Summer is here. And if the Karachi heat isn't enough to melt you, CM Punk's promos definitely will. On Monday Night Raw, The 'Best in the World' came face to face with WWE Champion John Cena and challenged him to a match for the title. Cena accepted the challenge and the two will face off at the Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia on June 28.
The two had a brief encounter at WWE Elimination Chamber earlier this year. But the story between the two goes way back. In 2011, Cena was the champ when Punk broke out as the greatest thing in pro-wrestling with his infamous 'pipe bomb', that led to one of the best stories in wrestling history. The summer of 2011 became known as the 'Summer of Punk'. But while it wasn't the first 'Summer of Punk' — the first happened in the Ring of Honor promotion in 2005 — it brought Punk a global recognition as being the outspoken, straightedge iconoclast that he is and eventually led to a record-breaking championship reign.
Will 2025 see the third 'Summer of Punk'? It's doubtful but very much possible now that things are heating up since WWE Money in the Bank premium live event this past weekend.
Wild card
Seth Rollins became the new Mr Money in the Bank, 11 years after his first one, and with that, he can cash in on any world championship for up to a year. On Raw, he teased cashing in on Cena during the latter's face-off with Punk.
With Rollins' deep hatred of Punk, it's possible that Punk defeats Cena and Rollins' cashes in on Punk, continuing their rivalry. No matter the outcome, Punk will either go on another championship reign or fight Rollins to the edge of the world until one of them falls over. In both cases, Punk is done playing nice and being a team player. He's coming for the title.
It's also fascinating that from 2011 to 2014, whenever Punk and Cena faced off, Cena was the face and Punk the heel or a tweener. And yet Punk was widely cheered by the audience, and Cena booed most of the time, with only his pre-teen fan base rooting for him.
On Monday, it was a similar soundscape with some role reversals. This time, Punk is a face and Cena a heel. And yet, the more things change, the more they remain the same. Most of the crowd favoured Punk, with intermittent chants of 'Let's go Cena' and 'Cena sucks' piping in. The only difference was the adult voices rooted for Cena and the kids against him.
Right match, wrong show
It's also confusing why WWE is choosing to have this match in Saudi Arabia when they could save it for the biggest show of the year, SummerSlam, in August. There is enough history between the two to continue this renewed rivalry for the next two months and give them a bigger spotlight at SummerSlam.
It's very much possible that this match will end in shenanigans that will continue the rivalry or divert it from Punk and Cena to Punk and Rollins. With the involvement of Rollins, it's inevitable that Roman Reigns might play a part in it too.
There's also a chance that Rollins cashes in on the new World Heavyweight Champion Gunther, who ended Jey Uso's short reign on Raw.
Another factor is the eventual King of the Ring winner, who will be crowned at WWE Night of Champions and receive a guaranteed world title shot at SummerSlam. Sami Zayn has already qualified for the semi-finals but the returning former champ Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton or someone else could still win it all.
Rest assured, the world title picture remains as unpredictable as Punk himself. As they say, all roads lead to WrestleMania. But the roads shall pass through the summer that's quickly heating up.
Whether Punk sets the shows ablaze and goes on a rampage or someone else reigns supreme, it's bound to be a hell of a summer for WWE.
Truth and Evolution
Additionally, WWE righted the wrong and rehired R-Truth back after massive backlash from both fans and peers. Truth's new direction includes him reverting to his real name Ron Killings. Essentially the truth set Killings free on Monday as he cut his dreadlocks. What his road looks like remains to be seen. But he's done being a comedy act for now.
The whole situation was a pity as Truth faced Cena recently and was released the week after. But thankfully, WWE listened to the negative reactions and brought him up. While Truth is one of the best comedy acts in WWE history, a serious Killings can also deliver big time as he has done it several times in his career.
WWE is also ramping things up in the women's roster, with the Queen of the Ring tournament, similar to the men's version. They are also bringing back WWE Evolution, a premium show focusing only on women's matches, for the first time since 2018.
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