John Cena: The Moment With CM Punk In Saudi Arabia Transcended Wrestling, I Was Bawling

CM Punk and John Cena met for one final time at WWE Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia. Punk had previously been critical of WWE’s deal with Saudi, telling The Miz to “suck a blood money covered dick” in 2021.

When Punk came to Saudi for Night of Champions, he apologized during the kick-off shows for his previous comments, saying it had nothing to do with Saudi.

Speaking to Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Cena was asked about his favorite moment in 2025, and he named Punk in Saudi.

“That moment with Punk in Saudi. That transcends wrestling. To see cultures bridged. To see genuine forgiveness. I’m watching that pre-show bawling. It’s a pre-show,” said Cena.

Asked why the moment meant so much to him, Cena replied, “Unfolding before our eyes is accountability and genuine forgiveness and the bridging of cultural gaps. People who might not know a lot about each other or understand each other are getting along in harmony through this one thing that we dig: wrestling. What a global conduit to peace, excitement, and happiness. I’m just glad that I was his opponent so I could be attached to that moment. That pre-show, man, that is what we do. He made that trip knowing it was going to be uneasy and knowing he was going to have to be accountable, and just leaned in. In a moment, people were like, ‘Oh, I’m heard. Yes, I’m ready to forgive.’ Astonishing. To top it all off, ‘I think we’ve bridged the gap here,’ and then for him to go out and smoke in the promo. Drop heat in the gimmick. It was beautiful. The one that almost got me to break, in between one of his lines, he said, ‘I miss you already.’ I almost lost it right in front of him. That’s one of the best moments I’ve ever been a part of.”

Punk’s promo in Saudi aimed at Cena included Punk portraying Cena as the Dr. of Thuganomics and rapping at Cena.

Elsewhere during the interview, Cena named AJ Styles as te best to ever do it. You can find his full comments here.

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