John Cena has subtly trolled his Night of Champions opponent CM Punk ahead of their final-ever clash, which has led to fans’ worry about the match even taking place.
Punk and Cena came face-to-face on WWE Raw on June 9, with the 17-time champion telling the Best in the World he would have to ‘follow’ him to Saudi Arabia if he wanted to face him.
CM Punk has never wrestled in Saudi Arabia after previously criticising WWE, and The Miz directly, for their Middle Eastern shows.
Cena has upped the ante with his legendary WWE rival, so much so that fans think it could lead to the cancellation of the match.
WWE fans unconvinced John Cena vs CM Punk will go ahead
Cena took an indirect swipe at his potential opponent on his Instagram, posting a picture of The Miz wrestling against Samoa Joe at Super ShowDown 2019 in Saudi Arabia.
CM Punk famously slammed The Miz for working Saudi Arabia during his stint outside of professional wrestling in 2020.
Due to Cena playing up Punk’s words on Saudi Arabia, fans think the whole story could be a ruse and the match will not take place.
“I think Punk gets written off TV and this will lead to a three-way at Summerslam between him, Cena, and Cody Rhodes,” said one fan on X.
Another was adamant Punk would not wrestle at Night of Champions, and even named his replacement. “Punk is gonna get written off TV before Night of Champions and be replaced by The Miz.”
“Please tell me this implies Punk is getting written off before Saudi,” said another. “Or they at least have Cena play into Punk’s morals in this storyline.”
Despite returning in 2023, Punk has only wrestled 12 times against a slim roster of opponents. The star has faced Drew McIntyre and Seth Rollins on three separate occasions.
A match with Cena will provide much-needed respite for the Best in the World, who has largely been feuding with Rollins since his return.
This will be John Cena and CM Punk’s first WWE singles match since 2013, when the pair met on Monday Night Raw.
CM Punk is desperate to face John Cena again
While fans think Cena and Punk’s match will not happen in Saudi Arabia, the two rivals are destined to clash one final time on the 17-time champion’s retirement tour.
The two men had an epic rivalry at the beginning of the 2010s, most famously colliding at Money in the Bank 2011.
That match was won by Punk, who walked out on the company as the WWE Champion. The two have been intrinsically linked since and the Best in the World has often spoken about one more match.
“Selfishly, I’d love to be a part of [Cena’s farewell tour] in any which way he possibly sees fit,” said Punk to Netflix.
“He wants to tag with me, awesome,” added Punk. “He wants to lock back up with me, fantastic. But as a fan, I’m just excited to be here to witness it all.”
Cena and Punk also had high-profile matches at Survivor Series 2012 and SummerSlam 2011.