Cody Rhodes, CM Punk tease future WWE title match during Raw after WrestleMania
A future title match between reigning WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and former World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk may be on the horizon.
On Monday’s Raw after WrestleMania, Punk came out for a promo segment where he acknowledged those who had passed that were on his jacket Sunday before his match with Roman Reigns and those he had lost which included his dog, Larry, and past MMA trailer Duke Roufus.
He also talked about how he kept going when there were times he could have gone home, eaten donuts, and hung out with his hot wife like after he first lost the title after five minutes, but he put everything he had into coming back and winning it again.
He said the fans helped him get through all that and that he expected the fans to help him get through the loss of the World Heavyweight title to Roman Reigns Sunday, and that he’s not close to being done.
Rhodes then came out, sporting a black eye and the WWE title belt. He said this Punk wasn’t what he was expecting. He said he was glad Las Vegas gave him his flowers and wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do out there when he was the one looking like a beat up loser.
Punk questioned if he was supposed to feel like a loser. Rhodes said no, but Punk later said in a way that he was. He said what Rhodes is feeling is the weight of remaining the champion while he is free to do whatever. It wasn’t his night and the path for Rhodes it so keep being champion.
Punk then said his path is to stay read “because you never know when a championship opportunity is just gonna fall out of the sky.”
As Punk left, Rhodes said, “Hey, Punk? Just say when.”
The two have yet to square off during the latest run for both of them. They have two singles matches in the past: both in the last four months of 2008 and both on Raw. Punk won the first one and then Rhodes won the second via countout after just four minutes. They never crossed paths during their time in AEW.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.