In a last-ditch effort to reignite the John Cena-CM Punk flame ahead of Sunday’s WWE Summerslam, Punk reclaimed his “pipe bomb” for an explosive final RAW segment.
After being somewhat buried in the opening segment when HHH, announced as the special guest referee for the Champion vs. Champion match at Summerslam, said he casts a bigger shadow than both men, Punk and Cena had the spotlight for the lengthy overrun segment.
Punk, whose character was starting to appear “bordered” by the fact that he could no longer claim to be a WWE outsider, reintroduced a “worked shoot” element into his promo.
Punk kicked off the “contract signing” segment by mocking similar WWE segments, noting they always break into “physical calamities.” The wrestler then used Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s anti-John Cena Facebook rant to launch into a verbal assault on his WWE Championship opponent.
Cena turned the tables on The Rock’s promo, acknowledging that he is comfortable with his fanbase (and comfortable that Punk’s fanbase will never respect him) and that Punk, in fact, is the real phony for portraying himself as an underdog and rebel while seizing greater opportunities as a WWE champion. Triple H backed Cena’s argument, noting that Punk basically held out for more money but then couldn’t even negotiate his contract in person.
Punk, who had previously mocked HHH’s work in “The Chaperone,” responded by ripping Triple H for using John Laurinaitis to do his dirty work. Punk called out “Funk Man” Laurinaitis (a reference to Laurinaitis’ resemblance, in appearance and voice, to Bob Einstein’s Marty Funkhauser character on “Curb Your Enthusiasm”) for likely not even handling the weekend’s WWE roster cuts (including Vladimir Kozlov, Harry Smith and a much-improved Chris Masters) in person. He then explained that while he did indeed accept “perks” and ask for magazine covers and ice cream bars, he worked hard to earn all of these things.
Cena, meanwhile, was given things despite only getting into sports entertainment after failing as a bodybuilder. And, after Summerslam, he wouldn’t even have the WWE Championship.
Cena responded by saying that all the pressure was on Punk this weekend. While Cena will headline WrestleMania against The Rock no matter what, Punk had to win to back up his talk and prove he wasn’t a one-hit wonder.
It all built to a physical confrontation, designed to resemble a pull-apart at a boxing press conference. Laurinaitis got in between the two, but Punk kicked him in the head. Triple H then stepped in, but Cena ran forward and managed to connect with a punch. As Punk walked up the ramp, he accused HHH and Cena of being in cahoots, suggesting that the “fix” could be in this weekend.
