John Cena stunned the WWE Universe on SmackDown this past Friday by delivering a ruthless twist on CM Punk’s legendary “pipebomb” promo and in doing so, he mentioned out AEW and TNA stars Claudio Castagnoli, Matt Cardona, and Nic Nemeth by name.
The segment began with Cena refusing to continue fighting Truth, choosing instead to strike him with the Undisputed Championship belt.
That led to a surprise run-in from CM Punk, but the tables quickly turned as Cena hit an Attitude Adjustment and slammed Punk through a table.
With Punk laid out, John Cena grabbed a mic and recreated the infamous 2011 pipebomb promo.
“You’re not the voice of the voiceless,” he said, locking eyes with the camera. “You’re a millionaire! You’re a capitalist! You’re not against TKO — you’re Mr. TKO!”
In a shocking twist, Cena also called out several current AEW and TNA stars, including Claudio Castagnoli (formerly Cesaro), Nic Nemeth (Dolph Ziggler), and Matt Cardona (Zack Ryder).
He accused Punk of stepping on the necks of “people who actually work hard if it gets you ahead.”
“Claudio Castagnoli deserves better,” Cena said. “He was the workhorse while you were backstage politicking. You change your values more than I change T-shirts.”
The line referencing Claudio Castagnoli now a top name in AEW caught fire online, with fans applauding the nod to someone widely respected for his in-ring talent.
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Cena would go on to name Claudio Castagnoli three more times during the promo, each time criticising Punk for allegedly holding back talents like him while chasing personal glory.
Earlier in the night, Cena’s match against Truth ended in controversy, similar to their last encounter at Saturday Night’s Main Event, where Cena had used the title belt to win.
After John Cena turned heel, Truth initially stood by him but tensions exploded at Backlash, where Cena put Truth through a table at the post-show press conference.
That betrayal led to Truth’s release from WWE which he later revealed was part of a storyline and a surprise return at Money in the Bank, where he attacked Cena under a mask.
On his return to Raw, Truth, now going by his real name Ron Killings, declared he was done being a joke and cut his hair as a symbol of change.
Since then, Killings has attacked Cena multiple times, even locking him in the STF. But on this week’s SmackDown, he came up short again as Cena not only defeated him but used the moment to send a clear message to CM Punk ahead of their highly anticipated match.
With tensions rising and shots being fired on and off the mic, all eyes are now on Night of Champions and whether Cena will back up his words when he faces CM Punk in the ring.
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