WWE has announced CM Punk’s first appearance after his shocking title win on RAW.
As indicated in earlier reports, CM Punk made his WWE return on the July 6 episode of RAW in his hometown of Chicago. He came in as a last-minute replacement for Cody Rhodes after GUNTHER took out the American Nightmare before his scheduled Undisputed WWE Championship rematch against Sami Zayn.
Punk shocked the world by ending Sami Zayn’s title run in nine days and walked out of the Allstate Arena as the new Undisputed WWE Champion, his eighth world title in the promotion overall (not counting the ECW World Championship).
Now, WWE has announced on its official X/Twitter account that CM Punk’s first appearance following his title win will take place this Friday night on SmackDown at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
Punk’s appearance on SmackDown comes after recent reports indicated that WWE was planning to move him to the blue brand as a balancing measure since RAW had more star power. The company also reportedly planned a program between the Straight Edge Superstar and Cody Rhodes, the seeds for which were planted on RAW after WrestleMania 42.
WWE’s original plan for CM Punk and Cody Rhodes
According to a recent report from PWInsider, WWE is planning a match between CM Punk and Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam next month. However, the original idea for the two superstars reportedly looked different.
WWE officials reportedly discussed having Punk vs. Rhodes at WrestleMania 43 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, next year. However, plans have changed, and the promotion has seemingly moved the high-profile clash to SummerSlam. The two-day premium live event will take place at the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on August 1 and 2.
Sami Zayn was devastated and cursed out Punk in a backstage rant after his shocking loss. It will be interesting to see if he’ll get a rematch at Saturday Night’s Main Event at Madison Square Garden on July 18 before WWE heads towards SummerSlam.
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