AJ Styles will probably be fighting for his profession when he faces Gunther on the Royal Rumble in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Gunther entered Styles’ radar within the aftermath of the previous’s submission victory over John Cena in his retirement match. Having made Cena hand over at Saturday Night’s Fundamental Event in December, Gunther had been gloating on “WWE Raw” within the weeks following, thus drawing the ire of considered one of Cena’s iconic rivals in Styles.
Gunther and Styles met within the ring during last week’s “Raw” for a singles clash in Berlin, Germany, with Styles seeking to beat respect into the “Ring General.” After a back-and-forth contest it looked as if he would achieve that, locking Gunther into the Calf Crusher and getting him to tap out – but not in view of the referee. While the choice was being disputed by Styles, Gunther took advantage and picked up the win.
Styles sought one other match to resolve the asterisk over the primary one on Monday’s “Raw,” but Gunther said that he would only conform to a rematch if Styles put his profession on the road. Styles said he would should give it some thought, though in a later backstage segment he confirmed to General Manager Adam Pearce that he wanted the rematch. Thus, the match was made official; Gunther’s third match since retiring John Cena will probably be a possibility to retire Styles in Saudi Arabia.