CM Punk made a surprise return during this week’s episode of “Raw” and put a swift end to Sami Zayn’s fairytale run as Undisputed WWE Champion.
Cody Rhodes was initially slated to face Zayn for the belt, but he was attacked by Gunther during the opening of the show.
Zayn won the Undisputed WWE Championship in the main event of “Night of Champions” in late June against both Rhodes and Gunther.
After Gunther put Rhodes through a table, he issued a stern warning to Zayn, stating that he is a “disgrace” and a “fluke of a champion,” adding that he will come for him.
He then kicked a car door shut to Rhodes’ head, leaving the former champion bloodied.
“The Best in the World” returns
During another backstage segment, it was revealed that Rhodes is not medically cleared to compete in the championship match.
Zayn was visibly ecstatic, but said that the news was “terrible.”
“Look, Cody and I have our differences but at the end of the day, I’m a good guy… I don’t wish ill upon Cody or anyone for that matter. Especially Cody, I was kinda looking forward to testing myself against QB1. I don’t think it was meant to be.”
He then questioned why he was defending a “SmackDown” belt on “Raw,” adding: “At this point, let’s just wait for ‘SmackDown,’ figure this out on Friday.”
However, “Raw” General Manager Adam Pearce interrupted Zayn, stating that he will still defend the belt at the show’s main event against a mystery opponent.
Before the main event match, a backstage camera revealed Punk as the mystery opponent, as his home-town crowd of Chicago went ballistic.
This marks Punk’s first appearance in the company since “WrestleMania 42” in April.
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Heartbreak for Zayn
Despite expecting Rhodes as his opponent, Zayn had an impressive outing in his first defence as a main event title holder, as his opponent fed off the cheers of the Chicago crowd and looked to leave the arena with the belt.
During the last stage of the bout, Zayn used Punk’s own “GTS” against him, but the challenger kicked out.
Zayn looked to hit Punk with a “Helluva Kick” to end the match, but Punk countered with some mimicry of his own as he used Zayn’s “Exploder Suplex” in the corner.
Punk continued to use Zayn’s arsenal against him as he looked to hit the champion with a “Helluva Kick.”
But Zayn countered and borrowed the “GTS” once again and hit his opponent with a “Blue Thunder Bomb,” but it was not enough to keep the returning Punk down.
As Zayn slapped and taunted Punk, the challenger fought back and later had a chance to hit Zayn with a “Helluva Kick,” and continued his offence with a “GTS” to put Zayn to sleep and win the championship.
The win is Punk’s eighth world championship, as Zayn’s first world title run comes to a close at only nine days.
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