100 Greatest WWE Matches Of All Time (Ranked)
24. AJ Styles vs. John Cena (Royal Rumble 2017)
Hardcore TNA fans might've been rather chuffed to see Impact original AJ Styles sign a fat contract with WWE in 2016, but there were worries that Vince McMahon wouldn't know how to make the most of his skills. Those concerns faded following a hot Royal Rumble debut and some thumping matches vs. Kevin Owens, Roman Reigns, John Cena and more.
Bouts vs. Cena at Money In The Bank and SummerSlam had been tremendous fun, but Styles and the then-poster boy saved their best for Royal Rumble 2017. By then, AJ had beaten Cena twice in a row on pay-per-view, so revenge was on the cards for John in San Antonio. There was also the not so small matter of Cena potentially winning his 16th World Title and tying Ric Flair's recognised belt haul.
Of course, in 2025, Cena went on to win his 17th top prize and beat Flair's near-mythical record.
WWE made sure that Styles didn't go down without a fight. He took not one, not two, not three but four Attitude Adjustment finishers before staring at the Alamodome lights. The pair's tight 24-minute match proved once and for all that AJ belonged in the upper echelons of the WWE main event pack - he was a made man after squeezing the best from Cena in a trio of fab PPV classics.
JC was spending more and more time in Hollywood, so his title reign was always going to be fairly short lived. Styles looked comfortable in his own skin when doing the honours for him too. Even AJ had to know that he'd been fitting into the WWE scene nicely and had quickly become one of the company's most dependable workers.