As documented by Wrestling Inc , John Cena took to social media this weekend to pay tribute to CM Punk and their match from Money in the Bank 2011. The multi-time World Champion retweeted a post-match picture of him and Punk holding money, and he claimed that he has fond memories of the occasion, even though he lost cash because of it.
“I bet on myself that night, the usual amount. Not a smart wager choosing the guy who can’t wrestle over the best in the world, but I’d like to think we all won that night. Thank you for allowing me to be part of something so many were entertained by.”
The comments come after Punk took to Twitter to reminisce about the match earlier this week. The Straight Edge Superstar recalled his positive memories of the bout, and he thanked Cena — and everyone else who was involved — for making it so special.
Cena’s tribute to Punk didn’t end with his tweet, however. The legendary performer also took to Instagram and shared the famous picture of Punk blowing a kiss at him following his title victory at the event. While the photo wasn’t captioned, the image was clearly meant as a show of respect for his old rival.
Both wrestlers aren’t around WWE much these days, so their recent exchange brought some nostalgic joy to their fans. Punk quit wrestling in 2014, and Cena is primarily focused on his acting career these days. However, the mutual respect both men have for each other suggests that they get along behind the scenes.
Around the time of the pay-per-view, there was a belief that Punk had some beef with the Hollywood A-lister. Their rivalry straddled the line between fiction and reality to perfection, and it’s arguably gone down in history as one of the most memorable incidents in the history of the promotion.
The angle saw Punk defeat Cena and leave the company with the world title. Given that Punk’s contract was legitimately expiring at the time, some fans and pundits were surprised that he picked up the win. He didn’t defend it in other companies, but he was absent for several weeks.
The match was booked after Punk’s iconic “pipebomb” promo, in which he took to the stage during a previous episode of Monday Night Raw and cut a shoot promo. The speech detailed his intentions to leave the company with the title and defend it in New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor, and then he accused the McMahon family of being bullies.
