WWE Smackdown: John Cena Drops A ‘Pipe Bomb’ Promo With CM Punk Laid Out

Cena started by claiming he was ‘Punk’s best and only friend,’ at least when it came to anyone he ever ‘shared a locker room with,’ a clear shot at Punk’s time in AEW, where shoot fights backstage became his legacy.

Moments later, Cena referenced Punk’s original pipe bomb, where he gave a shout-out to Colt Cabana after he was released from the company, but Cena managed to highlight three former WWE guys in his curse-filled promo.

“You change your values as much as I change my t-shirts,” Cena said before dropping his next bomb.

“You’re just a loudmouth opportunist who will step on the necks of people who actually work hard if it gets you ahead,” Cena said before offering greetings to Claudio Castagnoli, Nic Nemeth, and Matt Cardona while staring directly into the camera.

While Punk’s pipe bomb was incredible, his mentioning of Cabana was not nearly as big a deal as Cena ‘putting over’ a contracted talent on the AEW roster, and it is worth mentioning he used current names for those former WWE stars and not their company character names. It was clear that Cena was having fun at that point, gleefully acknowledging he was ‘breaking the 4^th wall’ and bragging about being too powerful to have his mic cut.

The worst of Cena’s insults directed at Punk were shots at his current run versus the character he was when he left. He called Punk a millionaire and a capitalist, claiming he is no longer the ‘voice of the voiceless’ and has become a company shill for WWE/TKO.

“They know you were the best for seven minutes fourteen years ago,” Cena said as the crowd cheered hard for him. When he said that Punk’s current place in the company as “Mr. TKO” was a direct contrast to the man he was, you could feel a totally different shift in the crowd. In fact, Cena acknowledged that ‘the mood is starting to change’ as the fans screamed for the most “ruthless” version of Cena in company history.

Cena finished off by telling USA Network to ‘keep the extra’ for the couple minutes over time he went before thanking Punk for ‘letting him rip off’ his pipe bomb promo.

Cody-Sami-Jey In A 3-Way Race To ‘Finish’ Their Story

It started out with Cody, but the crowd was already Yeeting before he could utter a word as Jey Uso made his way through the crowd. They spoke about being boys, but it did not take long (not counting his entrance and encore) before he explained to Cody that the humiliation of losing his title is redeemable, and that is what Jey offers from a storyline standpoint. Jey and Cody will go toe to toe on RAW this Monday, where the winner will secure his spot in the KOTR finals.

Sami Zayn’s music hit, and he made Cody aware that, as far as he sees it, this is his ‘time to finish his story.’ He reminded Cody that he was the first one out when Cody finished his story at WrestleMania by pinning Roman Reigns in their rematch.

Randy Orton’s music hit, and the booking started to feel like the end of this week’s RAW, but he came in and established his place in the story—a quest to world title number 15. In case it did not resonate for Cody the first time, Randy restated his sentiments towards Cena and SummerSlam and how he is willing to ‘go through’ Cody to get what he wants.

King of the Ring Semi-finals: Randy Orton def Sami Zayn

Before the match started, during the 4-way promo battle that acted as a prelude to the men’s KOTR semi-finals, Randy told Sami that he believed that Zayn would be a world champ one day, but it was a threat disguised as a compliment after Orton made it clear that this was not his day.

The match was physical, and they worked a terrifically paced bout—slowing things down after intense sequences that took the live crowd on an emotional rollercoaster. Orton received as big a pop as any of the four faces (Jey the only exception), but the crowd was clearly behind Sami, and they popped hard when it seemed possible. Sami hit a ‘Blue Thunder Bomb’ “out of nowhere” when he reversed an RKO attempt from Orton, and that near-fall popped the crowd into a “this is awesome” chant.

The story of the match was Sami avoiding the RKO until he couldn’t, and Orton picked up the pinfall victory after attempting consecutive RKOs—the last one landed put Zayn down for the count. Randy will now face the winner of Jey and Cody set to main event RAW.

Queen of the Ring Semi-finals: Asuka def Bliss

In the women’s semi-final match, the recently returned Asuka squared off with Alexa Bliss in one of the best singles matches in the women’s division this year on SD. Asuka returned to a prime spot in the Queen of the Ring tourney and managed to win with a little help from Rhea Ripley. Bliss, on the other hand, was able to win her 4-way qualifier while making it a ‘lesson on the importance of friendship’ for Flair, who was in that match after a subtle storyline introduction between the two vets.

