Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena will put his gold on the line against CM Punk at Night of Champions, in perhaps the final chapter of the epic story between the two. On WWE SmackDown, Cena spoke at length about his future title match with the Best in the World. In one of his more scathing lines, Cena declared that \"If CM Punk really wants to take this, he has to admit to himself that he’s a hypocrite.”
This line was a nod to Punk\'s upcoming appearance in Saudi Arabia despite his previous criticism of WWE\'s partnership with the nation. In an infamous X post from 2020, Punk told The Miz to \"Go suck a blood money covered d*** in Saudi Arabia you f***ing dork\" after a comment by The Miz Punk took as a slight at him. The pair reconciled backstage at a WWE Raw taping in 2023.
Ironically, Cena himself also avoided Saudi Arabia events for years following the original event, the Greatest Royal Rumble in 2018. WWE\'s partnership with the nation has been met with backlash due to the nation\'s restrictive laws against women, LGBTQ+ people, and others. WWE has defended its presence in Saudi Arabia as intending to implement positive changes through the medium of Sports Entertainment.
Five years after Punk labelled the benefits of this partnership as \'Blood Money,\' the Chicago-Made star hopes to win gold in Saudi Arabia. It remains to be seen if Punk can be the one to dethrone the \'Unseen Seventeen.\'
