Has CM Punk once again brought out the best of John Cena in WWE?

The two stars will collide once again this Saturday!

Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena is gearing up for his second title defense against ‘The Second City Saint’ CM Punk at Night of Champions 2025. The 2025 edition of the PLE will commence on July 28 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The clash has seen the two former rivals reignite their feud from a decade ago, reminding fans of the promo battles which became iconic years later.

What Happened?

On the June 9 episode of Monday Night Raw, Punk confronted Cena, asking for a title match right then and there. However, Cena floated the idea of a match at the Saudi PLE, which was later announced by the promotion

The Second City Saint also delivered a promo referencing his promos from their feud a decade ago. Punk followed it up with another promo on the following episode of SmackDown. The promo hyped up the clash to an extent, but what came next truly got the wrestling community talking.

John Cena fired back at Punk on June 20th episode of SmackDown when Punk came out to aid R-Truth, kicking off a brawl where Cena ended on top, slamming Punk through the table and sitting on the ropes to deliver a promo reminiscent of Punk’s iconic pipebomb promo.

As mentioned, Cena then, much like CM Punk, delivered his own version of a “pipebomb” promo, literally turning the tables. While the style was similar, references were adjusted to fit Cena’s own perspective.

The promo created buzz in the fandom with many people claiming that it is one of the best promos from Cena in a long time, certainly his best promo as a heel. Fans also credited Punk for bringing out the best in Cena.

John Cena is currently on his farewell tour

Cena kicked off his farewell tour in January and is set to hang up his wrestling boots at the end of 2025. For the first time in his career, he turned heel at Elimination Chamber 2025, aligning with The Rock in order to secure his record-breaking 17th WWE World title.

Cena defeated Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania to win the title and then defended it successfully against his career-long rival Randy Orton. However, the absence of The Rock and the poor justification of Cena’s heel turn, along with the promotion’s lackluster storylines, damaged his heel run.

The bigger picture

As mentioned above, Cena and Punk are set to collide at the Kingdom Arena this Saturday with the Undisputed title on the line. However, the Second City Saint has been very critical of the country and has made the headlines for his infamous comments about the country. There are speculations of him not competing at the PLE, something which he has consistently avoided since his return.

Opinion

Yes, CM Punk has brought out the best in John Cena, likely reviving his heel run. While some fans have outright refused to boo John Cena, despite his heel turn, others were irked by the absence of The Rock and the lack of explaination for this once in a generation heel turn.

The feud with Cody Rhodes leading up to WrestleMania 41 suffered from this exact same problem, and The Rock’s absence from the PLE made it even worse. The build-up saw the two cutting their promos without any proper interruption, and then Cody ending up on top.

The storyline with Randy Orton banked heavily on nostalgia, deservedly so, as the two stars have been career-long rivals. Although the two stars delivered good promos and the match at Backlash was also much better than WrestleMania 41, the feud failed to leave an imprint on fans, likely due to its rushed nature, and had to rely on banking on the two stars battling for the final time.

While due to WWE’s packed schedule, Punk too has had only two promos to build up hype, with the third time Cena taking charge. However, the two stars have banked on nostalgia while creating jaw-dropping promos, which have amped up the crowd for the match.

The two stars will now meet for the final time on this week’s episode of SmackDown in Saudi Arabia before stepping in the squared circle for the final battle of their careers.

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