The rivalry between John Cena and (one of my favorite pro wrestlers of all time) CM Punk in 2011 is one of my top 10 favorite pro wrestling feuds of all time. Everything that happened in that story—the buildup, the Pipe Bomb promo, their legendary WWE Championship match at Money in the Bank—is perfectly executed. So, upon learning that Cena plans to retire this 2025, I truly hoped that “The Greatest of All Time” and “The Best in the World” could reignite their rivalry.
After that shocking John Cena heel turn, facing Cody Rhodes for the WWE title at WrestleMania 41, battling Randy Orton on Backlash, facing his “biggest fan” R-Truth at Saturday Night’s Main Event, interfering in the Jey Uso/Logan Paul world title match on the same night, and the Cena/Paul vs Rhodes/Uso match at Money in the Bank, on the June 9, 2025 edition of Monday Night Raw, CM Punk confronted Cena and challenged him for the WWE Championship. Cena said yes, but the match will happen on Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia.
On that episode of Raw, my hope for another chapter in the John Cena/CM Punk feud became reality, but this time the alignments changed: Punk is a face and Cena is a heel champion. Since then, it has been only a few weeks, but the buildup to their Night of Champions match is fucking spectacular.
What are the best parts of the buildup? Firstly…
John Cena’s Pipe Bomb
On last week’s edition of Friday Night SmackDown, after John Cena defeated a reinvigorated Ron “R-Truth” Killings via disqualification, CM Punk ran furiously to the ring to beat up Cena. Cena retaliated, kicked Punk in the balls, and hit him with the WWE title. Then Cena took a table, hit Punk with the title one more time, and he slammed him through the table via Attitude Adjustment.
And then, John Cena made his version of CM Punk’s Pipe Bomb, taking elements from the iconic promo while twisting it to make it his own. Cena proclaiming to be “The Greatest of All Time”, calling Punk “the best bullshitter in the world”, mentioning the likes of Claudio Castagnoli (aka Cesaro), and telling everyone he does not need a (pipe) bomb to end his promo… this is echoed promo perfection.
CM Punk’s Rap Promo
And today (Philippine time) on SmackDown, after John Cena went to the ring and cut a promo, the unthinkable happened: CM Punk ripped John Cena in return and in front of him, dressing up ala “The Doctor of Thuganomics”. (I laughed when I saw the “drug-free” knuckles!) This somehow reminds me of Punk dressing up like Jeff Hardy (face paint and all) in 2009.
Then CM Punk… I mean, Dr. Punk gave a scathing promo in the form of a rap. My favorite lines include: “Same shirt, same hat, man, your persona stayed tragic. You’re like a fish-bellied white Hulk Hogan but somehow more problematic.” “Yo, when it comes to ‘Best in the World’, I’m your vessel. Because millions chant my name and at you they chant ‘you can’t wrestle’.” But the best line, in my opinion?
“He said I’m a problem, he called me a player hater. Let’s be honest, John Cena’s buried more talent than The Undertaker.”
That’s cold, Punk. I love it.
Bravo, Cena, and bravo, Punk. I’m looking forward to Night of Champions, especially your match for the Undisputed WWE Championship.
Cena. Punk. One more time. Let’s fucking go.
See you in the next post! Word life.
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Header image: WWE. Edited in Adobe Photoshop 2025.
Published on June 28, 2025 at 10:07pm. Minor edits were made at 11:21pm. More edits were made on June 30, 2025 at 9:58am.
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