Sami Zayn interferes, CM Punk retains WWE Championship over Kevin Owens

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After 20 years of resentment and bad blood, CM Punk and Kevin Owens finally met inside a ring for a match on this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The best part? The WWE championship was on the line. They built to the match over just a couple of weeks, and a few back-and-forth promos calling back to the rich history they share. They didn’t name any names but we all got the point, and they did well enough to bring across just how much Owens hated the guy and wanted to beat him for his title. The match they put together was fantastic for a television headliner. They were just physical enough for the circumstances while staying true to the WWE main event style. Naturally, that meant a referee bump late. And wouldn’t you know it, Owens hit a Stunner and went for a pin just after Punk hit the official out of the ring. The crowd counted all the way to eight. Owens should have been champion. Then, Punk hit KO with a GTS, rolling him over. He, too, got a long count with no referee there to actually do the job. When Punk went to retrieve the referee, Sami Zayn showed up to run Punk into the post, throwing him back into the ring, into another Stunner. For one of the closest near falls you’ll ever see. Sami then threw the belt into Owens and demanded he use it. His old friend refused, so Zayn clocked him with it. One more GTS. The referee was up to count it. CM Punk retained the WWE championship. What are you doing, @SamiZayn?! 😳 pic.twitter.com/Gsw43CUaaR — WWE (@WWE) August 22, 2026 Zayn then knocked out both Punk and Owens as the show was going off the air. He was unhinged, taking the title for himself and calling it justice that it be back with him. What a thrill ride this turned out to be. Get complete SmackDown results and coverage of this week’s entire episode by clicking here.

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CM Punk retained the WWE Championship over Kevin Owens with an assist from Sami Zayn during "WWE SmackDown.