CM Punk is WWE Champion again after an absolutely chaotic Raw in his hometown

[Jackson79]

CM Punk returned to WWE television and walked out as the new Undisputed WWE Champion, all in one chaotic night in his hometown of Chicago. The match was not even supposed to happen, Sami Zayn was booked to defend the title against Cody Rhodes, but Gunther attacked Rhodes backstage before the show even properly started, leaving him unable to compete

With the crowd already hoping for exactly this, the garage door opened and Punk walked out as Zayn's surprise replacement challenger. After a back and forth match including reversed finishers on both sides, Punk eventually won it with a Go to Sleep, capturing his third WWE Championship reign and ending Zayn's title run at just nine days

The moment carried some real weight beyond just the win itself, landing close to the 15 year anniversary of Punk's legendary 2011 Money in the Bank win over John Cena, and he even blew a kiss to the crowd on his way out as a callback to that exact moment. It is the kind of storytelling touch that only really lands if you have been paying attention to this guy's career for over a decade

With Rhodes now set to officially challenge Punk for the title at SummerSlam, and Gunther still lurking as an unresolved threat after that opening attack, WWE has set up a compelling next few weeks rather than just handing Punk the belt and moving on quietly

[Sentinel96]

The callback to the 2011 Money in the Bank kiss was such a perfect touch, only really lands if you've actually followed this guy's whole career

[Louise84]

Gunther just randomly taking out Rhodes to set this whole thing in motion feels like a real power move for his character going forward

[QubitZero]

Nine day title reign for Zayn is rough, but at least he can say he held the top title even if it was brief

[DelPiero58]

Punk versus Rhodes at SummerSlam feels like it's been building for a while now, glad they didn't rush straight into it without proper build

[ThreadNecro11]

Chicago getting this moment in his actual hometown is the kind of thing that makes it hit way harder than if it happened anywhere else

[Vanessa26]

Curious whether Gunther factors back into the title picture soon or if this was just a one off way to shuffle the card around

[Brooke_19]

Punk winning the title in Chicago is the kind of booking that feels almost too perfect. The crowd energy was insane - you could feel it through the screen. That's the kind of moment that defines a career and a company.