CM Punk has been removed from an updated promotional video for WWE’s Night of Champions event in Saudi Arabia, scheduled for June 28, 2025. The official Riyadh Season X account shared the revised ad, which now features Seth Rollins in place of Punk, who was included in initial versions.
This change has reignited discussions surrounding Punk’s past vehement criticisms of WWE’s partnership with Saudi Arabia. In 2020, he infamously told The Miz to “Go suck a blood money covered d— in Saudi Arabia you f—ing dork” (tweet since deleted). However, Punk stated he didn’t “hate going to Saudi Arabia as he’d never been,” which some fans interpreted as a softened stance.
WWE Night of Champions is set to be the company’s only trip to Saudi Arabia in 2025, with Crown Jewel moving to Australia this year and Royal Rumble planned for the Kingdom in early 2026.
The removal from the promo now casts doubt on whether Punk will appear at the June event. Meanwhile, Punk is advertised for in-ring action at WWE’s Saturday Night’s Main Event on May 25th, where he will team with Sami Zayn against Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker.
CM Punk has been removed from the Night Of Champions promotional video in Saudi Arabia https://t.co/mbP8dVo2Er
— Teffo (@Teffo_01) May 15, 2025