The Full Timeline Of John Cena And CM Punk's Historic Rivalry

John Cena and CM Punk’s story didn’t begin in the ring. It started at WrestleMania 22 in Chicago.

Cena was set to defend his WWE Championship against Triple H. Before Big Match John’s music hit, the ramp lifted and a 1940s-style gangster car drove to the ring. Standing on its right rocker panel was a man outfitted in a blue suit and gray fedora, holding a Tommy gun.

The man was CM Punk.

Dressing in a Halloween costume to be a prop for the face of the company isn’t exactly a glamorous job. But hey, at least Punk did technically get his WrestleMania main event moment out of it.

The best part of Cena’s cartoonish entrance is the fact that the song the gangsters drove out to was once in a famous cartoon. David Farnon’s “Cape Crusader” played in the episode of SpongeBob that introduced us to Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. It hypes up their return to crime-fighting to serve as Bikini Bottom’s geriatric superheroes.

Do with that information what you will.

The first time Cena and Punk locked horns was on SmackDown’s 10th anniversary show. An 8-man tag match featured the duo on opposing teams, along with a bunch of no-names – ya know, guys like Shawn Michaels, Triple H, The Undertaker, Randy Orton, and Cody Rhodes.

Later that year, the Cenation Leader and future Best In The World finally met in the squared circle 1-on-1. At the peak of his mightiest powers, Super Cena quickly disposed of his opponent on two separate occasions, with the second bout lasting a whopping one minute and 41 seconds.

There’s not a whole lot to write home about their earliest encounters. That said, Cena’s smooth reversal of the GTS into an STF was born and went on to become a signature sequence for the pair.

The debut of the Nexus will forever be burned into the brains of fans old enough to remember watching it live.

Midway through Raw’s main event, every member of NXT Season 1 appeared and surrounded the ring. They stalked their prey, standing on the apron Shield-style, and descended on John Cena like a bunch of clickers who located an infected.

He wasn’t the group’s only target. Daniel Bryan choked out ring announcer Justin Roberts with his own tie. Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel mauled commentator Jerry “The King” Lawler. Wade Barrett ripped the canvas padding and foam cover off the ring mat to expose its wood planks.

They made ruining wrestling cool a decade-and-a-half before Cena did.

A forgotten figure in the melee? CM Punk, who fought John Boy prior to the interference. Needless to say, their match was completely overshadowed by the chaotic spectacle. 

In 2011, CM Punk posted an impressive 6-1 singles record against John Cena, with most of the damage (including four straight victories) coming before their Money in the Bank classic.

Sure, shenanigans were involved, but against Cena, a win is a win.

Their January 17 match on Raw in particular exhibited signs of a special chemistry. A frosted-tipped Punk had just formed the New Nexus (remember them?), while Cena was on his never-lose shit.

Both stars accentuated each other’s strengths, with the Chicago native locking in an unusual leg choke hold and Cena catching Punk in mid-air off a top-rope, springboard crossbody attempt to the outside.

The back-and-forth affair concluded when Punk weaseled his way to a DQ win, thanks to interference from former New Nexus member (and current Cirque du Soleil star) Mason Ryan.

It’s remarkable to think that the landscape-shifting Cena-Punk summer rivalry was just a few months down the road.

For years, Mr. Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect ruled the WWE kingdom. He was perpetually in the title picture, either holding the world championship or chasing it. He never, ever lost cleanly. He was the Thanos of sports entertainment: inevitable.

Then, there was Punk. A former indie wrestler, he had quietly built a formidable resume with multiple title wins and a series of show-stealing feuds (his rivalry with Jeff Hardy fed families). By mid-2011, his WWE contract was coming to an end, making it the perfect time to air out his grievances with the company. And he did. Loudly.

On a June episode of Raw, the Second City Saint casually dropped the best promo of the 21st Century. Punk’s pipebomb blurred the lines between truth and fiction with surgical precision.

He seamlessly played the role of disgruntled employee, claiming he wasn’t afforded the opportunities he deserved. Relatable. Punk hated the idea that John Cena was considered the best when, really, he was the best wrestler in the world. No arguments there.

It felt like Punk was speaking for the WWE Universe, fed up with the status quo. He vowed to defeat Cena for the WWE Championship in his hometown of Chicago at Money in the Bank and ride off into the sunset.

The Voice of the Voiceless would make good on his promise, and then some. He beat Cena at MITB to win the title, left, returned with a new theme song, and knocked off Cena again at SummerSlam, all while injecting a heavy dose of meta-realism into a stale product and becoming the greatest anti-hero since Steve Austin.

Punk was the undisputed star of the summer, but his impact was made possible by the sovereignty of Cena, who, as it turns out, was “evitable” after all. 

