A few months back, AJ Styles revealed that he will retire from in-ring competition in 2026.
During an interview on Chris Van Vliet’s Insight podcast, John Cena revealed why Styles doesn’t want a retirement tour:
“I got to talk to him a little bit while we were locked in our program this year. And I’m like, ‘Man, AJ, there’s a lot of people who really admire you out there. I know you’re thinking of calling it quits soon. Do you think that there’s any possibility you would try to do something like this? Because I honestly think people would pay to see you one last time.’
He’s literally tying his shoes. He turns to me and goes, ‘Man, I’m 48.’ And as soon as the words left his mouth, he didn’t have to say anything else. It’s like something about that late 40s where he’s like, ‘I’m already overstaying my physical welcome. They just don’t see it because they don’t see what goes into prep, cooldown, recovery. I’m already riding that razor’s edge.’
You can’t tell. He still looks great, still does some great stuff, but he can’t stay another second because he doesn’t want to put out a product that isn’t AJ Styles.”
Cena defeated Styles in their final match against each other at Crown Jewel 2025 in Perth, Australia.
“That sh*t made me cry” – John Cena On CM Punk Going To Saudi Arabia
Also during this podcast appearance, John Cena became emotional when talking about CM Punk’s decision to wrestle in Saudi Arabia this past summer, calling the moment “awesome.”
Cena said that Punk’s appearance in Saudi Arabia at Night of Champions 2025 was a moment “larger than sports entertainment” and admitted “that sh*t made me cry.”
Punk had previously criticized the WWE-Saudi Arabia relationship in a 2020 tweet, but he apologized for the post while in the country.
Cena said that Punk’s visit showed “Accountability, vulnerability, apology, forgiveness. Cultures melding into each other.”
Beyond the emotion, Cena praised Punk for his creative idea for their feud: Punk came out and used Cena’s own signature “Doctor of Thuganomics” style.
Cena said that after everything Punk had gone through, his trip to Saudi Arabia felt like “redemption, acceptance.” Cena also said the fans in Saudi Arabia are great and have become louder over the years, and he was happy they welcomed Punk.
