John Cena Reflects on His Match With AJ Styles at Crown Jewel Perth: “The Audience Was Calling Spots for Us”

John Cena still thinks about his match with AJ Styles at WWE Crown Jewel Perth — and watching it back reminded him why it was special. Speaking at MEGACon Orlando, Cena opened up about the experience, describing an atmosphere unlike anything he had seen and a crowd smart enough to understand exactly what they were watching.

“The atmosphere in Perth was like something I’d never seen. I wore yellow that night and the whole crowd was yellow,” Cena said. He admitted that’s not something he typically experiences, and that what made the match work was the audience’s ability to keep up with what he and Styles were doing in the ring. “You can do all this cool stuff that you think is cool, but if you guys don’t get it, I’m kind of being selfish.”

Cena Knew Styles Was Retiring and Wanted to Make the Match Special

Cena revealed he had advance knowledge of Styles’ retirement plans, which added emotional weight to their Perth encounter. “I knew AJ shared with me that he was going to retire in January. So I really think the world of him and wanted to do something special.” He described the match as a rare moment of serendipity between two performers and an audience that fully connected with the story being told. It’s one of the few matches Cena said he has watched back. “Halfway through, the audience was calling spots for us.”