John Cena-CM Punk missing one important element

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John Cena defeats CM Punk in complicated finish

The interference was coming.

But imagine if we saw a clean finish?

John Cena defeated CM Punk in the main event of Night of Champions, and it followed the predictable pattern of WWE booking with an abundance of outside interference.

The early stages of the match were Punk and Cena playing their greatest hits, albeit at a slower pace than they did 14 years ago, and it was brilliant. A boisterous crowd in Saudi also loved it, but the match turned into mayhem following a referee bump that prevented Punk from winning. That led to a chain of events which saw Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, Penta, and Sami Zayn all make their presence felt, which should inevitably lead to a six-man tag with Punk helping the babyfaces.

After the majority of interference was finished, Cena and Punk shook hands. Cena’s attempt at outsmarting Punk then backfired, but Rollins reappeared and knocked out Punk with the Money in the Bank briefcase. Cena attacked Rollins before pinning a compromised Punk, and that was the end of perhaps the final chapter of Cena-Punk.

It came with its own set of theatrics, but John Cena retained the world title at Night of Champions/WWE

But what if the finish had been clean?

Rollins didn’t need to tease a cash in here. Breakker and Reed weren’t necessary to the match. Neither were Penta or Zayn, who all could have been added to the story on Raw.

Rollins coming out certainly added excitement, as did the Charles Robinson sprint to the ring that was a callback from nearly two decades ago, but it would have been even more captivating had Cena and Punk finished what they started. In the modern age, a clean finish–one with no outside interference–would have been shocking. That would have been a memorable finish to a legendary feud.

Punk getting pinned cleanly wouldn’t have hurt him. But it would have tied a bow on this feud, changing the story by forcing Punk to be better if he plans on winning the world title. In addition to being unexpected, it would have been outstanding for Cena, who is finally starting to build momentum as a heel champ.

Alas, we were left with a bevy of interference.

Here are the results from Night of Champions:

• Cody Rhodes defeated Randy Orton to win the King of the Ring tournament

• Rhea Ripley defeated Raquel Rodriguez in a street fight

• Sami Zayn defeated Karrion Kross

• Solo Sikoa defeated Jacob Fatu to win the United States title

• Jade Cargill defeated Asuka to win the Queen of the Ring tournament

• John Cena defeated CM Punk to retain the WWE Championship

There is still more meat on the bone for Punk to challenge Cena (and the same can be said for Randy Orton), but this felt like the end of an era. It would have been a perfect match for SummerSlam, a show that will instead be headlined by Cena defending against Cody Rhodes.

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Cody Rhodes wins King of the Ring

Cody Rhodes defeated Randy Orton in the finals of the King of the Ring, adding another accolade to his phenomenal WWE run since his return three years ago.

The match opened Night of Champions and set the tone for the show. In addition to foreshadowing a heel turn from Orton, it was a tense, hard-hitting affair. There was no outside interference, and Rhodes got the better of Orton in a match where both men came off as superstars.

Rhodes’ victory means he challenges Cena for the WWE title at SummerSlam, a rematch of the WrestleMania 41 main event. If it feels rushed, that’s because it is. But it isn’t unheard of.

Cody Rhodes is the newest King of the Ring/WWE