CM Punk is officially set to defend his Undisputed WWE Championship at SummerSlam.
The Straight Edge Superstar made his first appearance on WWE SmackDown as the Undisputed WWE Champion earlier in the night. Punk kicked off the show to a massive ovation from the Oklahoma crowd.
After hyping up the WWE Universe, Punk namedropped a few potential challengers, including Royce Keys and Damian Priest. However, he soon found himself standing across from Cody Rhodes.
The American Nightmare reminded Punk of their previous interaction on the RAW after WrestleMania, where Punk asked Rhodes when they should face each other for the Undisputed WWE Championship.
Punk interrupted the former champion and threw the same question back at him, prompting Rhodes to respond with “SummerSlam.” The two men shook hands as Nick Aldis announced that the match was official for WWE SummerSlam 2026.
Rhodes was originally set to challenge Sami Zayn for the Undisputed WWE Championship on WWE RAW, but Gunther attacked him before the match. CM Punk took Rhodes’ place and went on to defeat Zayn to win his eighth WWE World Title in his hometown of Chicago.
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