business, imagine Styles losing that title to Leon Slater, cementing him as the future of TNA Wrestling and a name to watch across the business.
Sting’s retirement tour in All Elite Wrestling is the high mark that promotions should follow when booking the icons of past generations to wind down their career. Sting was rightly protected in a tag team and featured in stipulation type matches with high spots galore. He wasn’t expected to go out there and carry singles matches from start to finish. AJ Styles is younger and in better shape physically, so there’s more he could do from bell to bell and during weekly builds. The question is whether WWE will take advantage of that and give him the run he deserves as he brings his career to a close.
Father Time is undefeated, and it looks like there’s another big name on the horizon set to lose to him. 2026 will be AJ Styles’s last year as an active performer. WWE has the chance to give him a special run, but there is a growing concern that will not be the case.