Nearly 14 years after CM Punk's legendary Pipe Bomb promo, John Cena delivered a similarly masterful response that could reshape his final run. This past Friday night on SmackDown, the Undisputed WWE Champion put Punk through a table before figuratively turning the tables on him with a scathing Pipe Bomb promo — mirroring Punk's famous tirade against Cena during the June 27, 2011 episode of Raw.

Audiences reveled in the irony of the moment as Cena's promo echoed Punk's in both tone and structure. Notably, R-Truth played a central role in both setups. In 2011, Cena lost a match to Truth after outside interference by Punk led to Truth spearing Cena through a table to score a victory. On Friday, Truth again defeated Cena, this time after the champ intentionally got himself disqualified by hitting Truth in the face with the WWE Championship.

Both promos featured a nearly identical visual: one man lying in pain while the other aired his grievances. In 2011, Cena was left writhing after the table spot caused by Punk. On Friday, it was Punk who took the bump, courtesy of Cena following two blows to the head with the title belt.

There was another key difference. While Punk cut his promo from the top of the ramp as Cena slowly recovered, Cena remained in the ring, seated on the top rope, towering over a motionless Punk, who sold the attack for almost 10 minutes.

Then, just as Punk did more than a decade earlier, Cena leaned in with a mocking remix of Punk's original Pipe Bomb, starting with an unmistakable echo of Punk's iconic opening line:

"John Cena, while you lay there, hopefully as uncomfortable as you possibly can be, I want you to listen to me. I want you to digest this because before I leave in 3 weeks with your WWE Championship, I have a lot of things I want to get off my chest."

Cena similarly began his address before his mic cut out. He tapped it, then said, "Somebody's afraid of what I'm gonna say." Cena then flashed a big grin, either because, as a heel, he was parodying Punk's iconic promo, genuinely enjoying the moment — or both.

Like Punk, Cena hoped his rival could "digest" what he had to say because before leaving with the WWE Title, he had a lot to get off his chest, too.

"I don't hate you, John. I don't even dislike you. I do like you. I like you a hell of a lot more than I like most people in the back." Cena essentially stayed with Punk beat for beat here. However, the twist came with Cena stating, "I like you more than anyone you've ever shared a locker room with, that's for sure," a nod to Punk's tumultuous history with coworkers.

"I hate this idea that you're the best. Because you're not. I'm the best. I'm the best in the world." Similarly, Cena couldn't stand the idea that Punk was the best because, in Cena's mind, he himself is the greatest of all time. As he said this, the fans in Grand Rapids, MI, cheered for Cena, unlike the fans who booed Punk 14 years ago, as he put himself over as the best.

"There's one thing you're better at than I am, and that's kissing Vince McMahon's ass. You're as good as kissing Vince's ass as Hulk Hogan was. I don't know if you're as good as Dwayne, though. He's a pretty good ass kisser. Always was and still is. "Whoops! I'm breaking the fourth wall! [Punk waves to the camera] This is where Cena's Pipe Bomb began to differentiate itself from Punk's. Rather than run down WWE, its management, or its fans (though he referred to them once as idiots), Cena remained focused on his opponent at next Saturday's Night of Champions.

Cena never directly mentioned Vince McMahon, though he did hint at him a few times. He also never mentioned Hulk Hogan or the man Cena "sold his soul to," Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Additionally, Cena didn't call Punk a kiss-ass. Instead, Cena called him "the best bullshitter in the world." It was one of the rare moments in Cena's heel run where he used obscene language — something he immediately pointed out as the crowd gasped.

"Oh, no, kiddos, John Cena just dropped a curse word that means the show is completely off the rails," Cena said in a sarcastic tone. He then summoned a cameraman, waved, and broke the fourth wall with a cheesy "Ha, ha!" Cena admitted that he was jealous of Punk for conning fans into chanting for him and believing he's "the best in the world." Backing off the mic, Cena let the crowd get a CM Punk chant out of their system before noting that although they sing for Punk, "They don't believe a goddamn word you say because you change your values as much as I change my T-shirts." Cena accused Punk of being a loudmouth opportunist willing to step on the necks of hardworking people to get ahead. Cena then turned to the camera again and waved, saying hello to former WWE stars Claudio Castagnoli (Cesaro), Nick Nemeth (Dolph Ziggler), and Matt Cardona (Zack Ryder).

Cena's salutation was another callback to Punk's promo. After Punk had threatened to leave with the WWE Title and defend it in promotions like New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor, he waved and said hello to then-friend Colt Cabana. Whereas Punk was eventually cut off for mentioning Vince McMahon and WWE's anti-bullying campaign, Cena claimed that wouldn't happen to him, saying, "And there's nobody back there that's going to cut my mic to save your ass, 'cause I'm your only friend," before adding, "Remember who gave you the stage for your pipe bomb, pal?" Cena's use of "pal" was another indirect nod to McMahon, who's famously known to use that word often. Cena questioned what Punk had done with the fame his promo afforded him, accusing Punk of relying on the same "five microphone moves of doom" — a jab at how Cena is mocked for his perceived limited move set.

Where Punk once called McMahon "a millionaire who should be a billionaire," Cena flipped the script, saying Punk is "a millionaire despite himself." He said Punk is no longer a punk but a capitalist. Rather than fight against WWE's parent company, TKO, Punk was now "Mr. TKO" because the company "knocked your balls technically off your body." This led to Cena calling Punk's tweets strong, but his actions weak — a likely reference to when Punk once told The Miz on social media to "go suck a blood money covered d*** in Saudi Arabia" in 2020. Now, five years later, Punk is seemingly willing to lower his standards to wrestle Cena there himself.

"...for almost six years, I have proved to everybody in the world that I am the best on this microphone, in that ring, even in commentary! Nobody can touch me!" As Cena began to wrap up, he circled back to Punk's Pipe Bomb, where he called himself the best for six years. However, Cena made it clear that Punk was nowhere near his level.

"In Saudi Arabia, you're gonna face some loud, loud music when I finally prove to the world that each and every day — day in, day out, no days off for 25 years — I have been the greatest of all time," said Cena. At that, the crowd let out a loud ovation for the Undisputed Champion, followed by a "Thank You, Cena" and a straight "Cena" chant. "You're welcome, Grand Rapids," replied Cena, who, while not totally accepting the fans' embrace, noted, "As you can tell, if this building in Grand Rapids is an indication, the mood is starting to change." For the first time since going rogue, Cena cut loose in such a way that fans strongly rallied behind him. And as much as there was curiosity about where Punk's story was headed after his epic rant, the same is now true for Cena.

Looking ahead, it will be interesting to see whether this newfound fan support reshapes Cena's final run and derails the momentum of WWE's babyfaces like Punk and Cody Rhodes. Either way, one thing is clear: the mood really has changed.