Cody Rhodes brought the CM Punk rivalry to late night this week, stopping by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ahead of his Undisputed WWE Championship match against Punk at SummerSlam — and he didn’t hold back.
In one of the segment’s highlights, Rhodes delivered a mock-presidential list of insults aimed at his SummerSlam opponent. Among the nicknames Rhodes threw out: “Cookie Monster,” “Chaos Magnet,” and “Constantly Miserable Punk.”
Rhodes also recreated Bill Pullman’s famous speech from 1996 film Independence Day. He channeled the character of President and gave a fine speech, taking a shot at Punk in the process.
The bit played up Rhodes’ knack for treating even a comedy segment like a formal address — a running joke among his peers backstage.
The jabs land at a pointed moment. The rivalry has been simmering since Saturday Night’s Main Event, where Punk and Rhodes teamed up for a win, only for Punk to “accidentally” strike Rhodes with the Undisputed WWE Championship belt during the post-match celebration — catching him in the same eye that had swelled shut at WrestleMania 42.
Rhodes confronted Punk backstage over whether it was truly unintentional, and the exchange got heated.
That tension carried into the SummerSlam Kickoff event at Fanatics Fest, where the two met face-to-face again. Punk framed the belt shot as an accident and suggested Rhodes’ ego was talking. Rhodes wasn’t having it, firing back that Punk’s “mask slipped” and insisting it was no accident.
With SummerSlam just over a week away, the Fallon appearance keeps the Rhodes-Punk program red hot heading into their championship match — and gives fans a new highlight reel of insults to dissect before the two finally settle things in Minneapolis.
