CM Punk made a touching tribute to the late Duke Roufus.
Roufus, a former kickboxer and renowned mixed martial arts coach, unexpectedly passed away last month at the age of 55. He not only trained former world champions like Tyron Woodley and the Pettis brothers, but he also coached CM Punk during his respective run in UFC.
Punk honored Roufus by having “Duke” stitched on the left side of his entrance jacket. The jacket was black and yellow, the colors of Roufus’ famed Roufusport Martial Arts Academy. Punk also included another, more subtle nod to Roufus, as he added the academy’s Spartan Warrior helmet logo on one of the stars on his trunks in honor of Roufus.
CM Punk won the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event. He defeated Jey Uso in the main event match, earning his first world title since he briefly held it at SummerSlam 2025. That reign, however, was only a few minutes long. Seth Rollins cashed his Money In The Bank contract in on Punk, who had just beaten Gunther for the title.
After his most recent title win, Punk said he’s enjoyed his return to WWE, calling every day a “dream.”
“Every day’s been like a dream. Honestly, every day is gratitude,” he told Hockey Night in Utah’s Nick Olczyk. “Obviously, I love hockey so much, I draw the parallels between my wrestling career and hockey. And I’m the old guy in the room now,” CM Punk explained. “I’m happy I get to lace up my skates and have the privilege to walk the locker room and the halls with a lot of talented young stars and seeing all the fans, all the places I’ve been all around the world. Getting to revisit stuff and see the young and the old, we all love wrestling, it’s great. It’s been a dream.”
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