IWC Scum — Does CM Punk’s Favor Affect Cena & Cody, Jey & Gunther, or Just Seth & Roman?

Welcome back to the column that puts the incessant whining and complaining in IWC. I’m SkitZ — a man of questionable taste who’s far too coherent to chug whatever Tito’s drinking these days. 

This opinion piece was very nearly titled “Cody Rhodes is a Better John Cena Than the Original”, but I missed the window for April Fools (and fellow writer Chris Connors already beat me to the punch). All this chatter about the IWC’s first American Nightmare burying Cody on Monday night is a head scratcher, because I think both men deserve their flowers after the segment they gave us. The type of fiery back-and-forth promo we’ve been waiting to hear for the past month. If you watched that pre-Mania roast and honestly felt Cena left Rhodes in his star dust, then our respective train of thoughts are wired very differently.  

The reigning WWE Champion not only kept pace with his mentor on the mic for 3 consecutive weeks, but I’d actually give Cody a slight edge in 2 of those standoffs. John Cena’s limited schedule and non-wrestling commitments have put a strain on the structuring of his WM41 match with Rhodes. It’s hard to effectively build towards a closing date when nothing has met the production value of what we witnessed at Elimination Chamber. Wrestling fans waited 16 whole days to hear from Cena following his shocking heel turn, and apparently they’ll be waiting another 20 days to see him again. Sooooo where does that leave these last couple episodes of RAW before Mania? Will The Final Boss and his sidekick show up to drop some gospel on Cody? Will Rhodes rock Travis Scott with a face pop that lingers for a good long while? Does Cena appear via satellite with more smirks and animated insults that are oddly befitting of his former self? 

These types of questions are precisely why I didn’t expect the 16-time World Champion to challenge for a 17th at this year’s WrestleMania. The storyline makes total sense, don’t get me wrong. I understand the angle and sense of urgency that WWE’s going for, but every wrestling legend wants to win the Royal Rumble and main event Mania once more before calling it quits. That’s common practice. I assumed it was just part of the rudimentary setup for Cena’s return, before he ultimately failed and branched off to face a formidable villain like Drew McIntyre in Vegas. Then John could circle back around to the title picture later in 2025 and make history en route to doing the favor when he finally exits.

You wanna talk about maximizing a favor… look no further than CM Punk, who’s kept the one Paul Heyman owes him a secret since before WarGames. Something tells me we’re finally going to find out what the Second City Saint has up his sleeve this Friday night when SmackDown airs live from Chicago’s Allstate Arena. WWE’s likely been saving the big secret for their return to the states; in Punk’s hometown to be more specific. Despite the odds of it being an avenue to gain entry into the Night 2 main event, I honestly expected him to win the 2025 Men’s Royal Rumble. And when Punk didn’t, I was certain he would emerge from the Elimination Chamber victorious. Even after Rollins curb stomped his dreams into the steel grate surrounding the ring, my delusional ass still thought it would lead to a WrestleMania triple threat between Punk, Cena and Cody once Adam Pearce or Nick Aldis righted a major wrong. That made much more sense to me than the heavily rumored one involving Roman and Seth.

CM Punk has been so laser focused on main eventing Mania, and he’s finally achieved that by hook or crooked booking. I just never imagined it would happen without a World Title at stake, yet fittingly enoughly, he may end up headlining both nights and competing for the WWE Championship. I hope he does simply to silence the tools on Elon’s app claiming that closing out Night 1 isn’t truly main eventing. Keep in mind, these are the same thick-headed dunces who split hairs over shit as laughably transparent as Cena’s bald spot.

Is that where all this favor business is heading though? Have any of us stopped to consider the possibility that perhaps the destination for Punk isn’t landing somewhere between Cena and Cody on Sunday evening? What if Jey/Gunther also takes place on Night 2, and Punk gets added to their match instead after beating two-thirds of The Shield’s sloppy seconds? Neither World Title bout needs CM Punk per se as they’ve both become blood feuds recently, but if you were gonna inject him into one or the other, couldn’t Jey versus Gunther use the shot in the arm more?  

