CM Punk Sets Sights On Championship With Post WWE Backlash Tease

John Cena is still the WWE Champion, but the clock appears to be ticking down to when he squares off with another old rival.

CM Punk on 2/28/25 SmackDown / WWE.com

The self-proclaimed 'Best in the World' still has his eyes on WWE's top prize.

CM Punk may have some unfinished business with Seth Rollins and Paul Heyman, but he took to social media Saturday night to let John Cena know that he still sees a future encounter with his old rival.

The Never Seen 17-Time World Champion defeated Randy Orton at WWE Backlash and is still barreling toward retirement with the WWE Championship in hand. Punk was not in St. Louis. He instead watched the main event unfold from the comfort of his couch and snapped a perfectly timed screen shot after the bout was over.

CM Punk sends message to Cena / CM Punk Instagram Stories

The photo was posted to Punk's Instagram stories with the caption, "for now." An editorialized add on to Michael Cole's commentary that was plastered on his television set via closed captioning.

After Cena was able to survive his match with Orton, the WWE Champion grabbed a microphone and proclaimed a need for competition. With one storied rival now in the rearview mirror, it appears that another in CM Punk is patiently waiting for his shot at reliving some glory days.

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If it's going to happen, time is of the essence. John Cena has just 24 appearances left before his time is up. What a strange role reversal it would be for Punk to be the one trying to save WWE Championship from retirement this time around.

Money in the Bank 2025 is right around the corner. It would be extremely poetic if WWE were to run back Punk and Cena's epic encounter from 2011, where Punk won the WWE Championship just hours before his contract with the company expired.

He then ran off into the crowd after blowing Mr. McMahon a kiss good-bye.

With MITB less than a month away, and Punk still embroiled in a battle with Rollins's new alliance on Raw, the timing may not line up for Cena and himself to tango in Los Angeles. That said, a 'summer of Cena' angle of some kind this year feels like an absolute necessity from a booking standpoint.

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