WWE Is Reportedly Trying To Put AEW Out Of Business, CM Punk Receives A Very Odd Gift (WATCH), Cody Rhodes News

AEW Worlds End is set for December 27 at the NOW Arena in Chicago, but WWE may be planning to counterprogram the event with John Cena’s final match. According to a report from Bryan Alvarez, Cena’s farewell bout was originally penciled in for early December at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event. However, internal discussions are reportedly underway about shifting it to December 27 to go head-to-head with AEW’s pay-per-view.

Dave Meltzer elaborated, noting that the current plan could see Cena’s last match moved from December 13 to December 27. He said, “That is certainly the story going around. They wanted to move from December 13 to December 27.”

WWE’s strategy is part of a larger push to hinder AEW’s chances of securing a higher-value media rights renewal. He added that WWE is actively working to elevate TNA Wrestling as the clear No. 2 promotion — one they can “control” — in order to box AEW out of long-term growth. He stated, “They just want this guy [Tony Khan] out of the box. If the numbers stay good, he’s going to get a renewal at a much bigger number … and that would make AEW incredibly profitable. They feel the need to make sure this is the last contract.”

As we previously reported here on eWn, WWE is looking to book John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar for an unannounced pay-per-view event on September 20, positioned directly opposite AEW All Out 2025.

WWE has yet to officially announce the date for Cena’s last match or a December edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event. For now, Cena’s next confirmed appearance is against Logan Paul at WWE Clash in Paris on Sunday, August 31.

Over SummerSlam 2025 Weekend in New Jersey, Danhausen reunited with his longtime friend CM Punk in a new vlog. During the meetup, Danhausen surprised Punk with a special gift to celebrate his long-awaited “Monday Night WrestleMania” main event — a new Danhausen t-shirt featuring Bret Hart in the center, flanked by Punk’s real-life wife AJ Lee on one side and Danhausen himself on the other.

The clip shows Punk laughing at the present before telling the camera, “I really love it so much. I appreciate it.” Danhausen suggested that if Punk wore the shirt live at SummerSlam 2025, he’d be guaranteed a World Heavyweight Title victory. Punk joked back that wearing it on TV might land Danhausen in trouble.

CM Punk’s appearance in Danhausen’s new vlog from SummerSlam weekend 😂 pic.twitter.com/t8LifPMJPr

— Teffo (@Teffo_01) August 14, 2025

During a recent appearance on “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” WWE Champion Cody Rhodes shared a story about his late father, WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, after a video of Dusty playing basketball resurfaced online. Cody recalled a charity game between NWA wrestlers and the Charlotte Police Department, where Dusty — determined to win — jokingly threatened to fire Sting and Lex Luger if they lost. He said,

“[Dusty] was the best basketball player I’ve ever seen in my life. He didn’t look it… It’s against the Charlotte Police Department.” He continued, “If you ask Lex Luger or Sting, who are both in it, just running. If you ask them about it, they say Dusty had a meeting before where he said, ‘If we lose to the police, you’re all fired,’ and they just went off. All these shots.”