Top WWE star CM Punk made a blockbuster return to WWE programming in front of his hometown crowd in Chicago, Illinois, this past Monday night on RAW. Punk was revealed as Sami Zayn’s opponent for the Undisputed WWE Championship match in the main event after “The American Nightmare,” Cody Rhodes, was taken out by “The Ring General,” GUNTHER, earlier in the show and was reported as not being medically cleared to compete.
Punk, who had been absent from WWE programming since the RAW following WrestleMania 42, returned to a massive pop from the crowd and ultimately defeated Zayn to capture the Undisputed WWE Championship for the third time in his illustrious career. Punk’s victory meant that Zayn’s first reign as Undisputed WWE Champion ended after just nine days.
According to Fightful Select (per Cultaholic), this plan had been in place all along, as WWE intended for Zayn to drop the title to Punk. The company had known for some time that “The Best in the World” was going to return.
False Finish then reported on their official Twitter (X) account that the title change had been planned for well over a month. The report further noted that Punk was initially set to challenge Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Title at WrestleMania 43. However, the company decided to pivot, aiming to present SummerSlam 2026 as a better show than WrestleMania 42.
