Add as a preferred source on Google CM Punk’s win over Sami Zayn on this week’s Monday Night RAW in Chicago reportedly was not just a move made for immediate impact.
According to False Finish, WWE had been planning for more than a month for Punk to win the Undisputed WWE Championship and head into SummerSlam as champion. The initial idea was for him to challenge Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 43 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
That plan was reportedly moved up because WWE wants this year’s SummerSlam in Minneapolis to be a stronger event than WrestleMania 42 was. The event is scheduled for Aug. 1 and Aug. 2 at U.S. Bank Stadium.
On this week’s RAW, Cody was advertised to face Sami Zayn for the Undisputed WWE Championship. However, Gunther attacked him backstage, keeping him from being medically cleared for the match. As a result, Punk returned to television and was put in as the replacement in the main event.
CM Punk winning the Undisputed WWE Championship and heading into SummerSlam to defend it has been planned for well over a month.
— WrestlePurists (@WrestlePurists) July 7, 2026
Punk was initially set to challenge Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 43 in Riyadh but WWE is preparing for SummerSlam in Minneapolis to be better than… pic.twitter.com/ppQTTBpslx
In the ring, Punk defeated Zayn after surviving major offense from the then-champion, hitting a Helluva Kick and finishing him with a GTS. With that, Sami’s reign ended after just nine days.
It is also worth remembering that Punk and Rhodes had already teased a rivalry on the RAW after WrestleMania 42, when they came face-to-face and left the door open for a future title match.
In other words, WWE did not just quickly end Zayn’s reign. The company also appears to have moved a WrestleMania rivalry up to SummerSlam.