"Heel Cena is growing on me" - Fans react as John Cena seemingly hints at CM Punk being a hypocrite for past Saudi Arabia comments

The WWE Universe has reacted to John Cena's apparent shot at CM Punk on his Instagram handle. Cena referenced Punk's shot at The Miz that he took via an X post back in early 2020.

Back in 2020, Punk blasted The Miz on social media and told him to "go suck a blood money covered d**k in Saudi Arabia." Now that Punk himself is set to travel to the country to wrestle Cena, he's been receiving massive backlash from fans on social media since this week's RAW.

Amidst the hullabaloo, John Cena took to his Instagram handle and posted a picture from the Greatest Royal Rumble PLE in 2018. The image is from the Ladder match contested for the Intercontinental Championship, and The Miz can be seen hitting a Skull Crushing Finale on Samoa Joe. This could be Cena hinting at Punk's hypocritical comments on Miz and Saudi Arabia.

The WWE Universe was quick to sense the reference and had a variety of reactions to the same:

John Cena and CM Punk have quite a lot of history together as WWE opponents

Back in 2011, Punk cost Cena a match against R-Truth, aka Ron Killings, on an episode of RAW. Immediately after, Punk cut one of the most iconic promos in the history of wrestling, now referred to as the "Pipebomb."

Punk went on to defeat Cena at Money in the Bank 2011 in an instant classic and fled the spot with the WWE Championship.

Punk and Cena went on to wrestle each other on several occasions, with their singles match on RAW on the road to WrestleMania 29 being hailed as another classic encounter.

Fast forward to 2025, and the WWE Universe is beyond excited to see these two arch-rivals go at it one final time, mere months before Cena retires.

About the author

Abhilash Mendhe is a pro wrestling journalist at Sportskeeda with nearly five years of experience. He completed his MBA from the Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management in 2016 and worked with multiple banking institutions, including Tech Mahindra. While he started writing WWE articles for Sportskeeda in 2019 as a hobby, it eventually became a significant part of his professional journey.

Abhilash checks his articles thrice before sending them to the editing team, ensuring his work is highly accurate and reliable.

He has interviewed prominent pro wrestling personalities like Noam Dar, Angry Miz Girl, Brendan Cobbina, and Jesse Lambert. Abhilash is a big fan of AEW star Orange Cassidy, as he believes the former International Champion’s on-screen gimmick of an extremely lazy guy resonates with him.

Given the opportunity to script WWE’s next big storyline, Abhilash would treat fans to the second installment of The Bloodline Civil War. He would book Roman Reigns to re-form The Bloodline with The Usos and Sami Zayn upon his comeback. The angle would see The Tribal Chief-led group go head-to-head with The Rock, Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and Jacob Fatu in a blockbuster family feud.

When not reporting on pro wrestling, Abhilash likes to work out, go on walks, read, and explore new eateries.

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Edited by Angana Roy