Tommy Dreamer believes CM Punk’s surprise return and WWE Championship victory on Raw has completely reshaped WWE’s road to SummerSlam.
On Monday night’s episode of Raw from the Chicago area, Punk made his shocking return to defeat Sami Zayn and capture the Undisputed WWE Championship in front of his hometown crowd.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Dreamer broke down the dramatic sequence of events that led to the title change.
The show was originally scheduled to feature Sami Zayn defending the championship against Cody Rhodes. However, before the match could take place, Gunther attacked Rhodes backstage, delivering a powerbomb through a table before leaving him bloodied and reportedly suffering from a possible concussion.
With Rhodes unable to compete, WWE officials announced a replacement challenger, leading to the surprise return of CM Punk, who had been absent since losing the championship at WrestleMania.
Dreamer was especially impressed by Punk’s entrance. “One of the best cinematic entrances without it being cinematic.”
He compared the reaction from the Chicago crowd to some of WWE’s loudest returns. “I’m talking Triple H’s return to the Garden, I’m talking John Cena’s return. It was one of the loudest.”
Punk went on to defeat Zayn to capture what Dreamer noted was the eighth world championship of his career. “It’s a great testament for perseverance.”
Dreamer also praised WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque for repairing a relationship that once appeared beyond saving. “Triple H has to get a lot of praise for mending fences that were kind of unmendable.”
The victory ended Sami Zayn’s championship reign after just nine days, with Michael Cole noting on commentary that it was WWE’s shortest world title reign in five years.
According to Dreamer, the unexpected title change has dramatically altered WWE’s plans heading into SummerSlam. “This throws such a massive curveball into the future and into SummerSlam.”
