Why CM Punk Wrestling John Cena In WWE One More Time Meant A Lot
CM Punk feels “super grateful” that he got to wrestle John Cena during Cena’s retirement tour.
The WWE retirement tour of 17-time World Champion John Cena is winding down because, after seven months of action in 2025, there are just five months left in Cena’s career as an active wrestler.
One of the first wrestlers that wrestling fans are going to think of when remembering Cena’s career will be CM Punk. Their rivalry in the early 2010s was among the best in WWE history, and it also contributed to both men becoming better performers through the work they did together.
At WWE Night of Champions, CM Punk tried to take the WWE Title from John Cena, but he failed to do so for a few reasons. There was a ref bump in the match, which led to Seth Rollins interfering to hit Punk with the Money in the Bank briefcase and The Stomp. Cena capitalized to pin Punk and retain the WWE Title.
When speaking about his rivalry with Cena, Punk said that he thinks that match at Night of Champions was the end of it.
CM Punk spoke about John Cena again at the San Diego Comic-Con panel, saying that it meant a lot to him to be part of Cena’s retirement tour.
“I’ve been fortunate to have a pretty long career filled with a lot of great moments. I think that’s just another one. My storied history with Cena, and for it to be wrapping up for him. I mean, he’s only got, like, 14 to 15 dates left. To be able to be in his orbit during his retirement and get to do fun stuff like that, it meant a lot to me.”
“We’re In The Business Of Creating Moments” – CM Punk
The 46-year-old Punk, who is one year younger than Cena, admitted that he’s getting soft as he gets older, and he’s also able to appreciate big moments like facing Cena one final time.
I’m turning very, very soft in my old age, so I am always just overflowing with gratitude. That moment was absolutely no different. I don’t think anybody expected that. It was a little bit different. It was fun.
Obviously, I think we’re in the business of creating moments. So again, super grateful I still can do that and contribute at this level.”
CM Punk will challenge Gunther for the World Heavyweight Title at SummerSlam on Saturday, August 2nd. Also at SummerSlam, John Cena will defend the WWE Championship against Cody Rhodes on Sunday, August 3rd. They are two of the biggest matches during SummerSlam weekend as CM Punk attempts to hold a WWE World Title for the first time in over a decade.