A pointed comment from John Cena during the June 20 edition of WWE SmackDown sent a ripple through the wrestling world, catching one of its most talked-about independent stars completely by surprise. While targeting his Night of Champions opponent CM Punk, Cena broke the fourth wall in a move that echoed Punk’s own famous 2011 promo, directly acknowledging several talents currently outside of WWE.
The most notable mention was directed at Matt Cardona, who was wrestling at a GCW event at the time and missed the live broadcast. Cardona’s wife, WWE Superstar Chelsea Green, recounted the moment during a Fanatics Live signing, revealing she was the one who broke the news to her husband.
“He’s chronically online. He never, ever, ever leaves his phone. He happened to be wrestling [when the promo happened] so he wasn’t online, didn’t know. I got to break the news to him,” Green explained. “Yeah! Rare occurrence. So, I got to tell him and he was so flustered. He’s like, ‘Well, I don’t understand.’ ‘Just go watch it.’”
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Cardona himself later responded publicly on social media with a simple post tagging Cena and sharing a nostalgic photo of the two from their time together in WWE. He also physically acknowledged the moment during his GCW appearance, mimicking Cena’s taunts from the ring ropes in a clear nod to the 17-time world champion.
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The on-air reference from Cena was a calculated part of his verbal assault on Punk. Looking directly into a camera, Cena delivered the line that sparked the reactions.
“You’re just a loudmouth opportunist who will step on the necks of people who actually work hard if it gets you ahead. Where’s another camera? Hey, Claudio Castagnoli. Hey, Nick Nemeth. Hey, Matt Cardona. How you guys doing?” Cena said.
The segment successfully blurred the lines between storyline and reality, leveraging the mention of established names like Cardona to add a layer of authenticity to Cena’s feud with Punk ahead of their upcoming match.
READ MORE: John Cena Shares Cryptic Post After Historic Pipebomb on CM Punk During WWE SmackDown
