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USA Today
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
WWE SmackDown takeaways: John Cena delivers his own version of CM Punk's pipe bomb
WWE Friday Night SmackDown on June 20 took place at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich., and featured a showdown between John Cena and R-Truth, which led to the greatest callback in wrestling history. This week's show was a pretty solid offering as things built toward Night of Champions and the King and Queen of the Ring Tournaments progressed. Tiffany Stratton told Nia Jax they'll meet next week for a Last Woman Standing match for the women's US title, and Jax also prevented a cash-in from Naomi after attacking the champ. Charlotte Flair picked up a win over Chelsea Green and got some help from Alexa Bliss. Plus Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, Sami Zayn and Randy Orton had a moment on the mic in the ring. There was plenty to like this week, but here's the top 5 takeaways from this episode: Asuka advances to Queen of the Ring final The first match of the show was a Queen of the Ring semifinal match between Alexa Bliss and Asuka – two Superstars who recently returned from lengthy absences. The crowd was lively for this one and the match was fantastic, but Bliss being a little too cautious may have cost her in the end. After getting Asuka to the mat, she went up for Twisted Bliss. However, when she reached the top rope, she paused, and jumped back into the ring, thinking Asuka was just lying there playing possum. Well, she was right, and Asuka took advantage. A few back and forth moment later, Asuka hit her finisher to advance to the final. It's good to see WWE treat Asuka to some key victories here since her return. A Queen of the Ring tournament win would be perfect to propel her into another title run. We'll see how it all goes in the finale, but so far, so good with Asuka since her return. Randy Orton advances to King of the Ring finals After the promo, the KOTR semifinal match between Randy Orton and Sami Zayn began. Zayn chopped away at Orton early, but quickly found himself repeatedly bouncing off the newly reinforced announce table. As the match continued, Zayn struggled to keep momentum as he ate Orton's signature DDT. Zayn managed to drop Orton onto the announce desk and hit a Blue Thunder bomb. However, the Helluva Kick wasn't there for him, even after stuffing an RKO attempt. The next RKO attempt connected, though, and Orton earned his way into the finals. This was a fun match, and of course it was going to be with Zayn and Orton working. Now we have Orton facing off against the winner of Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso for the KOTR, which is a good final no matter what. The story is going to be how Monday's match between Rhodes and Uso plays out. Expect shenanigans. Jacob Fatu puts Solo Sikoa in his place Solo Sikoa took to the ring to hash things out with Jacob Fatu. It was an olive branch from the former Tribal Chief, but Fatu wasn't buying it. Sikoa attempted to tug on Fatu's heartstrings, playing up the family angle. Sikoa said he was solo (pun definitely intended) without Fatu by his side. Fatu didn't believe a word of it. Fatu said Sikoa has been using him this whole time to grow his own power. Fatu also said he knows what the real issue is between them: that he holds the United States title. Without saying it directly, Fatu accused Sikoa of being jealous. So, if that's what the problem is, fight for it. Just as Fatu wrapped up his signature tagline, Sikoa took a swipe at him, but was intercepted. However, JC Mateo rushed out to assist, and the two put a beating on Fatu until Jimmy Uso ran down to lend a helping hand. So, we're getting Fatu vs. Sikoa for the US title at Night of Champions, which should be a good one. Of course, there's no way this match ends up completing without interference, but I can't help but wonder if the family drama will draw out an appearance from Roman Reigns. LA Knight wrecked by Paul Heyman's crew LA Knight started off the show in the ring with an emphatic callout of Seth Rollins. Instead, he received Paul Heyman. After an entertaining back-and-forth between the two, complete with Knight making fun of Heyman's voice screeching, Knight was ready to fight Heyman since he didn't deliver Rollins. Heyman quickly rolled out of the ring, but delivered one last warning to Knight: Get out of the arena or he'll regret it. Fast forward later in the show, Knight took on Bronson Reed in a singles match. Of course, it wasn't just Reed. Bron Breakker and Heyman were ringside as well. As such, Breakker found his spot to interject and nailed Knight with a spear, causing a DQ. From that point, it was total destruction. Reed held up Knight for another spear from Breakker, and then Reed delivered multiple Tsunamis. Ouch. This is a great feud for Knight to be in. Sure, he wants the top of the faction in Rollins, but it looks like he's going to have to fight his way up the unnamed faction's ladder (seriously though, how do they not have a name yet?). John Cena's pipe bomb The main event of this week's episode was a grudge match between WWE champ John Cena and Ron Killings aka R-Truth. Killings attempted to have the match take place earlier in the show by attacking Kit Wilson, who was scheduled to face Aleister Black. That match never happened, which Black took exception to later backstage. Fast forward to the main event between Killings and Cena. Killings got the upper hand early, and managed to maintain his momentum long enough to get Cena to attempt to walk out on the match. Killings ran down the aisle to stop Cena, and got clocked over the head with the belt. After the DQ, CM Punk ran out to fight Cena. Things returned to the ring where Cena dropped Punk with a low blow and then smashed him across the head twice with the title. Cena then put Punk through a sponsored table with an AA. Then Cena grabbed a mic and ran his own version of Punk's infamous pipe bomb. Cena said he was jealous that he's been able to convince the fans he's "the best in the world." He called Punk "the best bullsh*tter in the world," and while the fans chant and sing with him, they don't believe a thing he says. Cena called out and waved to a few former WWE Superstars like Claudio Castagnoli (Cesaro), Nic Nemeth (Dolph Ziggler) and Matt Cardona (Zack Ryder). He then tapped his mic to check if he was still live. "Remember who gave you the stage for your pipe bomb, pal," Cena said. Cena then said he's done nothing since that moment but regurgitate the same tired things on the mic, and has become the thing he once despised. As Cena continued and called himself "the greatest of all time," he earned chants from the crowd, and told Punk to bring his A-game to Night of Champions because the mood is starting to change. "Thanks for letting me rip off your promo to make you look even more foolish," Cena said before dropping mic. Amazing. Well, the haters of Cena's heel run are going to have a hard time keeping a straight face when trying to say this promo wasn't incredible. This was the best moment of Cena's heel run, and there's nothing else that comes remotely close. Was it a direct rip-off of Punk's pipe bomb? Yes, but that was the point. This was the callback to trump all callbacks. In fact, it was the greatest callback in the history of pro wrestling. Cena was in the ring writhing in pain after being put through a table, while Punk went up the ramp to deliver the original. Furthermore, who was Cena wrestling in a singles match that night? Ding, ding, ding! R-Truth. This was brilliant all around. No matter what else happens with Cena's heel run, everything will point back to this moment as the highlight of it all. If something somehow manages to top it, well, then there won't be much to criticize about the heel run after all.
USA Today
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
WWE SmackDown takeaways: CM Punk checks John Cena; KOTR, QOTR tournaments continue
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.
