CM Punk and Cody Rhodes officially kept their SummerSlam WWE Championship match a one-on-one affair, beating Gunther and Sami Zayn at Saturday Night’s Main Event in New York City’s Madison Square Garden, thanks to major help from SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis. This win was massive because it directly prevented Gunther and Zayn from being added to the already blockbuster WWE Championship match set for SummerSlam. Talk about high stakes, right?
Bloody Backstage Attacks and a Shocking Return
The road to this tag team showdown has been absolutely wild. Just a few weeks back, on the July 6 episode of Raw in Chicago, Sami Zayn was supposed to defend his WWE Championship against Cody Rhodes. But before Raw even kicked off, chaos erupted. Gunther, “The Ring General,” unleashed a vicious backstage assault on Rhodes, slamming Cody’s head in a car door and leaving “The American Nightmare” bleeding. Seriously, that was rough to watch. With Rhodes not cleared to wrestle, SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis stepped up, announcing he’d found a replacement. Who shows up? None other than CM Punk, making his hometown return after being absent from WWE programming since the Raw after WrestleMania 42. Punk wasted no time, beating Zayn on Raw to become the new WWE Champion, ending Zayn’s first title reign after just over a week. On the very next episode of SmackDown, Rhodes confronted Punk, and a WWE Championship match between them was quickly made official for SummerSlam.
Aldis’s Risky Play Puts SummerSlam on the Line
But wait, there was still Gunther, who felt entitled to another championship opportunity. He lobbied Aldis hard. While Aldis wouldn’t give Gunther a title shot outright, he did agree to let Gunther get his hands on Punk in a tag team match at SNME. Aldis picked Zayn as Gunther’s partner, given Zayn’s recent history with both Punk and Rhodes. This set up a massive clash. You had Punk and Rhodes, who are about to face each other for the biggest prize, forced to team up. And on the other side, Gunther and Zayn, both with massive chips on their shoulders. Both teams had the potential to implode with all their issues, but Punk and Rhodes managed to hold it together. Their victory means the SummerSlam WWE Championship match remains what it was always intended to be: Punk versus Rhodes, one-on-one.
Now the stage is truly set. The WWE Championship is on the line at SummerSlam, and it’s CM Punk versus Cody Rhodes, just as it should be. With all the interference and drama leading up to it, you know this match is gonna be an absolute classic. You won’t want to miss it.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
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