John Cena has often been labeled as Mr. Five Moves of Doom, but that couldn’t be further from the truth according to AJ Styles.

Styles debuted for WWE at the 2016 Royal Rumble as the #3 entrant after a lengthy career in TNA/Impact Wrestling.

The Phenomenal One has since gone on to become a two-time WWE Champion and captured WWE’s Grand Slam in 2021.

After Chris Jericho and Roman Reigns, Styles’ third major feud in WWE came at the expense of John Cena.

After defeating Cena at Money in the Bank (thanks to interference by the O.C.) Styles would get a rare clean win over the Hollywood star at that year’s Summerslam.

Speaking on The Halftime Show, Styles reflected on his experience working with Cena and how the 16-time WWE World Champion surprised him.

“A guy that surprised me with how good he was in the ring would be John Cena. John is not known for being a technical mastermind in the ring, but he’s pretty good. I had some of my better matches against this guy.

“His mind for how everything needs to work and transition-wise. He’s just good. He knows what he’s doing. It’s one of those things were you thought, ‘I’m the superior wrestler in the ring,’ but once you get in there with John Cena, you realize, ‘Well, okay, I didn’t know that. Let’s keep going.’”

Styles would capture his first WWE Championship after the Cena feud, which he’d lose to Big Match John at the 2017 Royal Rumble.

Once considered the face of WWE, Cena’s appearances for the company have grown rarer as his career in films and on TV continues to grow.

Cena’s most recent match came at the Summerslam 2021 event in a losing effort to Roman Reigns, and some have questioned if he is done in the ring.

Earlier this year, a feud with Austin Theory was teased, but this did not lead to a match.

Despite this, Cena has remained adamant that his in-ring career isn’t over yet, and Theory has teased facing the former WWE World Champion at WrestleMania 39.