‘The King of Chicago’ CM Punk takes a surprise return—and immediately becomes a new champion, defeating Sami Zayn to win the Undisputed WWE Title

‘The King of Chicago’ CM Punk (CM Punk·47) broke through the aftereffects of his injury and made a surprise return to the ring, immediately pulling off a shocking championship coronation that will be remembered in WWE history. In the roar of hometown fans, he defeated Sami Zayn and finally claimed a new Undisputed WWE Championship.

■ Cody Rhodes falls victim to Gunther’s surprise rampage… a mysterious substitute who filled the vacancy

The WWE Monday Night live broadcast ‘RAW,’ held on June 6 (local time) at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois, got off to a violent start, with bloodshed breaking out right from the opening, signaling trouble early.

Going into the show, the main event was set as a title match for the Undisputed WWE Championship between the champion Sami Zayn and challenger Cody Rhodes, billed as the ‘American Nightmare.’ But during a pre-match White House… no, the backstage segment, ‘Ring General’ Gunther (Gunther) suddenly burst in and carried out a major terror, powerbombing Cody Rhodes through a table. Gunther rammed Cody into the side door of Sami Zayn’s car and even tore his head open, and Cody Rhodes was ultimately rushed to a nearby hospital by medical personnel, dashing his chances of competing in the main event.

With his title defense opponent gone, Sami Zayn was left waiting on the ring in confusion when SmackDown’s general manager Nick Aldis appeared and said, “We found an all-time great replacement to take Cody’s place.” At that exact moment, the backstage garage door swung open, and the person who appeared was none other than CM Punk, who had been out of sight since after WrestleMania 42.

■ GTS hits in Punk’s hometown of Chicago… completing the same-parallel theory from 15 years ago against John Cena

The suddenly set ‘CM Punk vs. Sami Zayn’ Undisputed WWE Championship match began to thunderous chants of “CM Punk!” from an arena packed with about 12,500 spectators at the Allstate Arena. For more than 20 minutes, the two veteran stars traded well-made, hard-nosed back-and-forth offense without giving an inch, raising the crowd’s energy to a peak.

Late in the match, CM Punk, who withstood Sami Zayn’s relentless assault, seized the momentum by countering with Sami Zayn’s signature “Helluva Kick.” Then, with Sami Zayn reeling, Punk hoisted him onto his shoulder and perfectly landed his finishing move, the GTS (Go To Sleep). He then hooked the three-count to become the new Undisputed WWE Champion.

This victory completed an enormous storyline in WWE history as well. It was because CM Punk had created a flawless parallel to that historic moment exactly 15 years ago, in July 2011 at this very place (the Allstate Arena), when the PPV ‘Money in the Bank’ saw him defeat John Cena to become WWE Champion. Seizing the same title at the same venue 15 years later, Punk—right after the match—uploaded the now-famous behind-the-scenes photo of him putting the old championship belt in his home refrigerator to social media, recreating the “Refrigerator Belt certification shot” and taking a direct shot at the dopamine of longtime fans.

■ The battle lines for ‘SummerSlam 2026’ are shifting… even legendaries are being teased for a return

With WWE’s main-title picture flipped completely in just one night, the matchups for the summer’s biggest festival, WWE’s ‘SummerSlam 2026,’ arriving only a few weeks away, also plunged into the middle of a brewing storm.

Whether Sami Zayn, stripped of the title, would launch another challenge—along with Gunther, who ended up creating an opportunity for Punk, and Cody Rhodes’ revenge after returning from his injury—interlaced to maximize audience immersion in the script. In particular, WWE has already confirmed that Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar will appear together on next week’s RAW preview, concentrating worldwide pro wrestling fans’ attention on just how far this hot game of thrones-style showdown, sparked by CM Punk’s championship coronation, will spread.