Undisputed WWE Champion CM Punk and Cody Rhodes outlasted the unlikely team-up of Sami Zayn and Gunther in “Saturday Night’s Main Event” at Madison Square Garden.
The victory came ahead of Punk and Rhodes’ title match in “SummerSlam” on August 2.
The tag team match-up came to be when “SmackDown” General Manager Nick Aldis was pestered by Gunther to be involved in the world championship scene last week.
Aldis then gave Gunther what he wanted, although in a different kind of match as the general manager booked the tag team bout.
If Gunther and Zayn were victorious, they would be added to the “SummerSlam” match, making it a “Fatal 4-Way”.
As Rhodes and Punk kept their championship match a one-versus-one, the tag-team bout ended with an assist from an unlikely figure.
Tag team turmoil
The fight immediately went underway as soon as Zayn entered the ring, as the four men brawled to kickstart the match.
Punk and Rhodes were quick to showcase that they are on the same page as they immediately went on the offensive against Zayn, who lost the WWE Championship to “The Best in the World” two weeks ago after only holding the belt for nine days.
But Zayn saw an opportunity to tag in Gunther, who mauled the WWE champion and tossed him in the barricade spine-first.
Punk managed to escape more trouble when he fought off an irate Zayn, as he tagged in Rhodes while Zayn tagged in Gunther.
Rhodes was on fire, fighting off both Zayn and Gunther hitting two “Cody Cutters”, a “Bionic Elbow” and a “Suicide Dive” in a quick and aggressive sequence.
At one point in the match, the face duo managed to hit a dual submission, with Punk locking in an “Anaconda Vice” to Zayn and Rhodes applying a “Figure-four” to Gunther.
But the cunning Austrian poked Punk’s eye to let go of his partner, as Zayn assisted Gunther by attacking Rhodes.
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The Aldis factor
During the ending sequence of the match, the referee was accidentally taken out.
With no official, Rhodes and Punk looked to double-team Gunther, but Rhodes accidentally hit Punk.
Gunther then blasted Rhodes by hitting him with the WWE Championship belt, as another referee tried to count Gunther’s pin.
However, General Manager Aldis pulled the referee out of the ring, as he also struck Gunther on the face with the title belt.
Punk then sealed the deal as he hit a “GTS” to Gunther to end the match.
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