CM Punk praised Cody Rhodes ahead of their Undisputed WWE Championship match at SummerSlam, saying he believes Rhodes has surpassed what he accomplished in WWE. The superstar made the comments on Busted Open Radio, reflecting on the parallel between their careers.
“Cody might not want to admit that at some point in time, maybe even currently, he has looked up to me. I have no problem admitting, no shame in saying, —-, I’m proud of where he came from because I think he’s surpassed what I did,” Punk said.
Punk continued, drawing the comparison between their paths.
“He did the same thing I did. He left and he came back a bigger star for it, and then he accomplished things that I never did at that point. It’s fun to see. It really is,” he said.
Punk left WWE in early 2014 and did not wrestle for the company again for nearly a decade. The veteran signed with UFC, then joined AEW in 2021, before returning to WWE at Survivor Series in November 2023. Punk’s exit had followed a public falling out with the company, and the return reset his standing as one of its biggest draws.
Rhodes left WWE in 2016 and rebuilt his reputation on the independent scene and in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. After, he co-founded AEW in 2019 and served as an executive vice president, then returned to WWE at WrestleMania 38 in 2022.
Punk held the WWE Championship for 434 days between 2011 and 2013, the longest reign of the modern era, but he never won a world title at WrestleMania. Rhodes finished his comeback at WrestleMania 40 in 2024, beating Roman Reigns to win the Undisputed WWE Championship and end a reign that had lasted more than 1,300 days. That win completed the “finish the story” chase Rhodes had built his run around since coming back.
Punk enters SummerSlam as the newly crowned Undisputed WWE Champion. The champion won the belt from Sami Zayn on the July 6 episode of Raw, stepping in after Gunther attacked Rhodes and left him unable to compete for the rematch he had earned.
Rhodes had lost the championship to Zayn in a triple threat match that also included Gunther at Night of Champions. Rhodes earned his shot back by beating Jey Uso, and that shot now comes against Punk instead.
Punk and Rhodes teamed at Saturday Night’s Main Event at Madison Square Garden, beating Gunther and Zayn in a tag match. Punk caught Rhodes in the eye with the championship belt after the bell, and the two had a heated exchange backstage.
SummerSlam takes place August 1 and 2 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, where Punk makes his first defense of the title. The event airs on ESPN in the United States and on Netflix internationally.
CM Punk spent years being told he could not hang at the very top of WWE, and now he sits as Undisputed WWE Champion handing that same respect to the man trying to take the belt from him. Punk calling Rhodes his equal, then admitting Rhodes went further, is the kind of honesty that makes a feud sing. Two men walked out of WWE, bet everything on themselves somewhere else, and came back bigger than they had ever been. That is not a coincidence. That is a blueprint.
The belt to the eye at Madison Square Garden told the other half of the story. Respect and violence are sharing the same building right now, and SummerSlam is where they collide. Punk defends for the first time against a challenger he just called better than himself, in front of a Minnesota crowd that will come unglued either way. Pride built this match. Someone is walking out of U.S. Bank Stadium without it.
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