John Cena has admitted that he apologised to the bosses following one of the biggest matches on his retirement tour as he took matters into his own hands. October 11 2025 was the date that WWE Crown Jewel took place in Perth, Australia, which was also the location for Cena’s final international match. Cena’s opponent was AJ Styles, who had a memorable series of matches against the 17-time World Champion from 2016 to 2018. Along with the match being viewed as a love letter to pro wrestling with many iconic finishers being used throughout, Cena also made the match extra special with his custom intro for The Phenomenal One. After Cena handed the paper to ring announcer Alicia Taylor, Styles was introduced as “The definition of Total Nonstop Action” and “The ace and total boss of the Bullet Club.” Realising the connection to the entrances, Styles couldn’t help but smile just before he faced off against arguably is greatest WWE rival. While speaking with Chris Van Vliet, Cena spoke about the introduction and how no one knew what was about to happen, not even AJ Styles, Alicia Taylor, or the bosses backstage:
“I just wanted to do something nice for my guy. I didn’t even show Alicia until I handed her the paper. You don’t get those moments unless you get the sh*t beat up. I wanted to do something special. I went about it the wrong way. I went into business for myself. I should have gotten permission to do that, and I would have gotten permission to do that, but I told no one about it, because I wanted to do something special, and in doing so, the people running the show felt surprised, and that’s not a position I ever want to put them in because they award me such creative liberty.”
John Cena Apologised To WWE Officials After AJ Styles Match
When it was brought up that it was unlikely that anyone would have had a problem with the custom introduction, Cena admitted that he should have not have taken matters into his own hands, and apologised to the powers that be when he got backstage after the match:
“We’re all trying to make these moments special, and we’re all on the same team, and it shouldn’t be me doing something outside that realm. If I tell my teammates, hey, let’s do it. I can keep it from AJ, I can keep it from Alicia, but if I tell my teammates who are crafting this show, maybe they make it look better. The first thing I did was thank AJ, the second thing I did was pull a few creative individuals aside and say, ‘I’m sorry. That will never happen again. I know where I f*cked up. I’m so sorry, and I went into business for myself. That’s not me. I hope you look at my body of work, and all the times I’ve asked for permission, and this is the one time I ask for forgiveness.’ It got the best of me, but I wanted to do something nice for AJ.”
Cena won the match and embraced Styles afterwards. The match was incredibly well-received by fans, with many calling it the best match on Cena’s retirement tour. John Cena will compete in his final match at Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13 in Washington D.C. His opponent for the match will be Gunther.
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Featured image: WWE
