CM Punk is honored to call AJ Styles a friend.
Following their main event battle for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on the WWE Royal Rumble: Riyadh “go-home” episode of WWE Raw at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Monday, January 26, 2026, “The Best in the World” and “The Phenomenal” one shared a special moment after the cameras stopped rolling.
Luckily, some fans in attendance had their phones out to capture the touching moment.
“Look I don’t know what happens in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia when AJ Styles takes on Gunther, I just know that I’m going to be glued to the monitor watching just like every one of you,” Punk said of Styles while talking in the ring after the 1/26 episode of the weekly WWE on Netflix red brand program. “I mean this when I say it, AJ, I whispered it to you earlier: I don’t care who knows it publicly, it has been a privilege to know you.”
Punk continued, “It’s a privilege to call you (a) friend, it’s an honor to be in the ring with you. I speak as a fan, I hope Saturday’s not it, but if it is- man, what a hell of a career. I love you brother, thank you.”
For those interested, you can check out our complete WWE Raw Results 1/26/26 here at WrestlingHeadlines.com.
Make sure to join us here at WrestlingHeadlines.com on 1/31 for live WWE Royal Rumble: Riyadh results coverage, which includes AJ Styles vs. Gunther with Styles’ career on-the-line.
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full punk and aj speech for yall lol it’s long! pic.twitter.com/p1KUr6J0b3
— lex 🧸 (@harryxgoldens) January 27, 2026
(H/T to Fightful.com for transcribing the above quotes.)
