WWE Night of Champions saw John Cena compete in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the last time. The chaotic Night of Champions main event featured several swerves and surprises, but a bigger shocker is related to what Cena did, or did not do, backstage after the show, as just revealed by a familiar WWE face very close to the situation.
Big Match John defeated CM Punk in their final match at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, KSA on Saturday. The 26-minute main event saw referee Dan Engler accidentally go down at the hands of the Undisputed WWE Champion. Seth Rollins, Bronson Reed, and Bron Breakker interfered to beat up on Punk, then Cena used a big shoulder-block to stop referee Charles Robinson from sprinting to the ring, not too long after Robinson called the Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes opener. Penta and Sami Zayn also interfered, but in the end Cena retained via pinfall after Punk took Rollins’ Curb Stomp.
Little Naitch called Ric Flair’s WWE retirement match against Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 24 in 2008, for obvious reasons. Four matches later, Jimmy Korderas called the main event between The Undertaker and Edge, until taking an accidental big boot from Taker. Robinson eventually ran down, sprinting to the ring in a moment that has been immortalized in various memes and tributes. Robinson nailed a perfect slide into the ring to count a close 2 count, and went on to call the match as Taker won by submission.
Robinson’s sprint to the ring at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh on Saturday went viral for multiple reasons, and led to a revival of the memes that highlighted the 60-year-old’s sprint to the ring at Camping World Stadium in Orlando 17 years before. Speaking to Sam Roberts and Megan Morant on the WWE RAW Recap, Robinson joked that he was just happy to be alive after the big shoulder from Cena on Saturday. He compared this run to the run at WrestleMania 24.
“I’m happy to be alive. I didn’t know if I was going to live [laughs]. [Sam Roberts: it was a wild scene] It was a very wild scene. I was up in Gorilla Position, I just wanted to watch the last match before I got changed and tore down the ring. All of a sudden, Seth Rollins comes up, he goes, ‘Hey, when I call ya, come down.’ He had the briefcase in his hand, so I figured we were going to have a historic cash-in of the briefcase. I’m standing there and all of a sudden, he gives the little… [snaps finger], and I take off,” Robinson said.
Charles Robinson continued:
“Now this is a little different than WrestleMania 24, which was a pin cover, right? The Undertaker. So, I’m running as hard as I can… well, this is a cash-in, so I’m running about 80%, I’m not giving it my all. [laughs] If you look at the video, I’m trying to hold back, OK? It’s a funny stride, I’m trying to hold back a little bit. Thank God, because if I’m going 100%, the collision would’ve been much worse, but I’m running down the ramp and I see movement out of the… out of my eye, I thought it was Stu, the camera guy, right? So, then I divert back straight, all of a sudden… BAM! I’m airborne, and they tell me that John Cena hit me. Is that who hit me? [laughs],” Robinson said.
Roberts wondered if Robinson sprints in his spare time to prepare for things like this. The fan-favorite referee revealed how he is an avid runner, choosing to run three or four miles at a time, 3-4 times per week.
Charles Robinson Claims John Cena Never Spoke To Him After WWE Night Of Champions
WWE and Saudi Arabia began their lucrative 10-year partnership in 2018 with the Greatest Royal Rumble PLE. One infamous moment from the show saw Titus O’Neil trip on his way to the ring for the 50-Man main event. Dubbed The Titus World Slide, the botch reminded fans of O’Neil’s barrel roll fall on NXT seven years earlier. While sprinting at Night of Champions this past weekend, veteran referee Charles Robinson was worried he’d have a similar moment, in the same country.
Lil Naitch discussed the sprint on this week’s WWE RAW Recap with Sam Roberts and Megan Morant. He was asked if he was worried while running down the ramp, and if injuries were a concern. He recalled thinking of the unfortunate Titus O’Neil botch.
“I [was thinking] I could do a Titus! [Roberts: in Saudi Arabia, that’s where it happened!] … in Saudi Arabia! That was going through… that’s exactly what was going through my mind, I was so scared of that. So, I just wanted to get down, slide in the ring, grab the briefcase, hand it over, and be done. [Roberts: what was going through your mind mid-air?] Um… I thought, ‘I’m dead.’ [laughs] I had no idea what happened. I had no idea what happened, so, like I said, I was only running 80%, so 100%, it could’ve been different,” Robinson said.
Charles Robinson continued:
“If you look at where I landed, I was inches from the stairs, so, yeah. [Roberts: there’s no way to plan in mid-air] Right, it was zero from me, it was all John Cena. That had nothing to do with me, I just ran in a straight line and he hit me. I went where he hit me. [Roberts: was NOC physically different than WM 24?] I was numb when he hit me. I went numb, I did not even feel hitting the ground. Afterwards, I think it was Dan Engler, the referee in the match, he came over and helped me out. Legs were shaking, I didn’t know where I was. So… I mean, it was pretty amazing,” Robinson said.
Robinson was then asked about the long ramp. The WWE Referee of the Year for 2020 and 2021 discussed the kind of shape he stays in for the WWE job, and then revealed what he sees as the saddest part of the whole debacle: there was no apology from John Cena.
“Well, I’d been in Saudi Arabia for a week setting up, so I had walked up and down that ramp 50 times, so I knew it was a long ramp. I don’t think it was quite as long as the WrestleMania 24 ramp, but it was a long, long ramp. I knew at that distance I wouldn’t be too blown up. [Robinson: I didn’t need to warm up, walks 30,000 steps per day at shows] I don’t like to sit down, and be lazy. [Roberts: did you still have to tear down the ring?] Yes. Brian Tran and myself, he started and I came out maybe 30 minutes after people left, had to recover and get my thoughts,” Robinson said.
Charles Robinson continued:
“You know, the sad thing… really, the sad thing about this whole thing is… I thought John Cena and myself, we had a mutual respect for one another, especially because I refereed [when] he tied Ric Flair’s title reign against AJ Styles at the Royal Rumble, thought we had a little bit of respect. Um… afterwards, he said nothing. [Roberts: that’s a different John Cena] Yeah,” Robinson said.