The January 31 episode of WWE SmackDown took place at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, just one day before the highly anticipated 2025 Royal Rumble. Monday Night Raw\'s CM Punk made an appearance on the show and the Best in the World had plenty to say.
The night kicked off with an interview segment featuring Joe Tessitore and Kevin Owens who continued to fuel his storyline with Cody Rhodes. Owens blasted Tessitore as a \"Cody Rhodes fanboy\" and grabbed the Winged Eagle title he had previously handed over at Saturday Night\'s Main Event.
Before Owens could leave, CM Punk made his entrance to a thunderous reaction from the Indianapolis crowd. A \"holy s***\" chant erupted as the two had their first face off since Punk\'s return to WWE in November 2023.
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Punk made clear that if he wins the Royal Rumble and Owens defeats Cody Rhodes, the WrestleMania main event would be CM Punk vs. Kevin Owens. Once again, Punk made clear that he plans on challenging for the Undisputed WWE Championship should he win the Men\'s Royal Rumble match.
Owens liked the idea of beating Punk at WrestleMania, but said he hopes Punk doesn\'t win the Royal Rumble. The Prizefighter explained that he wanted Punk to live with the fact that he’s never main-evented WrestleMania—something Owens has done twice. Punk fired back by mocking Owens\' past defeats at the Royal Rumble, including last year\'s loss to Logan Paul. After this intense face-off, it remains to be seen if fans get to see these two trade blows at WrestleMania 41.
