Former AEW Star Responds To John Cena After WWE SmackDown Name-Drop

Nic Nemeth and Matt Cardona have both taken to social media to acknowledge being name-dropped by John Cena during a fiery promo on the latest episode of WWE SmackDown. The unexpected mentions occurred during a segment that saw Cena recreate CM Punk’s legendary “pipe bomb” speech.

The show’s closing moments saw John Cena intentionally get disqualified in his match against R-Truth, leading to a brawl with his Night of Champions rival, CM Punk. After putting Punk through the “Slim Jim” announce table, Cena sat on the turnbuckle, mirroring the setting of Punk’s original 2011 promo.

During his speech, Cena called Punk an opportunist before breaking the fourth wall to address talent outside of WWE, a rare occurrence for the company.

“Hey, Claudio Castagnoli. Hey, Nick Nemeth. Hey, Matt Cardona. How you guys doing?,” Cena said.

Shortly after the segment aired, Matt Cardona, the current NWA World Champion, posted a direct message on X, simply tagging Cena in a post that read, “Hey @JohnCena”. The mention immediately revived fan speculation about a potential WWE return for Cardona, who has previously stated he would only come back using his real name.

Nic Nemeth, a former TNA World Champion, offered a more cryptic reaction. He responded by posting a GIF from the animated series Archer with the caption, “Danger zone!”.

Further analysis suggests Cena’s words may have contained a veiled message aimed at CM Punk’s well-documented backstage conflicts in AEW. Speculation posits that the mention of Matt Cardona and Nic Nemeth could have been indirect references to Matt and Nick Jackson of The Young Bucks. Similarly, the shoutout to Claudio Castagnoli, whose initials are C.C., is being theorized as a subtle jab related to Colt Cabana, another figure from Punk’s past controversies.

READ MORE: Major Rumor Involving WWE And AEW Refuted