WWE has been incorporating its Saudi Arabia relationship into a storyline

As of now, all indications appear to be that WWE will move forward with its Night of Champions event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this weekend.

And should it ultimately occur as planned, the show’s host country will play a significant role in its main event.

While it hasn’t been explicit, WWE has made the curious decision to involve its polarizing partnership with Saudi Arabia in the storyline leading up to the undisputed championship match between John Cena and CM Punk that’s scheduled for Saturday. The match will mark CM Punk’s first appearance in Saudi Arabia since returning to WWE in 2023 and comes five years after he publicly criticized one of the company’s superstars, The Miz, for taking part in shows hosted by the country.

Although Punk’s apparent disdain for Saudi Arabia hasn’t been referenced explicitly on WWE airwaves, it has been heavily inferred. In the first promo to set up the match, Punk challenged Cena to fight him that very night in Phoenix, only for the reigning WWE champion to tell him that if he wanted a title match, he’d have to “follow” him to Saudi Arabia.

Cena later stated that Punk would have to admit that he’s a “hypocrite” if he accepted the challenge, which Punk ultimately did by stating in part, “I will follow you to hell to prove that I’m better than you.” Cena also made made multiple thinly veiled references to the situation (including the social media post directed at The Miz) during a viral segmnet on Friday’s episode of SmackDown, in which he recreated Punk’s famous “pipe bomb” promo from 2011.

“You change your values as much as I change my t-shirts,” Cena said during the promo, later adding, “Your tweets are strong. Your actions are weak.”

“You’re not against TKO. You’re Mr. TKO, because they knocked your balls technically off your body.

Your tweets are strong. Your actions are weak.”

– John Cena to CM Punk#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/JWmBYFrb4i

— WrestlePurists (@WrestlePurists) June 21, 2025

Considering that most WWE fans have come to accept the promotion’s partnership with Saui Arabia— which calls for at least two major shows each year in the country — as a reality of the modern sports landscape, it’s somewhat surprising to see the company leaning so heavily into this angle. Granted, there hasn’t been a star as previously outspoken about the situation as Punk has been. But considering that Saudi Arabia is slated to host the Royal Rumble in 2026, it was likely only a matter of time until he’d inevitability be making his first appearance in the country.

While WWE might insist that it doesn’t direct its storylines toward the most diehard portion of its fanbase, the build to the Cena vs. Punk match certainly seems to suggest otherwise. If nothing else, give the company credit for not treating its audience like it’s stupid and generating what has already become the most interesting portion of Cena’s otherwise lackluster heel run.