CM Punk Made John Cena Cry On His WWE Retirement Tour

CM Punk and John Cena have a lot of history together.

They revisited their iconic rivalry at Night of Champions in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, when Punk challenged heel Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship in June 2025.

The match marked Punk’s return to Saudi Arabia after he previously criticized WWE’s Saudi Arabia events, notably in a 2020 tweet telling The Miz to “go suck a blood money-covered d**k in Saudi Arabia.”

He returned to Saudi Arabia despite the backlash, apologizing publicly at the event kickoff to the crowd and the country, calling it a moment of crankiness rather than true intent.

John Cena Comments On CM Punk’s Return To Saudi Arabia

Speaking to Chris Van Vliet on his Insight podcast, The Last Real Champion revealed that Punk taking accountability for his actions and seeking redemption before their match at Saudi Arabia touched him very much.

He also praised The Best in the World for adopting his persona in a promo, which he found “absolutely crushing.”

Cena said, “Phil Brooks going to Saudi Arabia. That sh*t made me cry. Accountability, vulnerability, apology, forgiveness, cultures melding into each other. And then he comes out and does my gimmick.”

“Like, how do you follow what I did? He came up with this crazy idea. I’m like, ‘Dude, you have to do that.’ And he crushed it. He absolutely just crushed it. What a trip for him. Redemption, acceptance.”

“He can go there whenever he wants and he can entertain fans who are incredible over there… they welcome him and he welcomes them. And that’s super cool.”

Although he didn’t win that night in Saudi Arabia, Punk created a truly special memory that he will hold dear forever. He is a huge John Cena fan, and considers himself lucky enough to be in WWE and witness Cena ride off into the sunset.

H/T Fightful