John Cena: CM Punk going to Saudi Arabia was ‘awesome,’ made me cry
John Cena was a huge fan of CM Punk’s controversial decision to wrestle in Saudi Arabia.
After criticizing the WWE-Saudi relationship in the past, Punk traveled to the country this summer to face Cena at Night of Champions. While there, Punk apologized for the tweet he posted in 2020 telling The Miz to “go suck a blood money covered d**k in Saudi Arabia.” Punk said he was cranky when he sent out the post — and it did not actually have anything to do with Saudi Arabia. Punk noted that he was grateful to be in the country.
A new episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet was released today with Cena appearing as the guest. He reflected on his retirement tour, calling the Punk match something that was “larger than sports entertainment.” Cena got emotional over Punk coming to Saudi Arabia because of how “awesome” it was.
“Gosh, one of the moments in sports entertainment that’s larger than sports entertainment is Phil Brooks going to Saudi Arabia. That sh*t made me cry — like, awesome, awesome,” Cena said. “Accountability, vulnerability, apology, forgiveness. Cultures melding into each other. And then he comes out and does my gimmick. Like, how do you follow what I did? He came up with this crazy idea. I’m like, ‘Dude, you have to do that.’ And he crushed it. He absolutely just crushed it.
“And what a trip for him. Like, redemption, acceptance. He can go there wherever he wants and he can entertain fans who are incredible over there. When we started early on, they didn’t know what was going on. Now, they’re loud and they pack that place and it’s a great place to perform. And they welcome him and he welcomes them. And that’s super cool.”
When asked about his favorite moment of his entire career, Cena pointed to everything surrounding the Punk match in Saudi Arabia because of how meaningful it all was. Cena called Punk his “wrestling soulmate.”
WWE’s business relationship with the Saudi government formed in 2018 and has continued to grow in the years since. On January 31, 2026, Saudi Arabia will host the Royal Rumble. It’s also been announced that WrestleMania 43 will be held in Saudi Arabia in 2027.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.