CM Punk Reveals How His Cena Diss Rap Came Together

CM Punk’s savage freestyle on John Cena during the June 27 episode of WWE SmackDown turned heads—but now he’s revealing how the promo actually came together behind the scenes.

In an interview with ComicBook.com, Punk broke down the creative process behind the viral “Doctor of Punkanomics” segment and explained why he deliberately avoided trying to recreate his legendary Pipe Bomb promo. For him, it was about staying one step ahead of fan expectations.

“The genesis of the idea was everybody’s expecting this Pipe Bomb 2 from me. And I’m not into delivering sequels to stuff that don’t need sequels. For 14 years, people have been chasing this moment and trying to replicate it, duplicate it, talk like me, sit like me—and I’m not so much into doing the same thing.”

Punk admitted even he wouldn’t be able to top his own past work, so he made the conscious decision to flip the script entirely.

“I couldn’t even have followed myself. How’s that for the supremely egotistical comment? So I want—you know, everyone’s expecting me to zig, so I zag. That was kind of the idea with it.”

To bring the rap to life, Punk enlisted help from his longtime friend and battle rap expert Jensen Karp, as well as another friend named Ron. While Punk is more than capable on the mic, he wanted the performance to land in a different lane.

“I have a good friend of mine by the name of Jensen Karp who is to me like battle rap master—master’s kind of what he does. So it was his lane. So I definitely leaned on him and I was like, ‘Hey, this is what we’re doing. I could do this myself, but it was really his wheelhouse.’ So I kind of handed the ball to him. He helped me greatly, along with another friend of ours, Ron.”

Punk also made it clear this wasn’t just another promo—it meant something personal. Knowing it could be the last time he shares a ring with Cena, he wanted the moment to be unforgettable.

“That entire week was pretty emotional for me, being the last time I was going to get to share a ring with John Cena. And I wanted to make it special and memorable. And I find that when I challenge myself and I put myself outside my comfort zone, that’s when the best stuff happens.”

And based on the crowd reaction, Punk feels like he delivered exactly what the moment called for.

“People are going to remember that. Whether it’s because of the delivery, the content, the way I was dressed, the atmosphere… I think it was a hell of a moment.”

Love him or hate him, CM Punk knows how to own a moment—and now we know exactly how this one was crafted.

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.