7 easter eggs you missed during CM Punk's incredible Punkanomics promo on WWE SmackDown
In what might go down as one of the most surreal segments in SmackDown history, CM Punk, after being on the receiving end of John Cena's parody Pipebomb last week (also one of the most surreal segments in SmackDown history), returned the favor as he invoked Cena's "Dr. of Thuganomics" tonight.
Just 24 hours before challenging Cena for the WWE Championship at Night of Champions, The Voice of the Voiceless became "the voice of Chicago hip-hop," as CM Punk, complete with theme music, outfit, accessories, and attitude, dropped a savage diss track on John Cena. The Second City Saint left the "The Last Real Champion" speechless and left Riyadh screaming—just one name and three syllables: "CM Punk." This came, by the way, on top of an incredibly controversial couple of days for the former WWE Champion.
On the 14th anniversary of his iconic Pipebomb tonight, Punk flipped the script with layers of references, callbacks, and razor-sharp nods to Cena's pre-wrestling, wrestling, and acting careers. In doing so, he completely turned what was expected to be a pro-Cena crowd, if not an anti-Punk, into being completely behind the Straight Edge Superstar. In this article, we shall look at five easter eggs Punk dropped tonight on SmackDown.
#1. CM Punk referenced John Cena stealing his Pipebomb and foreshadowing what was coming
Punk opened with the banger lines: "Don't adjust your television sets; your eyes are working just right. This clown plagiarized my pipebomb, so now I'm stealing Word Life." This set the tone for the rest of his rap, which was all about one-upping John Cena.
Cena almost plagiarized Punk's entire pipebomb; not just the structure, but several lines word for word. All Punk did was steal "word life." His freestyle rap did not have any stolen lines, and it wasn't an imitation, but rather a presentation, an illustration, a demonstration, and an exhibition of oration that proved that no matter what the game may be, Punk can always one-up John Cena. Punk then accused Cena of stealing his "promo," only to distract from the fact that he now moves in "slow-mo."
#2. CM Punk compared John Cena to an iconic rapper
CM Punk compared John Cena to a Seattle rapper named Benjamin Hammond Haggerty, better known by his stage name: Macklemore. The latter is an iconic figure in the American hip-hop scene.
The problem here is that this was more of a backhanded compliment, if not an outright insult, because Punk called Cena a "Temu-Macklemore, but with a Mackle-less rhythm." Playing on "Mackle-more" and "Mackle-less" appeared to be a genius play on words, while "Temu," of course, refers to a cheap version of something, in case the reader is not privy to contemporary social media slang.
#3. CM Punk compares John Cena to The Undertaker, but not in the way you might think
The next line would again see Punk reference John Cena's pipebomb last week, wherein he accused The Best in the World of stepping on other people's necks. Ironically, Cena then shockingly namedropped Claudio Castagnoli, Nic Nemeth, and Matt Cardona, much like Punk once namedropped Colt Cabana, but in an entirely different context.
This led to fan theories taking over the wrestling community for several days, but the superstars Cena mentioned had previously been "buried" by him, among other conspiracy theories. Punk brought to light a well-known fact as he stated that "John Cena has buried more talent than The Undertaker."
#4. The all-too-expected Nikki Bella diss
Anytime one needs to verbally lay the smacketh down on John Cena, Nikki Bella forever remains a low-hanging fruit. On this occasion, though, it did not feel forced. Firstly, the novelty of CM Punk rapping was in itself an incredible sight to behold.
But Nikki Bella actually recently returned to WWE, making the reference not entirely out of context. In fact, CM Punk hit the mark, bang in the center, because this rehiring is exactly what he referenced.
Punk said, "I'd retire too if this place rehired my ex." The rhyme, meter, and delivery: everything was perfect as Punk dropped this bar. For those still on the "hating CM Punk bandwagon" after this past week, though, there is a joke to be made here if Lita returns ahead of WWE Evolution next month.
#5. Comparisons to Hulk Hogan, Batista, and the infamous "you can't wrestle" chant
CM Punk also referenced John Cena's success in Hollywood, but followed it right after with unfavorably comparing Cena to Batista in terms of acting abilities. He even compared Cena to Hulk Hogan in a couple of different ways, both of which were rather unfavorable.
After sharing his criticism on Cena's acting abilities, CM Punk moved to something more personal: his wrestling abilities. Punk referenced the "you can't wrestle" accusation, but not before making it clear that "When it comes to Best in the World, I'm your vessel." A "you can't wrestle" chant followed suit, of course.
#6. References to "Peacemaker;" the real meaning of "You can't see me"
CM Punk told the fans that John Cena will be gone from wrestling in six months, and his time after that will be spent washing James Gunn's underwear. Gunn is, of course, the new creative director of the DC Universe. Cena is part of the DCU, portraying the Peacemaker character. Punk then shared that despite now working for DC, "you'll always be The Marine to me... and that's straight to DVD."
For the uninitiated, The Marine franchise was produced by WWE, with the first film, starring Cena, bombing at the box office and receiving negative reviews. This spawned a direct-to-DVD sequel, a rather humiliating failure for Cena's initial venture into acting. What's worse is that he was replaced by The Miz after the second installment. Punk then cleverly pointed out how he finally understood the meaning of "You Can't See Me."
#7. Referencing Make-a-Wish and the Kendrick Lamar-Drake beef
CM Punk dropped the mic following his final lines: "Before you go, John, there's one last wish to make; tomorrow night, you're gonna lose to Kendrick, 'cause b***h, you're my Drake."
Thus, a "Make-a-Wish" reference brought to a close CM Punk's magnificent oratory performance, but not before referencing the lyrical war between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, with subjects such as authenticity, personal life, and manufactured industry image emerging as prominent themes. Sound familiar?
Despite Drake's retaliations, Kendrick’s raw disses positioned him as the more authentic voice and dominant force in rap in public discourse. Nevertheless, it seems as though even Lamar won't be able to keep up if CM Punk decides to begin pursuing a rapping career soon.
