Jim Cornette Blasts Cena vs. Punk Night of Champions Finish: “They Just Lost the Plot” – Veteran wrestling manager and personality Jim Cornette has once again pulled no punches, this time turning his attention to the controversial ending of the John Cena vs. CM Punk main event at WWE Night of Champions. While Cornette praised the match for its in-ring quality, he was highly critical of the chaotic final stretch that saw multiple interferences and a prolonged referee bump.
Speaking on a recent episode of Jim Cornette’s Drive-Thru, Cornette began by complimenting both Cena and Punk for what he called one of the standout matches of Cena’s ongoing farewell run.
“It was a good back and forth match where everything made sense. It was a good world title match,” he said. “It was probably the best John Cena match of this particular retirement run here.”
However, his praise ended when discussing the overbooked finish. The final minutes of the Undisputed WWE Championship match featured interference from Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, Penta, and Sami Zayn, all of which took place while the referee was incapacitated.
“I’ve loved this match up until this point,” Cornette said. “The only thing they can do when a match is not no DQ is knock the referee out, which I’m not opposed to… but the problem is now referee bumps have evolved into the referee has been placed in a fucking medically induced coma… and is going to be down for 10 minutes.”
Cornette mocked the theatricality of the moment, criticizing how the match turned into a completely different spectacle.
“The music is playing over the loudspeaker. What’s the referee supposed to think unless he’s completely slapped dab unconscious, in which case some doctor needs to be bringing over a goddamn oxygen tank,” he continued. “It was a different fucking match for about five minutes. Yeah, here, now, let’s all go to the lobby… We’ll come back in five minutes when the match we were watching starts back up.”
The referee, after being knocked out for over seven minutes, suddenly recovered in time to count the pinfall for Cena. For Cornette, this moment derailed what could have been one of the best matches of the year.
“I thought it was a real good match, until it became sports entertainment instead of wrestling, and then everybody came out, and they just lost the fucking plot.”
Cornette’s criticism echoes a growing sentiment among longtime fans who prefer a more grounded, wrestling-first presentation. Whether WWE will take such feedback into account remains to be seen, but the polarizing finish has certainly stirred debate.
Jim Cornette Blasts Cena vs. Punk Night of Champions Finish: “They Just Lost the Plot”
