At 9:18am, AJ Styles made his entrance to a big ovation, with commentary noting his planned 2026 retirement. Two minutes later, John Cena entered to a massive reaction for what was billed as his final match in Australia. Cena even had ring announcer Alicia Taylor read a custom, respectful introduction for Styles before the bell rang at 9:27am.
The match started at a fast pace, with both men trading holds, counters, and tributes to past wrestling legends. Cena hit moves like the Skull-Crushing Finale and STF-U, while Styles fired back with the Oshi Garoshi, Scorpion Death Drop, and Calf Crusher. Both repeatedly escaped each other’s finishers in a 25-minute sequence filled with reversals and fan chants.
By the later stages, they were hitting tributes to nearly everyone, Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, Bray Wyatt, and more. Styles landed the Phenomenal Forearm, but Cena kicked out. In the closing moments, Cena countered a crossbody into a Tombstone Piledriver, followed immediately by an Attitude Adjustment for the pin at 9:52am.
Winner: John Cena (25 minutes)
After the bell, Cena and Styles hugged and raised each other’s hands as the Perth crowd chanted “Thank you, Cena!” Cena then greeted his wife in the crowd and saluted the fans one last time in Australia. With four matches left in his farewell run, the night was an emotional celebration of two legends and a love letter to pro wrestling itself.
