After the Raw video review, Nick Aldis welcomed us to SmackDown. He talked about what happened to Gunther at Night of Champions and his subsequent disqualification before welcoming CM Punk to the ring to celebrate being the new WWE Champion.
Punk said he missed the crowd before saying that anyone could try to take the title from him because he’s a fighting champion. He also said that he would give Sami Zayn a rematch if he wanted it.
He named some people like Gunther, Finn Balor, Royce Keyes, Damian Priest and Trick Williams before being interrupted by Cody Rhodes, who was clearly upset about what happened on Monday when he was attacked and was unable to have his scheduled title match against Zayn.
They had a mostly respectful exchange and this led to Rhodes challenging SummerSlam, which Punk immediately accepted. Aldis immediately officially announced this.
Punk’s solo part in this segment was relatively boring. He did what every babyface who wins a belt does and said he’s going to be a fighting champion. He didn’t say anything controversial or unpredictable.
It’s no surprise that Rhodes was his first opponent and their exchange was a bit uneventful, so it will be interesting to see how WWE fills the time with this feud between now and SummerSlam.
Punk and Rhodes are both good on the mic, but this segment didn’t do them any favors. It was not bad, but tomorrow no one will talk about it.
Notable Moments and Observations