John Cena Cuts His Own 'Pipebomb' Promo on Latest Episode of WWE SmackDown, Channels CM Punk of 2011

The WWE rivalry between John Cena and CM Punk took a new turn ahead of their much-anticipated WWE undisputed championship match at Night of Champions. On the latest episode of WWE SmackDown, Cena wrestled Ron Killings AKA R-Truth in the main event of the Friday night episode and the match finished with a disqualification after Cena hit Killings in the head with the belt. However, the real noteworthy event took place after the match. 

Punk ran out to make the save and was put through a table by Cena for his troubles. Then, as the Second City Saint lay on the mat, Cena ran back the 2011 Pipebomb promo that catapulted Punk to superstardom. 

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Cena Mimics Punk And Fans Go Wild

Punk's 2011 promo, which can be viewed in the video above, saw him air his grievances at the company at the time and make ‘shoot' references to other wrestling companies and wrestlers - most notably Colt Cabana. 

Cena mimicked the cadence, lining and tone of Punk's promo and shouted out three former WWE superstars - Claudio Castagnoli (Cesaro), Nic Nemeth (Dolph Ziggler) and Matt Cardona (Zack Ryder). 

It's worth noting that by the end of the promo, fans were cheering Cena loudly and even he seemed to be having the time of his life. 

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Paralells Between 2011 and 2025

But what made it a masterful segment was the fact that it had several paralells to the 2011 segment. Back then, Punk cut the promo while Cena lay stricken after being put through a table - and the roles were reversed here. 

Interestingly, the 2011 promo was also preceded by a disqualification finish in a match that featured R Truth. This time, it was Ron Killings - the same wrestler with a different ring name - who was involved. 

It certainly hyped the Night of Champions match between the two eternal WWE rivals - and may have even laid groundwork for another match before Cena's retirement.