After the thrilling conclusion to WWE’s Money in the Bank, many were curious to see what John Cena’s next move would be. Answers would come quickly, as Cena opened tonight’s episode of Monday Night Raw and chastised the crowd for their push to bring R-Truth (now Ron Killings) back to the company. After Cena then taunted them about taking down everyone they’ve cheered for so far, he was confronted by CM Punk, and that led to the confirmation of a dream match between the two superstars, but not everyone is going to be thrilled about where it’s happening.
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Punk came out and got in Cena’s face about not only how he’s treated the fans and his selling out to the Final Boss (The Rock), but then he brought back up how Cena captilized and looked Punk in the STF until he passed out after he was attacked by Seth Rollins at Elimination Chamber.
Then Punk said that while he knows that holding the Title could corrupt him just like it did Cena, he has to become a monster to defeat a monster, saying that if there remained any piece of the man he used to be, Cena would accept Punk’s challenge for the Title tonight. Cena was game for the match-up, but it had to be on his terms, and was certainly not going to be tonight.
That’s when Cena said that if Punk wanted that shot at the Title and the match to happen, he would have to follow Cena to Night of Champions, which means that Punk would have to travel to Saudi Arabia. Cena told Punk the ball was now in his court, and Punk obliged, making the match official and set for Night of Champions.
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That’s a big deal for several reasons, as Cena vs Punk is a match many have wanted to see again since Punk returned to the company. At that time, no one exactly saw it happening with Cena as a heel and Punk as a babyface, but that’s how things have shaken out.
As for the location, WWE’s events in Saudi Arabia have become pretty standard, but haven’t become any less controversial. There were reports previously that Punk was slated for a Saudi event but was then not going to be involved, though no reason was given. There are some on the roster who would frankly rather not be part of events in Saudi Arabia, and some chalked it up to that, but now it seems Punk will be having a dream match-style showdown with Cena there.
Night of Champions will take place on June 28th at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which brings back the event after skipping a year. The last Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia took place in 2023, and that was the return of the event after a previous eight-year break.
Looking back at the last time this event happened, it was a very different set of scenarios on the card. It was the very first time someone had won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, which was won by Seth Rollins. Meanwhile, Brock Lesnar was still around and fighting Cody Rhodes, while Asuka and Bianca Belair were fighting for the Raw Women’s Championship, and Rhea Ripley and Natalya were battling for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. You can find the full card below.
- WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match: Seth “Freakin” Rollins (C) def. AJ Styles
- Becky Lynch def. Trish Stratus
- Intercontinental Championship Match: Gunther (C) def. Mustafa Ali
- Raw Women’s Championship Match: Asuka (C) def. Bianca Belair
- SmackDown Women’s Championship: Rhea Ripley (C) def. Natalya
- Brock Lesnar def. Cody Rhodes
- Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Match: Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn def. Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa
Are you excited for the match? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things wrestling with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!
