WWE reportedly had several different plans for CM Punk before defeating Sami Zayn on this week’s edition Raw.
After an 11-week hiatus, CM Punk returns Raw To challenge Zayn for the WWE Championship. Cody Rhodes was initially scheduled to face Zayn, but he suffered an injury in the storyline after a backstage attack by Gunther. This set the stage for Punk to arrive and reclaim the championship gold.
Although it has not been officially announced, all signs point to Punk defending the WWE Championship against Rhodes at SummerSlam 2026 weekend on August 1-2 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
According to a report by false terminationThe decision to bring Punk to SummerSlam as WWE Champion “was planned for over a month.” Interestingly, False Finish said that WWE originally planned Punk vs. Rhodes at WrestleMania 43 next year, but they are trying to make SummerSlam 2026 “better than WrestleMania 42.”
Rhodes teased a future match with Punk on the April 20 episode. RawOne night after losing his World Heavyweight Championship to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 42, the dream match finally seems to be set.
Matches confirmed so far for SummerSlam 2026
(Photo by Rich Frieda/WWE via Getty Images)
There are three confirmed matches so far for SummerSlam 2026: Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship, Liv Morgan vs. Iyo Sky for the Women’s World Championship, and Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar.
Penta will also defend the Intercontinental Championship against the winner of the Gauntlet match. Raw Next week. The men competing in that match are Dragon Lee, Chad Gable, Dominic Mysterio, Rusev, Jevon Evans, Joe Hendry, and Ethan Page.
