In the latest episode of WWE RAW, it was confirmed that John Cena will be locking horns with CM Punk at the Night of Champions 2025. As John Cena continues his farewell tour, after winning his title against Cody Rhodes, he went on to defend it against Randy Orton at WWE Backlash.
CM Punk, on the contrary, has suffered a bit of a rough outing since WrestleMania 41, where he was betrayed by his best friend, Paul Heyman. Following that defeat, he has been bloodied by the newfound faction of Seth Rollins on multiple occasions. However, recently, he went after his iconic foe, John Cena, whom he had last competed against in a singles bout more than a decade ago.
What happened when John Cena and CM Punk entered the WWE ring in 2013?
The last time the leader of Cenation found himself up against the Straightedge Saviour was back in Elimination Chamber 2025, involving multiple competitors. Punk was eliminated by Cena, thereby reigniting what used to be an iconic and infamous rivalry almost a decade back. Since then, Punk did drop a few bombs, attacking Cena in his promos, but nothing of substance materialised.
Finally, after an eternity of waiting, John Cena and CM Punk came face-to-face in what was an explosive episode of RAW. The two will be meeting in a singles match after almost 12 years in the WWE ring, where Punk might have a shot at earning the title.
The two share a very splintered history in terms of their relationship, but when Cena duked it out with Punk in the WWE ring, the last time they met in a singles match, it was deemed as one of the finest matches ever televised on a house show.
In the build-up to WrestleMania 29, John Cena was to face Punk, and the winner of the match would meet The Rock in the main event. Following this, the 26-minute battle between Cena and Punk shattered all possible barriers of excellence and set up a new benchmark. The match started with an early grappling exchange, which eventually found a break in the form of a hiptoss from Cena, driving Punk to the mat.
Cena magnified the charge, inflicting a back body drop followed by a fisherman suplex. However, Punk ensured the fact that he is hanging in there with a flurry of dropkicks, tricky dodges, and a couple of suicide dives that took out Cena’s momentum.
There was also a failed attempt from Cena to inflict an early AA, but Punk countered it with a DDT. On a similar note, Punk’s attempt to hit a GTS was caught midway, and Cena flipped it into an STF.
As the pendulum oscillated with tremendous force, Punk’s attempt to go for a Macho Man-style diving elbow missed its mark, facilitating Cena to hit a Frankensteiner. This was followed by another imposing AA, leaving Punk flattened out on a mat.
Cena wasted no seconds and went for the pin, thereby winning the all-important encounter and booking himself a spot in the WrestleMania 29 main event. However, wrestling fans did not realise that they would have to wait for years to see Punk and Cena face each other again, this time at the 2025 WWE Night of Champions with the Undisputed title on the line, as the match was made official on the recent episode of RAW.
CM Punk has made a couple of strong foes in WWE ever since his return
When CM Punk returned to WWE at the 2023 Survivor Series, there were a couple of big names who expressed their discontent off the bat. One of them was Seth Rollins, who also went on to beat Punk at WrestleMania 41, and the other one was Drew McIntyre. Punk’s rivalry with McIntyre got personal, and at the end of it all, it was Punk who avenged his defeat at the hands of the Scottish Psychopath.
However, with Seth Rollins, things were different. In an interview with Up and Adams Show with Kay Adams, Rollins revealed that Punk wasn’t a good dude. The Visionary didn’t want Punk anywhere near his wind space. He also clarified that this is exactly why Rollins ensured that Punk was not winning at MITB.
Earlier, speaking on the Gorilla Position podcast, Drew McIntyre sketched a parallel between Punk and notorious cult leader Charles Manson. The statement from McIntyre was another reason to show the world that the hatred that McIntyre had for the Second City Saint was just way too real to be curbed. Regardless of the foes he made, Punk continues to thrive as a major fixture for WWE in the second coming of his run, which has proven to be remarkable so far.
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