WWE gives a new name to CM Punk before Night of Champions 2025
CM Punk left fans stunned on this week's episode of SmackDown, where he parodied John Cena's iconic Dr. Thuganomics gimmick. Now, WWE seems to be playing along with Punk and has given him the new name "Punkanomics," which is a riff on the aforementioned character played by The Leader of Cenation.
On the go-home show to Night of Champions 2025, John Cena came out in the closing segment of SmackDown to address the raging crowd in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. However, just minutes later, he was interrupted by CM Punk, who will challenge Cena for the Undisputed WWE Title at the upcoming Night of Champions Premium Live Event.
Punk came out in John Cena's legendary Dr. Thuganomics persona and went on to take several digs at him by saying he had buried more stars than The Undertaker and even claimed that he couldn't hang in the ring. In closing, CM Punk made it clear that he would dethrone Cena for the Undisputed Title.
Following the show, WWE uploaded a clip of Punk's entrance on X, accompanied by a caption that referred to him as "Punkanomics," which is clearly based on Dr. Thuganomics. Check out the tweet below:
"👊 PunkLife 👊 THIS IS BASIC PUNKANOMICS! 🔥,"the tweet read.
CM Punk apologized to Saudi Arabia fans
The Second City Saint, being announced for Night of Champions 2025, came as a shock to fans, as he had made a controversial statement about Saudi Arabia many years ago. However, during the Kickoff Show, Punk promptly apologized to the fans in Riyadh and said that his tweet had nothing to do with the country.
"This guy wants me to apologize to him for a mean tweet I wrote six years ago. Listen, it legitimately had nothing to do with Saudi Arabia. I woke up, and I was crabby, and I wrote a mean tweet to The Miz. I apologized to The Miz, and Mohammed, I sincerely apologize to you and all of Saudi Arabia," Punk said.
CM Punk has been receiving mixed reactions in Saudi Arabia, and it remains to be seen if fans would be on his or John Cena's side come Night of Champions.
