WWE monitoring whether Saudi Arabia show next week will go on after US bombs Iran

WWE's "Night of Champions" event was originally scheduled to be held in Saudi Arabia on Jun. 29.

The scheduling might change now in light of recent geopolitical developments.

New York Post, citing wrestling publication Fightful Select, says that WWE officials are "closely evaluating" upcoming events following the U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

In response to the airstrikes, Iran's foreign minister has said the country reserves all options to defend their sovereignty and vowed "everlasting consequences".

The geopolitical tensions may have only been matched by the depth of hatred between defending Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena and his challenger, CM Punk, who are expected to have a match at "Night of Champions" in Saudi Arabia.

Cena, who is currently in his record-breaking 17th reign as a world champion, defeated one of the WWE's biggest stars, Cody Rhodes, in a gruelling match at WrestleMania 41 in April 2025.

Although known as a "babyface" or a heroic character for most of his professional wrestling career, Cena turned to the dark side in his quest to surpass Ric Flair's record of 16 world titles.

Siding with megalomaniacal executive Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson at the earlier "Elimination Chamber" event, Cena confirmed his descent into villainy to recognise his long-held dream.

At WrestleMania, Cena took advantage of a distraction by rapper Travis Scott to hit Rhodes with a "low blow" and then a title belt shot to the head, an illegal move, but one that won Cena his world title.

Afterwards, Cena would explain his actions as being motivated by resentment towards the WWE fans, who had continually booed him while he was in the prime of his career.

However, given that Cena was receiving cheers during his most recent appearances with the WWE, it was unclear why Cena chose this moment to strike.

At the same time, he declared that it would be his "final run" as a professional wrestler, perhaps with one eye on his Hollywood career, where Cena has appeared in TV shows and movies like "The Suicide Squad" and "Peacemaker".

This prompted other members of the WWE roster to challenge Cena so that he would not be able to retire while still champion, thereby giving him another reason to brag.

Long-standing friend and ally R-Truth challenged Cena at the "Saturday Night Main Event" show in May 2025, only to be defeated in under five minutes. It appeared as though Cena would continue his reign unabated.

Enter CM Punk.

Of all Cena's rivals in his storied career, Punk is perhaps the one who got the most under his skin.

Punk, a brash, rebellious, counter-culture icon who came up to the WWE from the independent scene as opposed to the academy-trained Cena, seemed like the perfect foil to Cena's clean-cut, all-American hero image he had in his earlier days.

Their rivalry came to a head at the 2011 "Money in the Bank" show, where their title match ended up with a rare five-star rating from respected professional wrestling critic, Dave Meltzer.

The enmity between Punk and Cena was memorably encapsulated in a blistering promo (segment where a wrestler speaks directly to the audience) known as the "Pipebomb".

Here, CM Punk wrote his name in the annals of wrestling history when he called out Cena for being a stooge of the corporate establishment, while Cena lay groaning on the floor.

Cena would call back to this point in their history with his own version of the Pipebomb on a Jun. 20, 2025 edition of Smackdown, mocking Punk's moniker of the "Best in the World" by saying that the only thing Punk is better at than him is "bullsh**ting".

He noted that Punk has made millions from the WWE's new owners, TKO, and challenged Punk to a match at the "Night of Champions" in Saudi Arabia, made more pointed by Punk's previous criticism of the Saudi Arabian government.

It remains to be seen if Punk will take up Cena's challenge.

Image from WWE social media