Pipebomb 2.0: John Cena cooks CM Punk in a major role reversal on WWE SmackDown

Summary

• John Cena delivered a pipe bomb of his own against CM Punk on WWE SmackDown, as a tribute to their feud in 2011
• The 'Last Real Champion' namedropped Claudio Castagnoli, Matt Cardona, and Nic Nemeth
• The 17-time world champion blew a flying kiss before ending the night on a high

John Cena turned out to be a pro heel version of himself, as he delivered a pipe bomb of his own against CM Punk on WWE SmackDown. It was a tribute from the Last Real Champion to their feud in 2011, which involved a generational promo from the Voice of the Voiceless. Cena ran back and reminded Punk of how things have changed in the last 14 years.

Also Read: Explained: Controversy between CM Punk and Saudi Arabia

Cena hit Punk with the title a couple of times and delivered an Attitude Adjustment through the table to damage his Night of Champions opponent. He then grabbed the mic, climbed to the top of the apron, sat, and started his pipe bomb. Cena used many of the lines from the 2011 Pipe bomb, such as "I don't hate you, in fact I like you more than a majority in the locker room."

Watch John Cena's Pipe bomb against CM Punk here -

.@JohnCena has some things he wants to get off his chest... 😳#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/8IQAuTKBzp

— WWE (@WWE) June 21, 2025

Cena reminded Punk of their past segments in which he was in a similar position as Punk was, lying in the ring after their back was broken through the table. Interestingly, in both segments, Cena had a match with R Truth and ended up losing. The segment served its purpose and elevated the current heel run of Cena when it needed it most.

John Cena name-drops Claudio Castagnoli, Nic Nemeth, and Matt Cardona to break the fourth wall

The Leader of the Cenation Army broke the fourth wall in some cases, as he namedropped the trio of Claudio Castagnoli, Nic Nemeth, and Matt Cardona. He even claimed Punk was not the Voice of the Voiceless anymore, and added he was a Capitalist. Cena regarded Punk to be a member of the TKO and did not represent the fans.

Also Check: WWE King and Queen of the Ring 2025 predictions: Semifinal and final winners

The world champion enjoyed his time in the ring, taking a dig at his long-time rival. As the referee came to see if Punk was doing fine, Cena felt it was not necessary, as he claimed to give Punk enough time to fight him in Saudi Arabia. Before leaving the arena, Cena delivered a flying kiss and reminded Punk of their end to the Money in the Bank 2011 match.