John Cena vs. AJ Styles: Winner and Reaction from WWE Money in the Bank 2016

AJ Styles spoiled John Cena's return to action from a shoulder injury, as the leader of The Club defeated WWE's most decorated Superstar on Sunday night at Money in the Bank.

After the ref had been knocked out of the ring, Luke Gallows and Luke Anderson appeared and assisted Styles by taking out Cena and ensuring Styles got the win, per WWE:

It was a match that lived up to the high expectations, and WWE provided some of the highlights: 

Rolling Stone's Aaron Oster shared an interesting piece of info after Cena's lose:

Kevin Berge of Questionable Critics and Adam Pacitti of What Culture provided their takes on the match: 

Cena's long-awaited return to the squared circle came on the Memorial Day edition of Raw, and after cutting a promo in which he declared WWE's new era goes through him, he was interrupted by Styles.

It initially appeared as though The Phenomenal One wanted to welcome Cena back and wish him well, and the duo appeared poised to fight off Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Styles shocked the WWE Universe by turning heel on Cena, however, and attacking him mercilessly.

Following the beatdown, Styles showed no remorse for his actions:

Cena has been the face of WWE for well over a decade, while Styles carried the banner for TNA from 2002 until his departure in 2013. Wrestling fans often fantasy-booked a feud between the two Superstars, and it finally came to fruition at Money in the Bank.

Although Cena was battered and embarrassed by Styles and The Club during his return celebration, he was happy to hype the match many fans have anticipated for years:

In the week following Styles' sneak attack, Cena was both combative and somewhat dismissive of Styles and what he has accomplished over the course of his lengthy career.

Per WWE Universe, the 15-time world champion gave Styles no chance at defeating him in what WWE promoted as a WrestleMania-caliber dream match:

Styles has put on multiple match-of-the-year candidates since joining WWE as a surprise Royal Rumble entrant in January, but his pay-per-view record entering Money in the Bank was lackluster with losses to Chris Jericho and Roman Reigns hanging over him.

Conversely, Cena is one of the most successful Superstars in WWE history in big matches, and the perception among many fans is that he is often used to bury fresh talent or prevent it from succeeding.

That was a major concern among the WWE fanbase entering Money in the Bank, especially since Styles had already been chewed up and spit out by Reigns, who is considered to be the new-age version of Cena in some circles.

Styles and Cena put on a highly entertaining match, and the result was a pleasant surprise to those who expected Cena to steamroll past the former TNA, ROH and NJPW standout.

By virtue of the victory, Styles and The Club finally look like a credible force for the first time since they came together as a group on WWE programming.

The win was easily the biggest of Styles' WWE career to date, but since one can only assume that a return match is on tap for Cena at Battleground, The Phenomenal One isn't out of the woods yet.

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