WWE Rivalry rewind: 5 biggest moments from John Cena Vs AJ Styles.

#2 John Cena gives AJ Styles a lesson in respect: WWE Smackdown

Cena stands for Respect

After a short absence, John Cena returned to WWE television just before the Royal Rumble 2017. He had last performed at WWE No Mercy 2016, where he failed to take the WWE Championship from AJ Styles.

On the first promo since his return, Cena laid down a big challenge for the WWE Champion. He declared that he was coming for AJ Styles' title at WWE Royal Rumble.

AJ Styles calls out John Cena: SmackDown LIVE, Jan. 24, 2017 https://t.co/OEEwELU8qh pic.twitter.com/ZccdRDqJbw

— Just Hollywood (@justhollywood2) February 17, 2017

In the buildup to this match, Styles talked about Cena being handed everything by the WWE administration. He said that the Franchise Player does not belong in the WWE. Styles also told him that he could never be as good as him.

John Cena ultimately fired back at Styles one week before their title match. The Cenation Leader confronted AJ on the go-home show of Smackdown before the Royal Rumble. During the segment, AJ Styles expressed his frustrations about being disrespected by the WWE Universe.

John Cena was triggered by this statement. He criticized Styles for complaining about not getting respect. John said that he remained the top face of the WWE despite being constantly disrespected by the WWE Universe. He even took a shot at the indie wrestling scene.

I always think about that promo when John Cena straight slaughtered AJ Styles on the mic. AJ was sitting there speechless haha.I MISS THE GOAT, THE FRANCHISE pic.twitter.com/zwiuL9zdle

— Wrestling EOD (@xWrestlingEOD) December 19, 2019

Cena said that he was built for the WWE. He claimed to be bigger than all of the indie companies out there. He declared Styles to be an unoriginal superstar who wants to take his place in the WWE.

The aggression of the multi-time World Champion throughout this segment was too good for AJ Styles. John Cena's heelish antics during his promo were quite surprising for everyone. It helped in making this rivalry even more intense.