CM Punk says Cody Rhodes can have another shot at the Undisputed WWE Championship whenever he wants it, admitting he was unhappy with the way he retained the title at SummerSlam.
Punk made the offer during WWE’s Summer Tour live event at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia, on Thursday. After competing, Punk addressed Rhodes and reflected on the circumstances surrounding their SummerSlam match. “Now, Cody, over the past couple of weeks, the road to SummerSlam has been a lot of ‘He said, she said’, accidents, on-purposes, a lot of talk about friendship.”
Punk then acknowledged Rhodes’ position within WWE and said he does not consider what happened at SummerSlam a satisfactory way to settle things between them. “To me, you’re not the champ until you beat the champ. You’re somebody who has been the face of this company for over four years. You’ve done everything. You’ve said yes to everything, these people love you, and I love you.”
“The way that SummerSlam went down, the way I won, it’s dirty. I don’t like it.”
Punk retained the championship after Randy Orton returned and hit Rhodes with an RKO, giving Punk the opening to win the match. Orton has not appeared on WWE television since SummerSlam and has yet to explain his actions.
Despite acknowledging that other wrestlers have legitimate claims to a championship opportunity, Punk told Rhodes that he would not have to earn another one. “Now, I know that there’s a ton of guys in the back that want a shot at the champion. There are number one contenders, there are superstars who deserve a shot based on the currency they have with the audience, but you my friend, you get a rematch any time you want.” That promise creates an immediate complication for Punk.
Kevin Owens returned on night two of SummerSlam and defeated Sami Zayn, Finn Balor and Gunther in a four-way match specifically to become the number one contender for Punk’s championship. Punk appeared to acknowledge that situation in his comments before nevertheless giving Rhodes an open invitation.
Punk, Owens and Rhodes are all advertised for tonight’s SmackDown in Philadelphia, although WWE has not announced anything involving the three.
Punk originally won the championship from Zayn on the July 6 Raw in Chicago. He stepped into the title match after Gunther attacked Rhodes and prevented him from receiving his own rematch.
When Punk subsequently offered Rhodes an opportunity and told him to choose the location, Rhodes selected SummerSlam.
Their SummerSlam encounter was the first one-on-one match between Punk and Rhodes in nearly 18 years.
HEALED #CODYPUNKFOREVER #WWEFairfax pic.twitter.com/KFc8TKgZax
— victoria (@victoriaaze_) August 7, 2026
