CM Punk has told Cody Rhodes he can have a rematch for the Undisputed WWE Championship whenever he wants it, calling the way he won at SummerSlam dirty.
Punk made the offer on Thursday at WWE’s live event at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia, part of the Summer Tour 2026. After working a match, Punk picked up the microphone afterwards.
“Now, Cody, over the past couple of weeks, the road to SummerSlam has been a lot of ‘He said, she said’, accidents, on-purposes, a lot of talk about friendship. To me, you’re not the champ until you beat the champ. You’re somebody who has been the face of this company for over four years. You’ve done everything. You’ve said yes to everything, these people love you, and I love you. The way that SummerSlam went down, the way I won, it’s dirty. I don’t like it.”
“Now, I know that there’s a ton of guys in the back that want a shot at the champion. There are number one contenders, there are superstars who deserve a shot based on the currency they have with the audience, but you my friend, you get a rematch any time you want.”
The way he won was down to Randy Orton, who returned on night one of SummerSlam and hit Rhodes with an RKO, leaving Punk the opening to retain. Orton has not been seen on television since and has said nothing about what he wants.
There is a complication in the offer. Kevin Owens returned on night two and won a four-way against Sami Zayn, Finn Balor and Gunther specifically to become number one contender to Punk’s title. Punk’s line about contenders acknowledges as much before he sets it aside.
Both Punk and Owens are advertised for tonight’s SmackDown from Philadelphia, with Rhodes also listed as featured. Nothing has been announced.
Punk won the championship from Zayn on the July 6 Raw in Chicago, having stepped in after Gunther attacked Rhodes and left him unable to take his own rematch. When Punk told Rhodes to name the place, Rhodes chose SummerSlam. The two had not met one-on-one in nearly 18 years.
HEALED #CODYPUNKFOREVER #WWEFairfax pic.twitter.com/KFc8TKgZax
— victoria (@victoriaaze_) August 7, 2026
