CM Punk On The Same Road As John Cena

The fire still burns for CM Punk.

At the Royal Rumble, John Cena will take the next step in what is likely the longest goodbye in WWE history. His appearance in the men’s Royal Rumble match will not only be his first match in several months, but the last time he’ll wrestle at the famous event.

By the end of 2025, it’ll all be over. ‘The face that runs the place’ will be returning to Hollywood with his wrestling career a memory. But while Cena is happy to put a deadline on his career, CM Punk, who is just a year younger than his former rival, has no desire to do the same.

CM Punk Aware The End Is Near

During a new sit-down interview with Jackie Redmond, Punk addressed the upcoming Royal Rumble and the continued questions about his in-ring career. Punk has a well-documented history of major injuries but he remains determined to keep delivering at the top level for as long as possible.

However, he’s keenly aware that he’s got more years behind him in the ring than he does in front.

“I feel great right now. I definitely don’t feel like there is a looming doomsday clock over my head or anything like that. Saying that, I also do realize, based on what happened in the last Royal Rumble, that this could all end in a heartbeat.

I never know when my last match is going to be, and you see guys like John Cena doing a full blown retirement tour. I look at myself like I’m on the same road as John, maybe just not egotistical enough to announce to everybody, ‘Hey, this is it.’

I’m not setting a limit on anything, I’m just doing my best to bulletproof myself on a daily basis, work as hard on recovery as I do in the gym and in the ring, and not make this twilight of my career extended beyond what people expect of me.

I don’t want to twist in the wind and be some old guy. I think I get criticized an unfair amount, but it’s because I don’t dye my beard, I don’t dye my hair, I 100% embrace it. To me, these grays, I’ve earned them. They just tell stories. It’s the roads I’ve traveled, it’s the bumps and bruises I’ve taken and the injuries I’ve survived.

My face is a road map. I would not remove a scar. I would not dye my hair or beard. This is me. I was me when I first wrestled as a 15-year-old, and I’m me at 46, and I will always 100% be truly, unapologetically, one of one, CM Punk,”

At the Rumble, the pair will do battle with the likes of Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Rey Mysterio, and Sami Zayn. For Reigns, it will be his first Rumble match in five years.

Elsewhere, CM Punk teased a “big surprise” for the Royal Rumble, sparking renewed speculation his wife AJ Lee will be making a comeback.

H/t to Fightful