CM Punk Defends John Cena’s Limited Schedule During Farewell Tour

CM Punk is backing up John Cena, making it clear that The Champ has earned the right to dictate his final run on his own terms.

During an interview with Inside the Ropes, Punk was asked about The Rock’s return to SmackDown on February 21, but the conversation quickly turned to Cena’s farewell tour and why he isn’t appearing every week. The Straight Edge Superstar didn’t hesitate to offer his perspective, and it’s a far cry from the stance he took years ago.

“I have a different perspective now than I did 10 years ago when I was working with Rock,” Punk admitted. “It was easy for everybody to say, ‘You’re not here, we’re grinding, we’re doing this.’ The schedule now is so much more limited than it was 10 years ago, right? Like, I can’t point the finger at somebody else now and say, ‘Well, you’re not here.’”

Cena, who is balancing his WWE farewell with a busy Hollywood schedule, has faced some criticism for not making weekly appearances. But Punk insists that Cena doesn’t need to be on TV every single week for his farewell tour to be a success.

“A guy like John Cena, to me, has—you know, he’s a busy dude. He’s earned that right. He’s stated that he’s retiring, this is going to be his final run, so I’m less inclined to say, like, ‘Well, you should be here doing this, doing that.’ Sometimes, the tickets sell themselves. When we’re in these international markets and you hear ‘John Cena retirement tour,’ that’s going to put butts in seats.”

However, Punk acknowledged the locker room tension that can come from a part-time legend getting major spots over full-time talent.

“There is still a locker room full of pro wrestlers, and they will get a chip on their shoulder. There will be resentment because there are people that feel, ‘Oh, I’m here every week, I’m doing this, I’m doing that.’”

Still, Punk believes that rather than complaining, younger wrestlers should view Cena’s success as motivation.

“At the end of the day, I think everybody just wants to rise to that level. Along the way, yeah, we’re gonna prod, we’re going to say, ‘Hey Rock, you showed up here, how come you’re not here? Why aren’t you doing this?’ But really, everyone just wants to elevate the game.”

With Cena’s farewell tour rolling through Brussels, Glasgow, and London in the coming weeks and speculation growing about his final match, the debate about part-timers will likely continue. But with Punk defending Cena’s right to go out on his terms, does this change the conversation?