How CM Punk Earned John Cena's Respect With A Headlock
Highlights
- CM Punk and John Cena formed one of the best rivalries in WWE history, with high-profile matches and a 5-star rated match in Money in the Bank 2011.
- In 2009, CM Punk surprised Cena by taking control of their match and calling the action, relieving Cena of his usual role as the one directing traffic.
- Cena respected Punk's ability to dissect and counter his offense, leading to a strong mutual respect between the two wrestlers.
During CM Punk’s time competing in WWE, he fought several big stars over the years such as The Rock, Triple H, The Undertaker, Chris Jericho, Jeff Hardy, and more, but the common consensus when it comes to his best opponent and most prominent rival will usually land on the 16-time World Champion John Cena. The pair had fantastic chemistry, which improved more and more over the years, and this likely came from a strong level of respect between the pair. In fact, CM Punk earned the respect of Cena during a headlock, in what is a very nice, wholesome, and funny story.
CM Punk And John Cena Are Great WWE Rivals
One Of The Best Rivalries In WWE History
CM Punk and John Cena’s WWE feud began in 2011, when the “Summer of Punk” was in full swing. Over the next few years, the pair clashed in various high profile matches, stealing the show any time they stepped foot into the ring. Their bout at Money in the Bank is one of the highest acclaimed matches in WWE history, being rated 5 stars by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer - the first WWE match to achieve this rating since the 1990s.
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They had several top class matches at different shows, with their personal animosity growing too (in storyline). When it comes to Cena, Punk is someone who got the best out of him, and the pair just gelled wonderfully. Even though Cena was booked more strongly than Punk, being positioned in main events even though Punk was the WWE Champion at the time, there is still a lot of respect between the pair due to their wonderful relationship between the ropes, creating magic many times. Two years before they started feuding though, this respect between the two began.
Notable Matches | Event | Length |
|---|---|---|
CM Punk defeats John Cena | Money in the Bank 2011 | 33:45 |
CM Punk defeats John Cena | SummerSlam 2011 | 24:14 |
Alberto Del Rio defeats John Cena & CM Punk | Hell In A Cell 2011 | 24:08 |
CM Punk vs. John Cena ends in a draw | Night Of Champions 2012 | 26:54 |
CM Punk defeats John Cena & Ryback | Survivor Series 2012 | 17:57 |
John Cena defeats CM Punk | Raw 02/25/2013 | 26:35 |
CM Punk Took John Cena Down With A Headlock
CM Punk Called The Action In The Ring
In 2009, CM Punk found himself across the ring from John Cena for the very first time. This came following CM Punk’s heel turn during his rivalry with Jeff Hardy. Punk spoke about this first interaction when talking at the Starrcast III panel, detailing how he took Cena by surprise when he started calling the match. Cena, given his busy schedule, is someone who often never got a chance to talk about matches beforehand, so had a tendency to call things in the ring (which is why you can hear him more audibly than most when calling spots). However, Punk was the one who took control, much to the surprise of Cena.
"I always liked working with John because it was easy. I think John was in a position where he was almost kind of glad somebody else came in and forcibly took the reins. I remember the first time I worked with John in 2009. You know in wrestling, the bad guy normally calls the match. It's kind of traditionally how it went. I remember locking up with John and he was doing an appearance, so we couldn't talk about the match. I hated talking about matches anyway. It's like John Cena, you know what he does. He does the five things (set moves) and that's it. So if you can't figure that out, then you're in trouble.
"I remember Mike Chioda was referring the match. I remember locking up with John and grabbing him into a headlock and taking him over and I'm happy just to sit there a minute and get the lay of the land. He started going 'drop down, hip toss, etc.' He starts calling all this s?t and I was just like (expresses a puzzled look on his face). I remember looking at Chioda and saying 'Mike, who the f–k is calling this match?' He's laughing so hard. (After Punk decided to change the structure of how the match was supposed to go) John just said 'oh, ok.' I think John was stoked that he didn't have to be that guy directing traffic. He let me do whatever the f–k I wanted. I think he was relieved. I think that's why we worked together so well.” H/T Wrestling Inc.
John Cena And CM Punk Have Mutual Respect
CM Punk Isn’t Enemies With Everyone
Punk would discuss how he picked apart Cena’s offense, thinking up different ways to counter his shoulder tackle and Five Knuckle Shuffle - something which was then implemented into their later, more well known matches. Cena loved it, and pondered how no one else had come up with any of this stuff before. Cena had respect for Punk after this, and it is a respect which goes both ways.
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In an industry where he has been rather outspoken about many of his opponents over the years, Punk has always spoken highly of Cena and their time spent in the ring. Unlike other notable names in Triple H, The Elite, and more, Punk and Cena have gotten along just fine.
