CM Punk isn’t satisfied with the way he retained the Undisputed WWE Championship at SummerSlam — and he’s making sure Cody Rhodes knows it.
Punk made the offer during a live event promo Thursday at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia, part of WWE’s Summer Tour 2026.
Addressing Rhodes directly on the mic, Punk acknowledged the weeks of back-and-forth leading into SummerSlam, and made clear he doesn’t consider himself the true champion until he beats Rhodes cleanly.
He praised Rhodes as the face of the company for the past four years, someone who’s given everything to the role and earned the crowd’s love — and admitted he shares that respect.
Now, Cody, over the past couple of weeks, the road to SummerSlam has been a lot of ‘He said, she said’, accidents, on-purposes, a lot of talk about friendship. To me, you’re not the champ until you beat the champ. You’re somebody who has been the face of this company for over four years.
That respect is exactly why the finish at SummerSlam has been eating at him. Punk called the way he won dirty, and said he doesn’t like how it went down. Acknowledging there’s a long line of contenders with legitimate claims to a title shot, he still made his stance clear on Rhodes specifically: he can have a rematch any time he wants.
You’ve done everything. You’ve said yes to everything, these people love you, and I love you. The way that SummerSlam went down, the way I won, it’s dirty. I don’t like it.”
“Now, I know that there’s a ton of guys in the back that want a shot at the champion. There are number one contenders, there are superstars who deserve a shot based on the currency they have with the audience, but you my friend, you get a rematch any time you want.
The dirt Punk is referring to traces back to Randy Orton, who made a surprise return on Night One of SummerSlam and hit Rhodes with an RKO, opening the door for Punk to retain. Orton hasn’t been seen on WWE television since and has offered no explanation for his actions or intentions.
Complicating matters further, Kevin Owens returned on Night Two and won a four-way match over Sami Zayn, Finn Balor, and Gunther specifically to become the new number-one contender to Punk’s title — a wrinkle Punk’s own comments acknowledged before setting aside in favor of the open offer to Rhodes.
Both Punk and Owens are advertised for tonight’s SmackDown from Philadelphia, with Rhodes also listed as a featured presence.
