The main event segment of Friday’s WWE Night of Champions go-home episode of SmackDown featured a heated promo exchange between “The Best in the World” CM Punk and Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena. In the segment, Punk invoked Cena’s “Doctor of Thuganomics” persona and delivered a diss track aimed at the 17-time World Champion ahead of their highly anticipated clash at tonight’s Night of Champions Premium Live Event (PLE).
According to Fightful Select, the segment underwent several post-production edits, with noticeable differences between the live international version and the taped U.S. broadcast. A source within WWE confirmed that a flubbed line from Punk was removed in the U.S. airing, and additional crowd noise was layered in to enhance the segment’s presentation.
It was also noted that WWE production staff had a particularly hectic day, as they dealt not only with the main event edits but also power issues that affected the opening segment of the show.
Despite the behind-the-scenes challenges, the promo segment between Punk and Cena has generated strong buzz heading into Night of Champions, where the two legends are set to collide in what is expected to be a marquee showdown.
Stay tuned to PWMania.com for complete Night of Champions coverage and fallout.
