Summary

Gunther says his retirement match with AJ Styles carried more personal weight than his bout with John Cena, even after submitting Cena one month earlier.

Looking back on the match during WWE Retrospective, Gunther said Styles stood out to him for a different reason than Cena or Goldberg. He described Styles as a wrestler his generation studied closely, especially from his run in New Japan, and said that respect made the Royal Rumble match feel especially significant.

That framing adds another layer to Gunther's recent run of retirement-match victories. It also fits with the larger presentation around Cena, whose future has already been discussed on WWE television and in recent comments about whether he is really done wrestling.

Quote from Gunther

"Obviously, after I (retired) Cena, my mojo was through the roof. Everybody kind of knew backstage, it was an open secret that AJ was going to hang up his boots at some points. That's what I wanted to do next. AJ is different because you had Goldberg, a WCW legends, and John Cena, the guy that stand for WWE. Then, you have AJ, who is somewhat more similar to me when it comes to his career because he had a great run here, but a lot of the stuff people love him for happened before WWE. He is one of those guys where the generation that I came up with, we looked up to guys like AJ Styles. When he was in New Japan, we always watched his big matches there and they were fantastic. I always had so much respect for AJ's work. It almost felt, from the wrestler purist heart, it felt more important to me than the Cena match."

What Gunther's comment says about AJ Styles' standing

Gunther's wording matters because he put Styles in a different category from Cena and Goldberg. Rather than talking about star power or company legacy, he focused on the influence Styles had on wrestlers who came up watching his work outside WWE.

That makes the Royal Rumble match feel less like another accolade on Gunther's resume and more like a statement about the kind of wrestler he values most. With Gunther now headed toward WrestleMania 42 for a match against Seth Rollins, the comment also reinforces the serious, prestige-driven lane WWE has carved out for him.

Sources

Gunther on WWE Retrospective