{"id":150559,"date":"2026-01-12T16:55:51","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T21:55:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=150559"},"modified":"2026-01-12T16:57:02","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T21:57:02","slug":"shocking-end-to-raw-main-event-as-gunther-taps-out-to-aj-styles-sorta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/01\/12\/shocking-end-to-raw-main-event-as-gunther-taps-out-to-aj-styles-sorta\/","title":{"rendered":"Shocking End to WWE Raw Main Event as Gunther Taps out to AJ Styles…Sorta"},"content":{"rendered":"

AJ Styles had one goal and one goal only in his first match of 2026. The Phenomenal One didn’t want to beat Gunther by a countout or even a pinfall (though he did attempt a few during the match). No, Styles wanted to make his opponent do what he’s been bragging about making John Cena do; he wanted to make him tap out. And in a way, Styles did what he set out to do<\/a>, but not exactly in the way he drew it up.<\/p>\n

AJ Styles Makes Gunther Tap…Sorta<\/h2>\n

In the match’s early going, Styles worked with tactical precision. He utilized a series of kicks and attacks to Gunther’s lower body, all in an effort to set up the Calf Crusher. To Styles’ credit, his match plan was going perfectly. That was until his opponent used his power to demolish Styles off the top ringpost. Gunther’s offensive burst continued throughout the commercial break as it seemed the Ring General was going to put an end to Styles. But the future WWE Hall of Famer fought back. He refused to give up, withstanding a brutal onslaught from Gunther.<\/p>\n

As the Ring General mocked John Cena, feigning the Five Knuckle Shuffle for a second week in a row, Styles managed to regain control. He went back to working Gunther’s leg with a series of dragon screws and finally, his first attempt at the Calf Crusher with the Ring General in the center of the ring. Gunther managed to crawl to the bottom rope, but Styles wasn’t done. After Gunther briefly regained some momentum, Styles responded with a huge springboard 360 legdrop for one of his just two pinning attempts of the match. Gunther caught Styles attempting a Phenomenal Forearm and locked in the sleeper, but Styles reversed for a nearfall. Styles missed a Pele, and Gunther was able to hit the powerbomb for a nearfall, but Styles kicked out. Gunther taunted Styles before the two engaged in some yay\/boo chops and stiffarms. Styles got the better of it, managing to lock in the Calf Crusher. Gunther broke the hold by shoving Styles head into the mat. Gunther hit a dropkick and got Styles up for another powerbomb, but Styles countered into the Calf Crusher for a third time. And that’s where things got interesting.<\/p>\n

\"Gunther
Credit: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As Gunther neared the ropes, Styles pulled him back. That’s when he tapped out to Styles but Rod Zapata didn’t see it. Zapata told Alicia Taylor to continue the match, and that distraction allowed Gunther the chance to deliver a low blow and powerbomb for the win. Michael Cole and Wade Barrett reviewed the match footage and saw a second angle confirming Gunther tapped to Styles’ leg. Styles felt it, but the ref didn’t see it, and as Barrett noted, the tap only counts if the ref makes it official.<\/p>\n

The Ring General laughed as he went back up the ramp, and they re-showed the footage<\/a>. Barrett called it brilliant as Gunther implied he knew exactly what he was doing. So in a way, Styles did what he said he was going to do. In a different way, Gunther proved what he’s been saying he is: the greatest wrestler in WWE.<\/p>\n

More From LWOS Pro Wrestling<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n

Header photo \u2013 WWE \u2013 Stay tuned to the\u00a0<\/i><\/em>Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a> for more on Gunther, AJ Styles, 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

You can check out WWE programming on\u00a0<\/i><\/em>Netflix<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(Raw),\u00a0<\/i><\/em>USA Network<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(SmackDown),\u00a0<\/i><\/em>The CW<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(NXT),\u00a0<\/i><\/em>Tubi<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0(WWE Evolve),\u00a0<\/i><\/em>A&E<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a> (WWE Superstar Sunday \u2013 Rivals, WWE LFG, and Greatest Moments), and\u00a0<\/i><\/em>Peacock<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>\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>YouTube<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>, and catch fast-paced action on X (<\/i><\/em>WWE Speed<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a>).<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AJ Styles had one goal and one goal only in his first match of 2026. The Phenomenal One didn’t want to beat Gunther by a countout or even a pinfall (though he did attempt a few during the match). No, Styles wanted to make his opponent do what he’s been bragging about making John Cena […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2418,"featured_media":150507,"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":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12,2192,25,4,3],"tags":[145,9222,8238,9106],"class_list":["post-150559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-wrestling","category-raw","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","tag-aj-styles","tag-european-tour","tag-gunther","tag-raw-on-netflix"],"modified_by":"Marilee Gallagher, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150559","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\/2418"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150559"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150559\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":150564,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150559\/revisions\/150564"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}