CM Punk has shared his opinion on John Cena’s WWE retirement match against GUNTHER at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Almost a month after the clash in Salt Lake City, Utah, Punk claimed that he found the match’s finish “beautiful.” Cena retired from wrestling on December 13, 2025, when he tapped out to the sleeper hold of GUNTHER, marking the first time Cena had lost by submission in nearly 22 years.
Speaking on My Mom’s Basement with Robbie Fox, Punk addressed the criticism from some fans regarding the finish. “Just like the John Cena and Gunther finish. I feel like it’s the same thing. Some people, maybe I don’t think you understand what you’re watching,” Punk stated. “If you didn’t like it, I can also understand that. To make it your entire personality and spend an unhealthy amount of time talking about it, I’ll put it this way, if John won, they’d be mad about that too, but we wouldn’t be talking about it anymore.”
The match concluded with the “Never Give Up” icon finally surrendering to thr pressure of the Ring General. “We’re still talking about that finish. The smile, the tap. ‘Oh my God, the guy who said don’t give up, gave up.’ Did he? I thought it was beautiful,” Punk added. Cena and Punk shared a storied rivalry during their prime in WWE, facing each other multiple times in both title and non-title matches, including a final encounter during Cena’s retirement tour in Saudi Arabia.
Punk recently defended his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Bron Breakker on the WWE RAW-Stranger Things episode on January 5, 2026, held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Despite interference from The Vision, Punk retained his title after hitting a GTS.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit My Mom’s Basement with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription. You can watch the full interview with CM Punk and Robbie Fox on the My Mom’s Basement YouTube channel.