Sure it benefitted from the World Heavyweight Champ’s bloody beatdown of Jimmy Uso, but let’s not forget there were serious doubts swirling around the feud before said segment reeled fans back in. Jey’s best Kofi Kingston impression wasn’t cutting it, so his big bro took to the blade on this week’s RAW as Hunter tore a page out of the booking from his WM25 program with Orton. Gunther instantly regained his edge, and Jey delved back into the family drama which has always been his strong suit. Will that be enough to power them through WrestleMania though? If only Jey was as immune to critics as he is to crickets. 

Is it so inconceivable that CM Punk turns up in the World Heavyweight Championship match to give it some extra oomph? Thanks to Roman, Paul Heyman carries a Rock-shaped calling card in his back pocket. Getting the Final Boss to sign off on external forces interfering with Cena’s mission at WM41 might be too tall a task, but a stipulation that potentially allows his cousin to capture the other World Title seems pretty doable. I mean was it merely coincidence that WWE had Punk working all those main events with Gunther during the European tour? Maybe to get the two better acquainted between the ropes before they square off Easter weekend? I’m telling you, there’s more than meets the eye with these overseas live events!

Would the insertion of Punk be counterproductive to Jey completing his story? Those who don’t view the 2025 Royal Rumble winner as World Champion material would be bragging their asses off on Twitter, yet they’d also be the first ones to bitch about CM Punk’s involvement being pointless if Jey wins. So do all three men lose on a larger scale if that’s the outcome? Gahhh fuck these feelgood moments for doing irreversible damage. If Brock resurfaces in 6 months and makes quick work of Jey Uso, we’ll know who’s really calling the shots backstage.

I’m kidding of course, but Vince playing hooky until the heat dies down seems more likely than the favor revolving around Heyman betraying Reigns. In the words of wrestling’s most notorious non-negotiator, “that doesn’t work for me, brother”. At this stage, Paul has far more to gain by remaining Roman’s Wiseman. Punk has little to no need for an advocate anyway. He’s repeatedly referenced winning the World Title ever since wrapping up his rivalry with McIntyre, and thus that’s the smart bet heading into Las Vegas. Plus, who the hell teases a turn for months when there’s no bigger prize beyond Paul’s long-winded endorsements?  

And yes, as you’ve no doubt gathered by now, I place zero confidence in either Reigns or Rollins winning Saturday Night’s Main Event and advancing to Night 2 (should the chips fall that way in terms of a stipulation). Seth’s triumph lies in headlining WrestleMania for a second straight year after falling short in his first 10 appearances. Then there’s The Tribal Chief, who’s been in cruise control throughout this entire Road to WrestleMania. The man is so clearly operating on autopilot at this point that I don’t think he can be bothered to work double duty this time around. The fact that Roman isn’t facing The Rock or Jacob Fatu at WM41 ultimately screwed CM Punk out of challenging Gunther or Cody at the event. Or so it appears for now.  

When the initial feud with Seth was shelved due to Punk’s injury and then reignited on RAW’s Netflix premier, you knew they would carry it all the way to WrestleMania. That much was a given. However, this is coming from the same nerd who thought Rollins/Punk/Gunther, Rock/Cody and Jey Uso versus Logan Paul were a lock for this year’s card… Yeah, if these last 27 years of watching wrestling have taught me anything, it’s that my expertise on the matter is as subjective as the dirt sheets we dive into on a nightly basis. I’m just a manwhore for pretend drama; one who’s lucky enough to crawl into bed with a wrestling fan for a girlfriend, and one who desperately wants Seth and Roman to go the fuck to sleep so my dude CM Punk can reach an all-time high on 4/20!   

Or is that not the grand reveal behind his favor? Between Punk/Rollins/Reigns, Rhea/Bianca/Iyo, and Cena/Cody becoming a ménage à trois, that might be one too many three-ways for this year’s WrestleMania card. 

Twitter: writersblock_skitz (@SirSkitzAlot)

Email: skitztmrlop@gmail.com