The next chapter of the John Cena-CM Punk saga took place the following summer.

Punk was the reigning WWE champion, the brass ring he spent years reaching for finally in his possession. Cena held the Money in the Bank briefcase and decided to cash in “honorably,” announcing his challenge on the special “Raw 1,000” episode ahead of time.

Mayhem ensued.

As the duo slugged it out, the Big Show interfered and attacked Cena, triggering a disqualification. The DQ finish meant not only that Punk retained, but that Big Match John was the first man to unsuccessfully cash in.

After the bell rang, a conflicted Punk turned his back to Show as he continued to dismantle the Cenation Leader. The Rock’s music hit, and he sprinted to the ring to make the save. As Rock was about to nail Show with the People’s Elbow, Punk delivered an unexpected clothesline to The Great One, followed up by a devastating GTS.

Punk’s heel turn stunned the WWE Universe, and it proved that he would stop at nothing to defend his title—even if it meant compromising his morals. Cena, as we know, was built different, and their contrasting principles would deepen their rivalry even more.

If you’re jonesing to watch a stellar wrestling match, revisit John Cena and CM Punk’s bout at Night of Champions in Boston.

A villainous Punk was going on 302 consecutive days as champ, and Cena looked to avenge his failed MITB cash-in attempt a few months prior. The stage was set for another legendary battle, and the rivals put on an absolute clinic.

Counter after counter, reversal after reversal, neither was able to gain the upper hand. So, they reached DEEP into their arsenals. Punk unleashed a flurry of submission holds, including a crossface and a muta lock. He even attempted a moonsault and landed a Rock Bottom! Cena hit a suicide dive to the outside and a massive top-rope leg drop.

In the best way possible, the match felt like it was never going to end. Both men kicked out of each other’s finisher…twice. Finally, Cena nailed a German Suplex from the second rope and bridged for a cover and pinfall.

It appeared that Cena got the victory; however, the ref handed Punk the title since both of their shoulders were down, signaling a draw.

The storytelling was perfect. The psychology was perfect. The ending was perfect. Punk and Cena showed why no one could touch them in the ring.

John Cena and CM Punk set the bar so high for their matches that each time they competed, you’d think it was their last. Like it was game 7, like their lives were on the line.

Little did they know, their bout on a February episode of Raw would indeed be their swan song—for the next 12 years, at least.

The contest determined who would go on to face The Rock in the main event of WrestleMania 29: Cena, the Royal Rumble winner, or Punk, who just lost his title.

The two dynamos followed the blueprint they created at Night of Champions for pulling off a five-star level match to perfection.

The Straight Edge Superstar reversed each of Cena’s five moves of doom, while John countered Punk’s various submission holds and GTS attempts. Cena landed a sit-down powerbomb, and Punk executed a piledriver (a legitimately banned move in the WWE).

In the end, it was a surprising hurricanrana and Attitude Adjustment combination that gave Cena the win.

The long-time rivals delivered another classic because, well, don’t they always?

Watching John Cena and CM Punk share the ring at the Royal Rumble felt like a dream. Witnessing them hug and then fight in the Elimination Chamber was like seeing a band reunite to perform the hits after decades apart.

Sure, Cena has less hair, Punk’s got a bit of grey in his beard, and they don’t move quite as well as they used to, but the magic remained. In the chamber, Cena’s reversal of the GTS into an STF harkened back to their first one-on-one match on that 2009 episode of Raw.

Ultimately, the West Newbury native capitalized on a wicked curb stomp from Seth Rollins to Punk on the steel, locking him in the STF and causing him to lose consciousness to pick up the W.

Minutes later, the most do-gooding superhero in WWE history did the unthinkable. He turned heel, laying the groundwork for him and Punk to potentially clash again.

How can John Cena and CM Punk top what they’ve done in the past? They couldn’t possibly have any more cards to play, right? Wrong. Lo and behold, the “never-seen,” 17-time champ pulled the ultimate Uno-reversal out of his jort pockets in the form of a reverse pipebomb.

Last week, Cena stole his long-time adversary’s material—the material that elevated Punk to superstardom—and co-opted it to troll him. Without John, the Voice of the Voiceless would have never gotten his stage to speak, reigned as WWE Champion for 434 days straight, or gone off to UFC and AEW.

When all is said and done, John Cena will always be CM Punk’s daddy.

With the former Cenation Leader a heel and the Best in the World a babyface (another reversal), this Saturday, the forever foes will meet in the ring at Night of Champions—the same PLE where they wrestled their best match 13 years ago.

Soon, we’ll find out if they can rise to the occasion once more.