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CM Punk Gets WWE Championship Match Against John Cena At Night Of Champions

The Best in the World is getting his shot at John Cena's WWE Championship, but he has to go half way around the world to get it.
Rick Ucchino|
CM Punk
CM Punk | WWE.com

For the first time in his professional wrestling career, CM Punk will compete in Saudi Arabia.

That was the stipulation that WWE Champion John Cena issued to Punk Monday night on Raw. If Punk wanted one last match with the 17-time World Champion during his retirement tour, then it would have to be at Night of Champions coming up on Saturday, June 28.

The self-proclaimed 'Best in the World' didn't hesitate to accept the terms. It was later made official by Raw GM Adam Pearce and these two storied rivals are now set to battle each other one-on-one for the first time in over 12 years.

It was 14 years ago when these two men fought over the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank, and much like today, one man has every intention of walking out of the company with the title on his shoulder and never returning again.

Once again John Cena will enter the bout as the champion, but in a reversal of roles from 2011, it's CM Punk who will be attempting to win the WWE Championship to save it from permanent retirement.

The anti-establishment punk rocker did say he's not doing this for the establishment. He's not fighting for TKO or any collection of billionaires. Punk is vowing to win the WWE Championship for the people and to send Cena packing on an apology tour with the dates he has remaining in his career.

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Published | Modified
Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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