Report: Why Cody Rhodes Vs. CM Punk Is Happening At WWE SummerSlam Instead Of WrestleMania 43

Following CM Punk's Undisputed WWE Title win over Sami Zayn on the July 6 episode of Monday Night Raw, reports quickly noted that Punk was scheduled to defend the belt against Cody Rhodes at the SummerSlam pay-per-view, which will take place at US Bank Stadium on Saturday, August 1 and Sunday, August 2.

Cody Rhodes vs. CM Punk at SummerSlam has reportedly been planned for months, and was heavily teased on the Raw after WrestleMania 42 in what was Punk's most recent WWE appearance prior to his return on July 6.

That wasn't the original plan, though. False Finish has reported that CM Punk was initially scheduled to challenge Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 43 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Those plans changed, however, and CM Punk winning the Undisputed WWE Title and defending the belt at SummerSlam had been planned for well over a month. One reason behind the change is that WWE are aiming for SummerSlam to be better than WrestleMania 42 was earlier this year.

When exactly WWE changed plans from Cody Rhodes vs. CM Punk happening at WrestleMania 43 is unknown, but False Finish noted that, at one point, WWE wanted to book Sami Zayn to win the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 43 before the title win was brought forward to Night of Champions 2026. This would all suggest that plans for the WWE Title match at WrestleMania 43 have very much been in flux.