CM Punk Challenges Grayson Waller for NXT Title Tonight as John Cena Comes to NXT
CM Punk challenges Grayson Waller for the NXT Championship tonight, Wednesday, November 4, on a loaded episode of NXT. It will be Punk's first match in an NXT ring in more than 16 years.
John Cena is also on the show, two days after his Raw return. He said on Raw that he is coming to NXT to personally invite wrestlers into the first John Cena Classic. NXT airs at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.
How CM Punk ended up on NXT
The road started at NXT Halloween Havoc on Saturday, October 31. Waller retained the NXT Championship against Tony D'Angelo. After the match, show host Danhausen confronted Waller and played a video in which Punk announced he was coming for the title. NXT General Manager Robert Stone made the match official right away.
This did not come out of nowhere. In late September, Waller held an open challenge after his scheduled opponent Mason Rook was sidelined. In a video posted by Shawn Michaels, Punk turned it down and noted he was not an official NXT roster member, which Stone had said was required. Waller has also spent months taking shots at Punk in interviews. Now he gets him.
Full NXT card for tonight
- NXT Championship: Grayson Waller (c) vs. CM Punk
- John Cena appears live
- NXT Women's Championship: Kelani Jordan (c) vs. a mystery opponent
- Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic final: Romeo Moreno and Noam Dar vs. Hank Walker and Tank Ledger. Cody Rhodes is set to present the trophy to the winners.
- Unsanctioned Match: Cruz Montana vs. Dion Lennox, with UFC's Michael Chandler as special guest referee
- Six-man tag: Chad Gable, Rey Fenix and Dragon Lee vs. The Vanity Project
Start time: 8 p.m. ET. How to watch: live on The CW in the US. Netflix streams NXT live in most markets outside the US. The show is in Orlando, Florida, and moved from its usual Tuesday slot to Wednesday because of Election Day coverage.
Why it matters for Punk
Punk is a SmackDown star, and he is in a rough stretch. He lost the Undisputed WWE Championship to Sami Zayn on the September 11 SmackDown after Kevin Owens, Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae interfered. His feud with Owens has kept going since.
That feud continues this Friday. Punk faces Owens in a No Holds Barred match on the November 6 SmackDown. That show was taped on Monday, so if you want to stay spoiler-free, watch your step online this week.
Tonight gives Punk a different kind of shot. Winning the NXT Championship would put gold back around his waist without waiting in line for Zayn. It also puts him in a two-day stretch where he wrestles on NXT on Wednesday and in a No Holds Barred fight on Friday. Waller, for his part, gets the biggest match of his reign. A good showing against Punk is a big deal for him either way.
John Cena's role and the John Cena Classic
On the November 2 Raw, Cena laid out the first John Cena Classic. It takes place on Monday, December 14, as a special Raw at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando. Raw and SmackDown stars will face NXT talent, the winner gets the new WWE John Cena Championship, and fan voting runs through Club WWE. Cody Rhodes is the first invitee from the main roster.
Tonight is the NXT side of that. Cena said on Raw he would visit NXT to invite wrestlers personally, so expect the first NXT names in the field. More main roster entrants are due in the coming weeks, including at Survivor Series on November 28. Cena's next stops are SmackDown on November 13 and Raw on November 16. Our John Cena November dates page has the full list.
Our view
NXT airs head to head with AEW Dynamite: Blood & Guts tonight. In our view, Punk, Cena and Cody Rhodes on the same NXT show is WWE making a clear play for that audience. For main roster fans, it is the rare NXT episode that feels like must-watch TV. Cody Rhodes then heads to Riyadh to face Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing match at Crown Jewel 2026 on Saturday.
