3 reasons why CM Punk controversially lost to John Cena at WWE Night of Champions 2025 

WWE Night of Champions 2025 ended with the victory of John Cena. The Franchise Player remains the Undisputed WWE Champion as he continues his historic retirement tour.

The match between CM Punk and John Cena witnessed multiple interferences. Even Seth Rollins came out with his alliance to try and cash in the Money in the Bank contract, but failed in his attempt. At last, the 17-time World Champion stole the victory by throwing The Visionary out of the ring and taking advantage of the latter's Curb Stomp to The Voice of the Voiceless.

In this article, we will be looking at three reasons why The Best in the World suffered a controversial defeat at the hands of The Last Real Champion at the Saudi Arabia PLE.

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#3. To set up CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins for SummerSlam 2025

One of the biggest reasons behind CM Punk losing the match against John Cena is Seth Rollins' interference. The Voice of the Voiceless was in firm control during the contest and came close on multiple occasions to dethrone The Cenation Leader.

However, the arrival of The Visionary along with Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed disrupted Punk's momentum. Despite all the chaos, his stomp was the sole reason why The Franchise Player managed to defeat The Best in the World. So, one of the probable reasons behind the loss of CM Punk could be connected to his WWE SummerSlam plans.

The latest development will set the stage for another match between Punk and Rollins at The Biggest Party of the Summer.

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#2. WWE had no plans to crown CM Punk as champion

Cody Rhodes emerged as the winner of the 2025 King of the Ring Tournament. This means that he will be clashing with John Cena at SummerSlam 2025 for the Undisputed WWE Championship. Cena and Rhodes already have unfinished business since WrestleMania 41.

This seemingly confirms that WWE had no real plans to crown The Best in the World as champion at Night of Champions 2025. It appears that Cena taking on Rhodes at SummerSlam was the plan from the beginning. This contributes to another explanation behind the loss of The Second City Saint.

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#1. Cena is not dropping the title anytime soon

The loss of CM Punk at Night of Champions could be linked to the planned longevity of John Cena's Undisputed WWE Title reign. Despite all the distractions and interferences, The Franchise Player still escaped with the championship on his shoulder. This suggests that the Triple H-led creative team has plans for a lengthy title reign for The Last Real Champion.

This could be why The Second City Saint failed to defeat the 17-time WWE Champion at the premium live event.