John Cena Describes How He Truly Felt When CM Punk Left WWE
CM Punk is clearly enjoying his time in WWE. He has more creative freedom and has adapted to the Triple H era very well. But that was not always the case.
His previous stint with the Stamford-based promotion ended in early 2014 on a sour note. Multiple reasons, like health issues, creative frustrations, and tensions with management, led him to walk out after the Royal Rumble and be officially released later that year.
However, a decade later, Punk returned to where his heart always belonged and made his surprise at Survivor Series: WarGames on November 25, 2023, to an enormous crowd reaction.
John Cena Wished CM Punk Had Never left WWE
Speaking at Fan Expo Chicago, one of CM Punk’s greatest rivals in WWE, John Cena, addressed his fallout with the company. The Never Seen 17 started with heaping praise on Punk for his genuine love for pro wrestling. He acknowledged that while many chase the top spot out of selfishness, there are rare exceptions like Punk who are driven by authentic love for the business.
“A few things. First of all, we both want the same spot. And I also think we both love the same thing. A lot of people that want that front spot, purely want it for selfish reasons. Every once in a while, you get somebody who wants to sit in the front that loves the business, and we love it in different ways, too. I think we’re such different personalities, but we share a lot of the same core values. So we just want to bring the best out of each other.
Cena also wished that Punk had not taken an extended time off from WWE, as he was sad about missed opportunities for more matches and moments together, but also felt grateful for the ones they shared. Ultimately, he emphasized that despite their distinct personalities, they have mutual respect, a shared commitment to excellence, and core values that make their rivalry special.
For some reason, we kind of found each other and found each other at the right time and man, I wish I could have kept him with us. I wish he didn’t have to take all that time off because we could have had some more matches, but I’m grateful for the moments we’ve had. And I think that, I think we just, we both want to sit in front. We both really love the business.”