Tonight’s episode of WWE RAW opened with a fiery confrontation between Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena and his top challenger, CM Punk. The promo segment set up their main event match for the Night of Champions premium live event on June 28.
Coming to the ring to address the controversial return of R-Truth, CM Punk immediately took aim at Cena’s new corporate persona.
“If they want the truth, they’re going to get Ron Killings,” Punk declared, intentionally using R-Truth’s real name to ground the segment in reality. He continued, “I’m not standing for TKO, I’m not here to defend billionaires, I’m here to defend the people.”
Punk claimed that he never wanted to challenge for the WWE Championship upon his return because he was scared of what holding the title turns a man into, referencing his own acclaimed heel run in 2012. He accused the championship of having corrupted Cena, just as it once corrupted him.
“You screamed ‘I’m sorry’ because you knew then and you damn well know now that what you are doing is not right,” Punk said, referencing a past encounter between the two.
In order to defeat the corporate “monster” that Cena has become, Punk said he must become a monster himself. He then issued a direct challenge.
“I’m going to leave it up to John Cena to figure out what date he takes that title off his shoulder,” Punk said. “If he’s not a coward, that date is tonight.”
Cena, however, declined to have the match on RAW, officially announcing that their championship encounter will take place in Saudi Arabia. “Punk is going to follow me to Saudi Arabia at Night of Champions,” Cena stated.