They had a versatile affair, mixing it some submission work, mat technique, and some fast-paced mid-risk maneuvers, but it was Asuka who was able to capitalize after Bliss miscalculated Asuka’s ‘energy meter’ when she delivered a “Twisted Bliss” to her opponent’s raised knees. Asuka scored the pinfall victory over Bliss and will go on to face the winner of Roxanne Perez and Jade Cargill, who was watching the match in the back before an impromptu interview.

Bliss And Flair Team Up?!

The pair-up was teased again this week following Flair’s submission win over Chelsea Green. Green, who utilized her “She-Cret Service” throughout the bout, wanted Flair to hurt post-match before Bliss came out to even the odds. Flair and Bliss were left in the ring, but Flair ended up walking past her after a short stare-down following the dual-effort ‘ring cleaning.’

Jacob Fatu And Solo In-Ring Face-Off

It has been several weeks since Fatu turned on his cousin Solo at ‘Money in the Bank,’ concluding an arch that was started following last November’s Survivor Series. Yet, tonight was the first time that both men have shared a ring on WWE programming since MITB.

Solo spoke first and continued to finesse Fatu into ‘un-turning’ his back on Solo, and the former ‘leader’ of the New Bloodline turned up the gaslighting to MAX. Solo admitted to Fatu that he was alone and ‘had no one else’ before shouting, “I love you, Jacob.” Still, this was all after the master manipulator reminded Fatu that ‘nobody wanted him’ in WWE.

Jacob was direct. He accused Solo of ‘using him’ to gain, among other things, Tribal Chief status. Solo, head down, eventually looked up at Jacob with a totally different mug, and that is when the champ told Solo that he had been ‘acting funny’ since he picked up the US title. Fatu offered Solo a title shot, but Solo was reluctant to get physical until after JC Mateo came out to play the numbers game.

That is when Jimmy Uso’s music hit, though he didn’t last long, giving Fatu time to regain his composure and clear the ring. The pairing of Jacob and Jimmy is interesting, especially considering the rumors concerning a reuniting of ‘The USOs.’

Other Tidbits/In-Ring Action

• First Cash In Attempt Fail/Last Woman Standing

Tiffany Stratton and Nia Jax announced they would ‘run it back’ after their terrific SmackDown main event, this time in a Last Woman Standing Match. After Stratton announced the match, Jax tried to ‘soften up’ the champ with an attack one week before the faceoff. Stratton was able to avoid the initial charge, but Jax managed to stand strong after hitting multiple offensive onslaughts.

That is when (for some reason) Naomi’s music hit, spoiling any surprise factor, and it looked like she was cashing in her newly won briefcase on Stratton laid out in the middle of the ring. Jax managed to kill the momentum long enough for Stratton to put a stop to it all. Commentary made it a point to mention Naomi’s intention to be live at next week’s Last Woman Standing title match.

• LA Knight received the opening segment of the night, but Paul Heyman’s presence added to the promo after he slow played a warning for Knight. He told Knight to get out of Grand Rapids before ‘something bad’ happened to the former US champion. Knight refused the warning, and Seth’s goons, Reed and Breakker, tried to take out Knight. But Knight managed to get to a chair and even the odds for that moment.

Later in the night, Reed and Knight were set for singles action, and despite short work, the match was terrific for how it was booked. The clean finish never had a chance, as Breakker, the man who had actively feuded with Knight, eventually caused the disqualification. They lined up Knight for multiple Tsunamis until security and WWE staff were able to stop the familiar assault.

• Next week’s SmackDown will take place on the eve of “Night of Champions” and is highlighted by four title matches on the 3-hour show emanating from Saudi Arabia.

MATCHES ANNOUNCED (SO FAR) FOR NEXT FRIDAY:

• Jacob Fatu(c) vs Solo—Men’s United States Title
• Zelina Vega(c) vs Giulia—Women’s United States Title
• Street Profits(c) vs Wyatt Sicks—WWE Tag Team Titles
• Tiffany Stratton(c- Blue Brand) vs Nia Jax—Women’s World Title (Lat Woman Standing)