Pros and Cons: The Affects of CM Punk's WWE Championship Victory

I sensed something wild on the horizon on the latest edition of Monday Night Raw. And no, I'm not talking about Maxxine Dupri turning heel; that was in the works for months. At Night of Champions on June 27, 2026, Sami Zayn finally did it: he captured the WWE Championship by defeating entering champion Cody Rhodes and former World and IC Champion Gunther in a Triple Threat Match. Sami's celebration on SmackDown days later interrupted by not only Cody Rhodes, but also Jey Uso, with each man staking his claim to championship contendership.

Raw GM Adam Pearce, who was running SD while Nick Aldis was on administrative leave due to his confrontation with a furious Gunther, decided that Jey and Cody would face off in a #1 Contender's match, with the winner's shot coming on Raw just days later. This did not please Sami, but he decided to make the best of it. Sure enough, SmackDown's main event saw Cody victorious, and the match was set for July 6, 2026 in Chicago: Sami Zayn's first ever WWE Championship defense would be against Cody Rhodes.

Or so we thought.

In the immortal words of the late, great WWE Hall of Famer "Rowdy" Roddy Piper: "Just when we thought we had all of the answers, someone changes the questions." That someone was none other than Gunther, who brutally beat down and attacked Cody so badly, he was later deemed unable to compete. So Sami thought he was out of the woods, but Pearce informed Sami that he promised Chicago a WWE Championship match, and one will happen. But who is the new challenger? Aldis later appeared and told Pearce that he not only has a new challenger, he's in the building! So again, who is it?

None other than CM Punk. They're in Chicago. Of course it's Phil.

We hadn't seen Punk since Post-WM Raw, right after he lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Roman Reigns. Unsurprisingly, this was a hell of a main event that saw both Sami and Punk show out. This included the combatants actually using each other's moves, but as we all expected, Punk's GTS got the job done. In front of his home fans in the Windy City, 11 days short of the 15th anniversary of him doing the exact same thing in the same city, CM Punk won the WWE Championship. Counting AEW and ROH, CM Punk is now a twelve-time World Champion. He's WWE Champion for the third time, and he's held both versions of the World Heavyweight Championship--the Big Gold three times and the current version twice. He held the ECW Championship once, the ROH World Championship once, and the AEW World Championship twice.

So Punk's win brings Sami's long overdue reign to an end after just nine days. Oh man. Many have their gripes and their preferences, but this is an unbiased look at the pros and cons of this occurrence, because unbiased is the only way I know how to do it:

Pro: Punk and WWE's Relationship is All Good

You know, people jump to conclusions a lot, especially lately. We don't see Punk for three months, and people were quick to assume that Punk's disgruntled, he's "mad at WWE," all sorts of jazz. They really don't know Phil. Let's get one thing straight: Punk has a mouth on him that's about as big as the city of Chicago. If he had any gripes or complaints, he'd say so. Not only would he say so, he'd say it quick. He wouldn't sit for three months before saying something. Punk's return truly proved that everything is fine between him and WWE. Hell, I knew this; this is the most content he's been in a long time.

Pro: This Makes Up for WrestleMania

I said it then, and I still say it: Punk should have never lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. They could have easily cooked up some good things for Punk as champion after WM, but they not only decided to put the title on a guy who doesn't show up every week, they also decided to resurrect The Bloodline. Yeah, Punk deserved better than that. Thankfully, this remedies that bad decision.

Con: At Least Sami Held it Longer Than Christian?

When Sami won the title, I said the same thing I uttered when Jeff Hardy finally won the big one 18 years ago: "It's about damn time (I cleaned it up for this story)!" I'll be honest, I had kinda given up on Sami ever winning a World Title. I figured, "Well, I guess it's not meant to be." Yet, lo and behold, Sami wins it! I said that I would drink in every minute that Sami is champion. The optimist in me said that because I was happy for him. The realist in me, however, said that because I knew that WWE would take that title from Sami as quickly as he won it.

Sure enough... say it with me, everyone! I was right. You know how I know I'm right about something? Because it's a day that ends in "Y." Nine days. That's how long Sami was champion. But at least that was still a week longer than Christian's first WHC reign. Here's the thing: at least Christian got a second WHC reign. I have a bad feeling Sami's not getting another World Title.

Con: King of the Ring Means NOTHING

The story we've all heard is that Punk's win is supposed to set up a WWE Championship contest between Punk and Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam. So we'll get that, and Roman Reigns will run it back yet again with Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship. I feel like somebody's missing in all of this. Oh right! Oba Femi! The actual King of the Ring! Last time I checked, that crown means an automatic World Title shot at SummerSlam. Yet what will Oba be doing in Minnesota on either the first or second day of August? He'll be inside Hell in a Cell with a sex offender. Don't give me that "no evidence against Brock" nonsense; we all know the people saying that wouldn't let a lack of evidence stop them from convicting anyone of color.

So yeah, WWE is telling their fans that King of the Ring means nothing. Let's get one thing straight: I absolutely hate Brock Lesnar. However, if they had sent Brock to dethrone Sami instead of Punk, then it would turn the HIAC match into a title match. Oba would get the top title match that comes with winning that crown, Oba would win the title, and Brock could never darken WWE again.

We still have Saturday Night's Main Event as that last big show before SummerSlam; SNME will take place on July 18--two weeks before SummerSlam. We'll see what matches will happen at SNME that could change the championship landscape, but for now, CM Punk's big title win serves as one hell of a paradigm shift!