Cena was happy to see Punk make the trip to Riyadh.
John Cena defended the WWE Championship against CM Punk at Night of Champions: Riyadh on June 28 earlier this year. The match attracted significant media attention, as CM Punk had previously criticised WWE’s decision to hold events in Saudi Arabia on social media.
Speaking to Chris Van Vliet on Insight, John Cena reflected on CM Punk’s trip to Saudi Arabia, describing it as an emotional and significant moment.
“One of the moments in sports entertainment that’s larger than sports entertainment is Phil Brooks going to Saudi Arabia. That sh*t made me cry. Accountability, vulnerability, apology, forgiveness, cultures melding into each other. And then he comes out and does my gimmick. Like, how do you follow what I did? He came up with this crazy idea. I’m like, ‘Dude, you have to do that.’ And he crushed it. He absolutely just crushed it. What a trip for him. Redemption, acceptance. He can go there whenever he wants and he can entertain fans who are incredible over there… they welcome him and he welcomes them. And that’s super cool.”
-John Cena
The 2026 Royal Rumble is scheduled to take place in Riyadh on January 31, while WrestleMania 43 in 2027 will also head to Saudi Arabia, marking the first time the event goes international. As a result, it is likely that CM Punk has not yet had his final WWE appearance in the country.
John Cena’s legendary WWE career will come to an end on December 13 at Saturday Night’s Main Event at the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C., where he will face former World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER.
Elsewhere during the interview, Cena revealed that he wants to eventually see his seventeen-time world champion record broken. You can read more about that here.
Cena also touched on AJ Styles’s retirement plans and claimed that his former rival doesn’t want a retirement tour. You can read more about that here.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on WWE’s partnership with Saudi Arabia as soon as we hear more.
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