CM Punk was all smiles despite losing the World Heavyweight Championship to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 42.
Addressing fans in Las Vegas the night after the loss, Punk reflected on past setbacks. Rather than dwell on defeat, Punk stressed the importance of staying ready, a message that now appears to have foreshadowed his latest conquest.
“I am gonna stay ready because you never know when a championship opportunity is gonna fall out of the sky,” Punk said.
After a brief face-off with Cody Rhodes, Punk
disappeared from WWE TV for nearly three months. But he stayed ready, as photos and videos of him training circulated online.
Then, with WWE in his hometown of Chicago on Monday for Raw, an opportunity did fall out of the sky.
At the start of the show, Gunther attacked Rhodes, who was scheduled to face the new Undisputed WWE Champion, Sami Zayn. With Rhodes deemed unable to wrestle, a scramble to find a challenger was on.
Punk answered the call, showed up to Allstate Arena dressed in his gear, and beat Zayn to win WWE’s most prestigious prize. The victory sets up a potential SummerSlam showdown with Rhodes, just as they had teased in April.
According to Fightful Select and False Finish, Punk’s title victory was the plan all along. The lingering question is whether that plan was set in motion on the Raw after WrestleMania, with Punk’s promo serving as a hint.
If so, it could put to rest fan speculation that Punk politicked his way into the title picture. What it likely won’t do, however, is comfort fans who were hoping Zayn would get more than a token title reign after a 13-year climb to WWE’s zenith.
