Last month, John Cena appeared on ESPN’s Sports Center , and he explained why he apologized to AJ Styles following their classic match at the Royal Rumble . He also described working with AJ as a positive experience, and it looks like AJ feels the same way about working with Cena.
During a recent interview with ex-WWE ring announcer Lillian Garcia, Styles explained why working with John Cena was, in his words, a blessing. He also said that he learned a lot from the former 16-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
“When you’ve got a guy who has been in the business just as long as you have, but he’s been in the ring with so many amazing performers in the WWE, and I’m talking about John Cena. You can learn a thing or three from this guy, and a half. It was such a blessing to get in the ring with someone like him; to learn from him, because the WWE is completely different than the independents, or this place or that place, or Japan. It’s different.”
With John Cena scheduled to take more time off following WrestleMania 33 on April 2, it’ll once again be up to Styles to carry the SmackDown brand, unless of course he gets moved to the Raw brand, which is very possible, as WWE is planning on doing another draft following their biggest show of the year.
As of this writing, AJ is set to take on Randy Orton on tonight’s SmackDown , and the winner will go on to fight Bray Wyatt for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania . Most are expecting AJ to lose to Orton, and begin his feud with Shane McMahon either immediately following the match, or on next week’s show.
The AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon match has been rumored for several months, and it does look like it’s going to happen, despite the fact that the fans are pushing for Styles to be in the title match at WrestleMania . Also, WWE is expecting/hoping that Shane will be cheered in his feud with AJ, which probably won’t happen.
As for what’s next for Styles after WrestleMania , well, that depends on which brand he’s on. As previously mentioned, WWE is planning on doing another draft following their biggest show of the year, and it was reported some time ago by Wrestle Talk TV that Vince McMahon wants to move AJ over to the Raw brand. So, we could end up seeing The Phenomenal One back on Monday nights following his match with Shane McMahon.
Also speaking of the draft, Cageside Seats recently published the rules for this year’s WWE draft, which you can check out below.
“WWE’s 2017 draft will be limited to a handful of picks the general managers can make from their rival brand or NXT. Champions will be off limits.”
So, if AJ wins the title at some point before WWE announces when the 2017 draft will be, that could be a sign that he’s staying on the blue brand.
Whether or not he’s drafted to Raw will likely have no impact on his long rivalry with John Cena, as that appears to finally be over. Also, as previously mentioned, Cena is leaving in the spring, and it doesn’t look like he’ll be coming back until the fall, possibly at Survivor Series . So, unless something changes, the Cena vs. Styles feud is over.
While one dream feud is over, we’ll get a brief taste of another one tonight with the Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles match, which should be, no pun intended, absolutely phenomenal. It might actually end up being better than Cena vs. Styles, even though we pretty much already know who the winner will be.
[Featured Image by WWE]
