An unplanned change was made during John Cena’s recreation of the iconic “pipe bomb” promo on the June 20 episode of WWE SmackDown, according to a new report. The adjustment involved a referee being sent to the ring to check on CM Punk as he lay on a broken table for an extended period.
The development occurred after Cena put his Night of Champions opponent through a table and began a lengthy promo that mirrored Punk’s own famous 2011 speech. As Cena spoke, Punk remained on the table for the duration of the segment.
According to WrestleVotes, the decision to have a referee check on Punk was not part of the original plan for the segment.
“I heard on Saturday that if you go back and rewatch the WWE segment, you’ll see after about five minutes of him laying, a referee slides into the ring to check on him,” WrestleVotes stated. “I had heard they did that to make it seem less cringey that he was just laying there. That wasn’t supposed to be the case, but I guess somebody in the back said, ‘He can’t just lay there for 10 minutes. Send somebody out.’” HT Cultaholic
During the promo, Cena broke the fourth wall, referencing former WWE talents like Claudio Castagnoli, Nic Nemeth, and Matt Cardona. He also directed insults at Punk, calling him the “best bullshitter in the business.”
This entire sequence serves as the final build for the Undisputed WWE Championship match between Cena and Punk, which is scheduled for Night of Champions on June 28.