WWE SmackDown takeaways: CM Punk checks John Cena; KOTR, QOTR tournaments continue

USA Today

14-06-2025

WWE SmackDown takeaways: CM Punk checks John Cena; KOTR, QOTR tournaments continue
WWE Friday Night SmackDown on June 13 took place at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., and featured several King and Queen of the Ring opening-round matches.
The first Friday show after Money in the Bank saw John Cena appear multiple times throughout the show as he struggled to deal with Ron Killings. The Wyatt Sicks picked up a win over Motor City Machine Guns, Jacob Fatu cut a promo on Solo Sikoa, and Naomi sent Tiffany Stratton a clear warning message. Much like Raw this week, this was a solid SmackDown show from beginning to end with solid matches, promos, and backstage segments.
Check out the top takeaways from this episode:
Randy Orton advances in King of the Ring Tournament
The first match of the night was a King of the Ring Tournament fatal four-way match between Randy Orton, LA Knight, Carmelo Hayes and Aleister Black.
This one was fun, until it wasn't. Black and Hayes got things going at a fast clip by flying all over the arena. Orton and Knight got into the mix by immediately going for their finishers. The match kept a high pace of action throughout, keeping everyone entertained.
Then, Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker appeared. Reed pulled Knight off the middle rope, and then Breakker hit him with a spear. Hayes went to the top rope but was caught mid-air by an RKO. Orton then pinned Knight for the three-count.
Alright, WWE. Enough is enough with the interference. Sure, Breakker had reason to attack Knight since he did the same during his KOTR match, and there's a story there, but that's beside the point.
Every KOTR or QOTR match to this point finished due to interference. This match in particular was cooking with grease, but then interference ruined it. That same finishing sequence could have happened without Breakker or Reed. It's frustrating to see the same thing happen repeatedly, and luckily, this didn't happen with the other tournament matches later on.
Jade Cargill advances in Queen of the Ring Tournament
The second match of the night was a Queen of the Ring Tournament fatal four-way match between Jade Cargill, Nia Jax, Piper Niven and Michin.
Jax and Niven formed an alliance during this match to handle the other two. They launched Cargill over the commentary table for a nasty-looking bump that took out Wade Barrett too. When Michin had her moments, she sped things up with her offense to keep the energy high.
Eventually, the alliance between Jax and Niven broke down. Niven rammed Jax through the timekeeper's barricade, and then flattened Michin with a splash from the second rope. However, Cargill was right there to catch Niven with Jaded to score the pin.
They did it. No interference! The four women scheduled for the match got to the finish all by themselves! This match wasn't nearly as good as the men's offering before it, but because it was the first KOTR or QOTR match to finish clean, it deserves an award.
John Cena can't handle the truth, gets verbally torched by CM Punk
John Cena was straight up not having a good time in Lexington. Cena took the mic to kick off the show to cut a promo about his master plan to become a 17-time champion. He even named his wrestling Mount Rushmore which consisted of John Cena, John Cena, John Cena and John Cena. Shoutout to Dylan.
Cody Rhodes joined him in the ring to clap back at him about his greatness claims, dubbing him "John Rushmore." Rhodes also reminded Cena that he pinned him in the center of the ring at MITB. Randy Orton and LA Knight joined the party, each offering scathing words for Cena. The champ decided he had enough and left the ring. That's when the first attack from Ron Killings took place as he blindsided Cena at the entrance.
Cena was pissed and yelled at SmackDown GM Nick Aldis backstage. We couldn't hear the argument, but it looked like Cena was a ticked-off baseball skipper yelling at an ump. Hilarious.
Later in the show, Cena stormed back to the ring and demanded Killings come to the ring for a fight. He got CM Punk instead.
Punk took the mic and went in on Cena. It was a classic Punk undressing. Punk said Cena can't beat him, so he'll take it upon himself to stop Cena's plan to ruin wrestling. Punk then accused Cena of copying Punk's old playbook, when he wanted to take the title home before leaving WWE over a decade ago. Punk said he's going to make Cena's retirement run watchable, and then rejected Cena's Mount Rushmore claim by naming Terry Funk, Harley Race, Bret Hart and Eddie Guerrero.
Throughout the promo, Punk mentioned "truth" more than once, foreshadowing what was coming. Yep, Killings attacked Cena from behind for the second time after Punk left the ring. After the second attack, Aldis granted Killings' request for a match against Cena next week.
Fantastic stuff all around, throughout the show with Cena. Multiple appearances in the ring and backstage segments. Punk delivered a tremendous promo, and Killings was excellent.
Alexa Bliss advances in Queen of the Ring Tournament
The next fatal four-way in the QOTR tournament was between Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, Alba Fyre and Candice LeRae.
This tournament match felt more like a two-woman show than any other first-round match. Flair and Bliss had the biggest moments of the match, and LeRae quickly felt like a complete afterthought. Fyre had a few moments, but she was not a believable potential winner as she was thrown into the match at the last minute when Chesea Green wasn't available (that was a solid backstage segment with Zelina Vega, too).
The finishing sequence was interesting. Flair caught Fyre in a Figure Eight, but then Bliss grabbed LeRae for a Sister Abigail DDT. Bliss pinned LeRae while staring at Flair. The three count came before the tap from Fyre.
This was the least interesting match of the first round. Bliss and Flair were the only realistic options to advance, which took away from the excitement the other matches had presented. Having said that, the finish was good, but it came down to the two obvious choices.
Cody Rhodes advances in King of the Ring Tournament
The main event of this week's show was a fatal-four way in the KOTR tournament between Cody Rhodes, Andrade, Damien Preist and Shinsuke Nakamura.
This was a stacked lineup. Everyone here had a realistic shot at advancing, even though all eyes were on Rhodes and Priest. Nakamaura came off as the smartest guy in the match from beginning to end. He rolled out of the ring at the start to avoid damage, even though Rhodes took advantage. But later in the match, on more than one spot, he broke up what would have been big double team moves by doing the simple, smart thing.
The money-hungry side of TKO reared its head when Rhodes pulled out the Slim Jim-sponsored table from underneath the ring. Nakamura ended up kicking him through it, and Joe Tessitore attempted a play on the brand's "snap into a Slim Jim" tagline. Deep sigh.
Anyway, the match continued on with steady action, and came to a close when Rhodes hit a Cross Rhodes on Nakamura.
Rhodes winning was the chalk pick, but it's fine. He'll face the winner of the final four-way between Sheamus, Rusev, Bronson Reed and Jey Uso. The interesting pick there would be to see what would happen if Rhodes and Uso had to face off after teaming together at MITB. On the other side of the bracket, the semifinal match between Sami Zayn and Randy Orton will be a fun watch.