Potential reason why John Cena namedropped Claudio Castagnoli, Matt Cardona, and Nic Nemeth in SmackDown Pipebomb

John Cena mentioned three interesting names during his Pipebomb promo on SmackDown: Claudio Castagnoli, Nic Nemeth, and Matt Cardona. Now, fans have seemingly found out the reason behind Cena mentioning the three stars during the promo.

Back in 2013, CM Punk was interviewed during a WrestleMania 29 press event. While wearing a Cesaro T-shirt, Punk namedropped Dolph Ziggler and Zack Ryder. He also took a shot at the main event of that year's 'Mania: The Rock vs. John Cena for the WWE Title.

Twelve years later, Cena mentioned Cesaro, Ryder, and Ziggler, albeit by their real names, in his Pipebomb promo. It's quite likely that Cena referenced Punk's 2013 interview in his SmackDown promo.

Check out the interview below:

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CM Punk's thoughts on John Cena's Pipebomb on WWE SmackDown

CM Punk recently appeared at the SummerSlam 2025 Kickoff event and responded to Cena's Pipebomb on SmackDown. Here's what he had to say:

"Just because people come out on television and lie about me doesn't make it true. John said one true, real thing last night, and that is he's jealous of me. It doesn't seem to make any sense because he's the greatest of all time. Seventeen-time world champion. I don't know if anybody in this room is going to live long enough to see anybody else accomplish that. Could be Randy [Orton]. He's probably our best bet. The big difference between Randy and John is that Randy didn't sell his soul to the Rock. Randy is here, boots on the ground. We don't see The Rock anywhere. We don't see Travis Scott anywhere." [H/T - Fightful]

Punk and Cena will collide in an Undisputed WWE Title match at this year's edition of Night of Champions. Punk would love to recreate history and beat Cena for the top prize, much like how he did back in 2011.

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 Harish Raj S