CM Punk may have already told everyone where WWE is sending him next, and the road leads straight to SmackDown.
The situation came up during Wrestling Observer Radio while Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez were breaking down Sami Zayn’s WWE Championship win at Night of Champions. Sami walking out with the title changed the entire top of the card, because now WWE has to figure out where Cody Rhodes, Brock Lesnar, Oba Femi, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and CM Punk all fit heading into SummerSlam.
Meltzer brought Punk into the conversation while talking about what Sami’s title win actually means for WWE’s next move. The key part is that Meltzer did not frame Punk as some random name floating around. He put Punk right into the SmackDown side of the title picture.
“But yeah, I mean, now, now what does this mean? Like, is. See, CM Punk’s another one in that mix, not just Brock Lesnar, you know, I mean, because he’s gonna be on SmackDown, which I guess we could mention that CM Punk was announcing the cf. Cf. Cf. There’s. It’s an MMA promotion that he used to announce all the time. And then he stopped and they were doing a show in Chicago on Friday night and he stuck. He announced it and you know, he got a whole bunch of lines in there.”
That is where things got interesting. Meltzer explained that Punk used the MMA commentary gig to sneak in a Terry Funk reference. Punk joked that his horse was sick, which was a line Funk famously used with Vince McMahon. Punk even made sure listeners knew the reference was intentional.
“And you know, the first one was, you know, that his, you know, they kind of brought up something and he said that his horse was sick, which is a, A famous Terry Funk line that he used to Vince McMahon twice, if not three times. And he even later in the show says, my horse is named Terry for those of you who like, he want little inside stuff. And he was absolutely doing that.”
Then came the real SmackDown tease. Punk was asked if he would return to announce for that MMA promotion again, and his answer pointed right at Friday nights.
“And then he was asked at one point about, you know, are you going to be, are you going to be back announcing for us? Oh, because he said, he said that he doesn’t, he doesn’t travel anymore because his horse is sick. So he goes, well, if you’re on Fridays, I might be busy. Which was his way of telling everyone that he’s, you know, bound for SmackDown.”
That line is the money quote. Punk did not need to say “SmackDown” by name. The show airs on Fridays, and Meltzer took it as a clear sign that Punk is headed there. That also changes how fans should look at the SummerSlam picture. Meltzer said Punk is now part of the same side of the board as Sami Zayn, which means Punk could be thrown into the championship situation if WWE wants to go that route.
“So that was that. So, you know, Punk on that side, he’s in the mix. He could beat, he could beat Sammy too. You know, I mean, it’s just, you know, eventually obviously they’re going to get to Punk with, with Cody. That’s the, that’s the whole reason they’re doing this is to get there. Originally that was a SummerSlam match, you Know, I mean, you know, a lot of stuff changes and you know, so that was that, that was that CM Punk story.”
That is the bigger story here. Punk vs. Cody Rhodes was the SummerSlam plan, according to Meltzer, and WWE still appears to be working toward that destination even after Sami Zayn’s title win threw a curveball into the mix. Meltzer later circled back to Punk after talking about Punk’s wild Chris Jericho story from Brazil. He said Punk wants to return in Chicago on July 6, which would put him back in time for the SummerSlam build.
“So anyway, Punk should be back a week from Monday if he has his way, he wants to come back in Chicago July 6th. So, you know, that’s the deal. And then build for SummerSlam obviously. And Mel, I mean, I don’t know who he goes against now. Maybe, maybe it’s Zane, maybe it’s. I mean it won’t, I don’t think it’ll be oba. We’ll find out.”
So the picture is pretty clear. Punk is expected on SmackDown, he wants Chicago for the comeback, and Cody Rhodes is still the big match WWE has been aiming for. Sami Zayn holding the WWE Championship may slow that path down or create another step before Cody, but it does not erase the Punk vs. Cody direction.
WWE now has a loaded SmackDown chessboard and not much time before SummerSlam. Punk’s Friday night tease may have been wrapped in a joke, but the message was not hard to read. If he shows up on SmackDown, the Cody Rhodes collision is right back on the table, and Sami Zayn’s title reign could be the wild card that decides how WWE gets there.
What do you think WWE should do when CM Punk returns? Should they go right back to the original Cody Rhodes plan, put Punk against Sami Zayn first, or save Punk vs. Cody for later? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
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