Personally, I don’t care that CM Punk decided to wrestle in Saudi Arabia. It does not personally offend me, just as the concept of the Saudi shows in general do not personally offend me. That said, it is extremely funny that Punk used up most if not all of his credibility, especially with a certain kind of fan, so he could work one last match with Cena that nobody is going to remember in a few months.

Maybe they would have, if the match had been given a proper finish. Until all the interference started (once again, this is wrestling in 2025) things between Punk and Cena were actually going pretty well. But then all the nonsense started to happen, and Seth Rollins and his gang came out, and Sami Zayn came out and Penta came out and the match suddenly, tragically became about everything around Punk and Cena, not about Punk and Cena themselves. CM Punk came back to WWE, agreed to work a Saudi show, let Cena drop a pipebomb promo on him, transformed into “the Doctor of Punkanomics” in response, flew across the world in the middle of an international crisis, and apologized to Saudi fans for an old tweet, all so he could wrestle a match that was a cautionary tale before it had even ended. Looking back, it just seems like a massive waste of time that will be best remembered for Punk solidifying his reputation as a sell-out — though he a did admittedly drop some bars on “SmackDown.”