WWE Legend Says CM Punk Compromised His Morals by Wrestling in Saudi Arabia

Matt Hardy believes that CM Punk's values did take a hit after he went on to compete in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

WWE Legend Says CM Punk Compromised His Morals by Wrestling in Saudi Arabia

CM Punk [via- Cageside Seats]

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CM Punk‘s wrestling debut in Saudi Arabia has become a major topic of discussion among the pundits of this industry. It’s been over a week since the Chicagoan stood across from his great rival John Cena for the WWE title at Night of Champions in Riyadh. By doing so, did he violate his own moral values? Matt Hardy couldn’t help but think so.

Speaking on his The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, Hardy weighed in on ‘The Best in the World’s’ overseas trip to the Middle East. Noting that Punk wants to be a good employee, he did exactly what was asked of him by WWE—perform in Saudi Arabia. But the tag team legend also added that while agreeing to break his previous deadlock over visiting the Arab nation, he took a hit, at least morally.

If you proclaim something strongly and like, ‘No, I stand on these words,’ then you kind of, you kind of have to, or your character is going to take a hit, or people are going to say, ‘Well, he’s a hypocrite.’

Matt Hardy on CM Punk via Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast

Because, as per ‘The Sensei of Mattitude’, if one has firmly proclaimed what ground they can’t stand upon, they must stick to it. In Punk’s case, this was doing business with Saudi Arabia, based on his 2020-made “blood money covered d*ck” post aimed at The Miz. Or else, the fans will deem them a hypocrite. Hardy further explained that Punk just played by the book and did what was needed.

Quite recently, Rob Van Dam also opined on the same issue. But his assessment doesn’t align with Hardy. In fact, ‘Mr. Friday Night’ applauded ‘The Second City Saint’ for changing his controversial stance and even apologizing to the entire fanbase in person. Now that Punk already has his next target mapped out, what is he going to do about it?

CM Punk continues to find himself in Seth Rollins’ crosshairs

As mentioned above, CM Punk has that recurring Seth Rollins problem to get rid of at the moment. ‘The Visionary’ screwed him over in Riyadh, which allowed John Cena to take the easy way out and pin the former AEW star. And just like that, ‘The Cenation Leader’ retained his Undisputed WWE Championship.

CM Punk and Seth Rollins
CM Punk and Seth Rollins brawled on Raw [via- WWE]

The following edition of Raw saw an irate Punk going after Rollins. They traded heavy blows in the middle of the ring, but Rollins eventually retreated. ‘The Architect’ thought he’d escaped the beating of a lifetime until he bumped into LA Knight. They started brawling in the club-seating area as well.

Punk later confronted Knight, asking the erstwhile Eli Drake to pull back on his beef with the former Shield member until he settles his score with him. Knight wasn’t going to buy it, and he informed ‘The Best in the World’ that he’ll take on Rollins at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

‘The Defiant One’ has been dealing with ‘The Visionary’ and his henchmen for quite a while now. Knight vs. Rollins at SNME is bound to have shenanigans with Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed always lurking in the background. It’d be interesting to see if Punk arrives and helps Knight in Atlanta if things do go haywire for the Maryland native.

WWE planning three Saudi Arabia shows for 2026 with CM Punk now a sure-shot choice

WWE doesn’t have any more shows scheduled for Saudi Arabia in the remainder of 2025. However, the company is planning on staging three PLEs in that part of the world next year, as per Fightful Select. Starting with the Royal Rumble in January, it would mark the first occurrence of a ‘Big 4’ WWE event to be organized in Saudi Arabia.

CM Punk
CM Punk (via- WWE)

When it was announced, the fans went berserk, and the majority of them quipped that CM Punk would get a well-deserved night off. However, now that Punk has made amends for his previous comments, one could certainly expect the 46-year-old to compete at the Royal Rumble.

And who knows if he ends up winning it given his newfound perception among the people of Saudi Arabia after his recent apology? It’d line him up for a second-straight WrestleMania main event. ‘The Voice of the Voiceless’ may have closed out the first night of the pop-culture extravaganza this year, but his eyes are set on headlining night two as well.

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