What Does AJ Styles Really Think of John Cena?

AJ Styles is set to defend the WWE Championship against John Cena at the Royal Rumble this Sunday. He’s had more than a few choice words for the superstar and his “part-time” role in WWE these past few weeks.

But that’s all part of the story. What does AJ think of Cena behind the scenes? In a recent Fox Sports interview, he answered exactly that.

“Listen, the fact of the matter is, John may be a part-timer – at least sometimes in the WWE – but that guy works harder than anybody I’ve ever seen. I mean, the guy’s on The Today Show in the morning and and comes and does live events, or comes and does SmackDown Live. The guy works hard, I get that. And to tell you the truth, I’ve become a better performer because of John Cena, and I like that. But as far as respect goes, I want it all. I don’t just want it from John Cena, I want it from the guy and the girls on The Today Show. I want it from the people who made the Royal Rumble poster.”

AJ doesn’t have much of a problem with part-time performers in general, and even sees an opportunity there.

“My thing is, and this is personal… the more shows I do, the more opportunities I have to make a living for myself. So I don’t understand what the problem is? I don’t think anybody should be angry with anybody who says ‘well, you know what, I’m taking this time off.’ Well, hey, maybe they need it? If you run these guys into the ground, what good are they going to be to us later? So let them have their time off, let them… they’re still stars. That’s not going to change. It’s more of an opportunity for guys like me to support my family and do well as long as I can. So, am I angry at guys who go part time? Absolutely not. It [means] more opportunities for guys like me.”

A little bit of a different story from what’s on TV Tuesday nights, and we can’t help but respect AJ’s perspective on it all.

The Styles vs. Cena match is set to be an excellent bout on a great pay-per-view, even if the conclusion seems pretty certain.

Who do you side with in the Styles vs. Cena battle? Let us know in the comments, or on Facebook!