{"id":150087,"date":"2026-01-07T06:00:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T11:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=150087"},"modified":"2026-01-08T12:18:52","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T17:18:52","slug":"why-aj-styles-and-gunthers-upcoming-match-wont-be-the-end-of-their-feud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/01\/07\/why-aj-styles-and-gunthers-upcoming-match-wont-be-the-end-of-their-feud\/","title":{"rendered":"Why AJ Styles and Gunther&#8217;s Upcoming Match Won&#8217;t be the End of Their WWE Feud"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">On the December 15,\u00a02025\u00a0episode of Monday Night Raw, Gunther walked out as\u00a0a very happy\u00a0man. By\u00a0tapping out\u00a0John Cena, he became public enemy number one to most of the WWE fanbase. He gloated before getting kicked out of the arena by General Manager Adam Pearce. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Afterwards, he met AJ Styles, whom he stared down before getting in his car and doing the \u201cYou Can\u2019t See Me\u201d hand gesture popularized by Cena. Since then, Styles has been going after him due to his disrespectful nature to Cena. On the January 5, 2026 Raw, the two literally <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=viV2VNsrfTw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">butted\u00a0heads<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Gunther was once again gloating, and Styles confronted him. They headbutted each other, with Styles saying Gunther will do nothing\u00a0after slapping him.\u00a0Afterwards, a match was confirmed for January 12 in Germany.\u00a0However, there are reasons to believe that this\u00a0won\u2019t\u00a0be a one-off match.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Things are FAR from over between <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AJStylesOrg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@AJStylesOrg<\/a> and <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Gunther_AUT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Gunther_AUT<\/a> \ud83d\udc40 <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Ifba7WmV0f\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/Ifba7WmV0f<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 WWE (@WWE) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWE\/status\/2008354148387787000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">January 6, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span data-contrast=\"auto\">AJ Styles&#8217; Hatred for Gunther is Much Too Strong<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">A lot of wrestlers follow a simple rule whenever they\u00a0conduct\u00a0business.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0to always respect the wrestlers that came before you. However, Gunther\u00a0hasn\u2019t\u00a0done that at all to Cena. In fact, the disrespect started way further\u00a0back\u00a0than\u00a0at Saturday Night\u2019s Main Event.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">He did the same thing with Goldberg back in July\u2019s SNME.\u00a0Calling him out showed that he had no respect for a man revered in late 1990s and early 2000s WCW. Styles\u00a0hasn\u2019t\u00a0said it yet, but\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0clear\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0noticing a pattern. Gunther abused and made fun of Goldberg, and now he did that with Cena. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">He has no respect for anyone that paved the way for him to wrestle. The only thing he cares about is beating everyone up. Styles\u00a0is\u00a0rightly taking offense to that. If things\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0go his way next Monday, he\u00a0won\u2019t\u00a0stop until he beats Gunther.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>AJ Styles&#8217; Retirement is Closer than Everyone Thinks<\/strong><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559731&quot;:720,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">AJ Styles shocked everyone by <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/wwe\/news\/aj-styles-says-hell-retire-from-wwe-within-the-next-year-i-want-to-before-my-body-can-no-longer-move\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">announcing<\/a> that 2026 will be his last year wrestling. He has had an amazing decades-long career in TNA, NJPW, and WWE. It makes sense for him to retire at this year\u2019s WrestleMania. That hasn\u2019t been confirmed, but unfortunately, Gunther probably knows that to be a fact. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">He\u2019s antagonizing him in order to get that high-profile Mania match. Retiring Goldberg made him happy; retiring Cena made him even more ecstatic. Three wrestlers forced into retirement by him is music to his ears. He isn\u2019t gloating because he hates Cena. Doing this will make Styles take the bait, leading to another retirement match. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Randy Orton was the previous generation\u2019s \u201clegend killer\u201d. It seems like Gunther is readying himself to take on that title. The best way to do that is to set up a Mania match with Styles and get the victory himself.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559731&quot;:720,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>They Both Know What They are Doing Right Now\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Styles and Gunther have been wrestling all over the world for decades. They know how the wrestling business works.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0why this feud will\u00a0definitely extend\u00a0past next week\u2019s match.\u00a0Styles\u00a0is\u00a0currently burning with anger. He sees someone disrespecting the legends that came before him, forcing them into retirement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">With that being said, he realizes he only has months left to wrestle. If he loses next week, there\u2019s no question that he\u2019ll do anything and accept any match stipulation to beat him. Gunther knows that as well, which is why he is being so antagonistic towards him. He sees Styles as a check mark on a checklist, the next person to be retired by him. Drawing out the feud until Mania will give them both what they want. Styles will get a high-profile final match, while Gunther can potentially add to his list of retirements.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559731&quot;:720,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong><b>More From LWOS Pro Wrestling<\/b><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><em><i>Header photo \u2013 WWE \u2013 Stay tuned to the\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/\" target=\"_self\"><em><u><i>Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i> for more on AJ Styles, Gunther, and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><i>You can check out WWE programming on\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/title\/81788927\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>Netflix<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(Raw),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usanetwork.com\/wwe-friday-night-smackdown\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>USA Network<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(SmackDown),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cwtv.com\/shows\/wwe-nxt\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>The CW<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(NXT),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/tubitv.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>Tubi<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(WWE Evolve),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aetv.com\/wwe\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>A&amp;E<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(WWE Superstar Sunday \u2013 Rivals, WWE LFG, and Greatest Moments) and\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peacocktv.com\/watch\/home\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>Peacock<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(WWE Main Event as well as archives and premium live event streaming). Follow WWE on social media to relive top moments and matches on\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/wwe\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>YouTube<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>, and catch fast-paced action on X (<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/i\/events\/1773457579022155776?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>WWE Speed<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>).<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On the December 15,\u00a02025\u00a0episode of Monday Night Raw, Gunther walked out as\u00a0a very happy\u00a0man. By\u00a0tapping out\u00a0John Cena, he became public enemy number one to most of the WWE fanbase. He gloated before getting kicked out of the arena by General Manager Adam Pearce. Afterwards, he met AJ Styles, whom he stared down before getting in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5338,"featured_media":150056,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,2192,25,4,3],"tags":[145,8238],"class_list":["post-150087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-wrestling","category-raw","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","tag-aj-styles","tag-gunther"],"modified_by":"Marilee Gallagher, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5338"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150087"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150087\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":150290,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150087\/revisions\/150290"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}