WWE Raw took place at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, IL, on Monday. The main event of the evening was supposed to be the champion, Sami Zayn, versus the challenger, the American Nightmare, Cody Rhodes, for the Undisputed WWE Championship. After a vicious attack on Rhodes before the match, however, the status of the main event was in question. Luckily for GM Adam Pearce and those in attendance, there was a worthy replacement who lived just 20 minutes away.
The night began with a bit of a heated backstage exchange between Rhodes and Zayn. As Zayn walked away, Gunther, known as the Career Killer, attacked Rhodes and powered bombed him through a table. Gunther approached Zayn and informed the current champ that his problem now lies with the Career Killer. The segment appeared to be wrapping up, but Gunther had one final act.
Rhodes was left bleeding from the ear as the Career Killer attempted to live up to that nickname. As a result, the American Nightmare could not compete in the main event.
Pearce informed Zayn, who figured he would now get a night off, that the championship match promised to the people of Chicago would still proceed. Zayn would head to the ring approximately an hour later, still not knowing who his opponent was. As the crowd chanted the name of their hometown hero, the camera cut to the backstage area, a gate rose, and then the Best in the World, CM Punk, emerged.
The crowd erupted as Punk made his way to the ring, and they sang the lyrics to his entrance song, Cult of Personality. The Best in the World was back home in WWE for the first time in three months and in his backyard of Chicago. It felt like the night would be his, and indeed it was as he put Zayn to sleep and became the WWE Champion for the first time since 2013.
After the match, Punk looked into the camera and said, “I’ll be home in 20 minutes, babe,” before heading home to his wife, AJ Lee, as the champion once again.
Zayn had been waiting for this opportunity for over 20 years, and in a little over 20 minutes, it was over. A frustrated Zayn expressed his feelings shortly after the battle, and he did not mince words.
This situation is far from over, as Zayn surely will not stand for letting 24 years of work go down the drain after a reign of just nine days. CM Punk is now the face of SmackDown and should appear this upcoming Friday. Zayn will probably end up face-to-face with Punk if that happens, and if it does, WWE security will definitely earn their paychecks.
Zayn made some interesting points during his rant. It does suck that he was only able to enjoy having the ultimate prize in WWE for just nine days. Additionally, he lost the title to a man who has been out of action for over three months, as Zayn mentioned. These are the breaks in WWE sometimes, though, and this is clearly what the live crowd and many fans at home wanted.
There have been some fans accusing Punk of being a part-timer now, which is not true. There is a huge difference between being a part-timer and taking time off. Punk falls into the latter category, as he took the post-WrestleMania break, as many stars have done in the past. Now that Punk has returned and is once again champ, he will likely make his regular appearances.
Now, we wait to see what happens next. Zayn will likely want his rematch, Rhodes (once cleared) will want the match he had to withdraw from, and Gunther made it clear he wants his shot at the title. There is plenty of drama and unanswered questions surrounding the WWE Championship. Perhaps those questions will be answered this coming Friday.
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