Sami Zayn returns to WWE, disrupts main event storyline

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SummerSlam’s WWE title feud has been criticized for lack of heat, and even with shades of gray the rivalry between Undisputed champ CM Punk and Cody Rhodes has been a face vs. face one so far. Those are challenges even for booking teams and writing rooms that don’t seem to be mired in a bit of a creative slump, as WWE’s does these days. We’ll see if Triple H and team opt to fully turn either of Punk and Rhodes during their program. Just like telling stories traditionally based around good vs. evil without an evildoer, making one of your top-drawing main event babyfaces an actual villain is a risky proposition. But old friends Cody and CM have been demonstrating the friction between them on the fringes of their story. We saw a bit of it before their match at the July 18 Saturday Night’s Main Event, where the teammates-for-the-night questioned who would enter first for their tag match against Gunther & Sami Zayn/ The decision was made for them, and the American Nightmare then did what seemed like some good-natured mocking of the Best in the World during their entrances. Cody Rhodes got CM Punk laughing his ass off during his entrance as Cody sits cross-legged in the middle of the ring as Punk makes his entrance 😭😭 Cody and Punk LOVE each other. #SNME pic.twitter.com/18jxU5ZRBl — PW Chronicle (@_PWChronicle) July 19, 2026 Turns out, those scenes were a continuation of what fans in Albany saw after SmackDown went off the air the night before. There, each man wanted the other to get the honor of closing the show. That one ended peacefully. However, like the above and other small interactions we’ve seen between the former AEW co-workers lately, Punk seemed to be having fun while Cody is almost biting his tongue to play along. View this post on Instagram Inspired by the stipulation interim SmackDown General Manager Adam Pearce gave their SNME match on Friday in the state capital (Zayn and Gunther would have been added to SummerSlam’s WWE title clash to make it a 4way had they won), the champ and his SummerSlam challenger played nicely during their match in New York City. In fact, it was Der Ring General who hit Rhodes with Punk’s belt before suspended SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis arrived to distract the man who lured him out of retirement, which soon led to a victory for Punk & Cody. Afterwards, the plumber’s grandson handed the champ the prize he’s coming after in Minneapolis a couple weekends from now. Punk flipped it over his shoulder, and flicked his “pal” in his left eye with the actual strap. See you at #SummerSlam, @CMPunk and @CodyRhodes… 👀#SNME pic.twitter.com/8x988vcsUM — WWE (@WWE) July 19, 2026 WWE posted the above so they wanted us to see it. And the reason why is because Rhodes didn’t bite his tongue about a possible slight from Punk this time. He went backstage at Madison Square Garden, interrupted the WWE champion’s interview with Jackie Redmond to confront him about if the belt to the eye was intentional. And the company posted that too. Punk and Rhodes had to be separated — by Robert Roode and Trick Williams, no less! It took a while for filming to stop, but each angrily told the WWE cameraperson to stop before the end of the scene. Check it out: Looks like we may be addressing this more directly the closer we get to SummerSlam. Is that enough for you, if you were even concerned in the first place? Does this feud need a true heel? Would turning either even result in more heat? Let us know your answers to those questions, or just what you thought of how Saturday Night’s Main Event built to Cody Rhodes and CM Punk’s SummerSlam WWE title match, in the comments below.

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This weekend’s Saturday Night’s Main Event features a tag team match pitting Cody Rhodes and WWE Champion CM Punk vs. GUNTHER and Sami Zayn. If GUNTHER and Zayn win, they will be added to CM and Cody’s WWE title match at SummerSlam to make it a 4-way bout. With that in mind, Cody demanded a singles match against GUNTHER on tonight’s (July 17) episode of SmackDown. The American Nightmare wanted revenge after the Ring General slammed a car door on his head and cost him a chance to fight for the WWE championship earlier this month on Raw. However, Punk was concerned that GUNTHER would try to injure Cody and put himself in a much better position to be added to the SummerSlam main event. That’s why CM was dead set on having Cody’s back during this match, even though Rhodes didn’t want him out there. Are @CodyRhodes and @CMPunk on the same page ahead of #SNME? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/vWuMwh4J2j — WWE (@WWE) July 18, 2026 Punk did indeed show up after GUNTHER tried using the ringpost to injure Cody’s knee. One thing led to another, and former champion Sami Zayn appeared out of nowhere (wearing a ‘Justice for Sami’ shirt) to attack Punk. Sami Zayn ATTACKS CM Punk out of NOWHERE! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/r26Rmq2hLM — WWE (@WWE) July 18, 2026 This was Sami’s return from his mental health break after losing the WWE championship in nine days to Punk. He caused the match to end in disqualification by also attacking Rhodes, and the show ended in a wild brawl between all four men. WWE commentators described the scene as “absolute madness” and “complete mayhem.” You can check it out for yourself to see if you agree. IT IS CHAOS!!! @CodyRhodes and @CMPunk take on @SamiZayn and @Gunther_AUT TOMORROW NIGHT at #SNME! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/MC6EsS9mcj — WWE (@WWE) July 18, 2026 Are you appropriately hyped up for Saturday Night’s Main Event after SmackDown’s chaotic show-closing brawl? Let me know how you feel about it in the comments below, Cagesiders. Catch up on all the results from SmackDown in our live blog right here.

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The idea of getting all the top stars together for a mismatched tag team showcase main event is the kind of trope WWE can and should exploit for a streaming event like Saturday Night’s Main Event. That’s why I understood when they booked WWE Champion CM Punk to team up with Cody Rhodes to take on GUNTHER and Sami Zayn in the headlining attraction for tonight’s (Sat., July 18, 2026) show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. What I really liked, though, was that they added some legitimately compelling stakes that would open the door to all kinds of fun possibilities while giving the two teams a reason to actually work together — if GUNTHER & Zayn could win, they would be added to the Punk vs. Rhodes WWE championship match at SummerSlam, making it a Fatal 4-Way. Everyone, then, had incentive to work together to try their hardest to win the tag team affair. They set the tone early: Picking up where they left off…👊 We got ourselves a BRAWL to start!! pic.twitter.com/fdEVEk70lJ — WWE (@WWE) July 19, 2026 A physical, smart match ensued, and they had the crowd eating out of the palm of their hands the whole way. We didn’t just get a good match, we got a great surprise to go with it — right when GUNTHER had the match won, Nick Aldis showed up drag the referee out of the ring and use the title to put the big man down. The babyfaces took advantage from there, scoring the pinfall and the victory to keep their match at SummerSlam exactly what it was always planned to be. DID THAT JUST HAPPEN?!? NICK ALDIS COST GUNTHER THE WIN!!! pic.twitter.com/r76ZaqFO7C — WWE (@WWE) July 19, 2026 That was awesome! Get complete Saturday Night’s Main Event results and coverage of the entire streaming special by clicking here.