Gunther Says Retiring AJ Styles Felt More Personally Important Than Ending John Cena’s Career

Gunther has spoken candidly about the emotional significance of the two career-ending matches that defined his “Career Killer” run — and his assessment of which one meant more to him personally is not the answer most fans would expect. Speaking on WWE Retrospective, The Ring General explained why ending AJ Styles’ career at the Royal Rumble resonated more deeply than his career-ending victory over John Cena.

“Obviously after I retired Cena, my mojo was through the roof. AJ is different because you had Goldberg, a WCW legend, and John Cena, the guy that stands for WWE. Then you have AJ, who is somewhat more similar to me when it comes to his career because he had a great run here, but a lot of the stuff people love him for happened before WWE. He is one of those guys where the generation that I came up with, we looked up to guys like AJ Styles. When he was in New Japan, we always watched his big matches there and they were fantastic. I always had so much respect for AJ’s work. It almost felt, from the wrestler purist heart, it felt more important to me than the Cena match,” Gunther said.

Gunther Faces Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 42 Night One in Las Vegas After Returning From a Three-Week Absence

The distinction Gunther draws between Cena and Styles reflects his own identity as a performer — someone who came up watching Japanese and independent wrestling rather than mainstream American sports entertainment. Styles represented a shared lineage and mutual respect in a way that Cena, for all his historical significance, could not. Gunther faces Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 42 Night One on April 18 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, with Cody Rhodes specifically calling the match the one he is most looking forward to watching on the entire card.