CM Punk Praises Seth Rollins Despite Being Screwed at SummerSlam for the World Heavyweight Title

After being screwed out of the World title owing to Seth Rollins' Money in the Bank cash-in, CM Punk surprisingly credited his archnemesis.

CM Punk Praises Seth Rollins Despite Being Screwed at SummerSlam for the World Heavyweight Title

CM Punk and Seth Rollins (via WWE)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

When Seth Rollins and CM Punk faced off back in 2012, with Punk holding the WWE Championship and Rollins with the NXT Title, neither could have imagined how complex their futures would become. Just two years later, Punk would leave WWE on acrimonious terms, while Rollins seized the spotlight and evolved into one of the company’s most pivotal stars of the next decade. 

So, when Punk made his shocking return at Survivor Series 2023, most of the roster celebrated, but Rollins wasn’t among them. ‘The Visionary’ was incensed and accused Punk of trying to destroy the company that he built on his back for the better part of a decade. Now, their rivalry has ignited once again. 

At SummerSlam, Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to become the World Champion, blindsiding a battered Punk in what Michael Cole called “the ruse of the century.” Despite having his moment stolen, Punk surprised fans by showing his rival some respect. In an interview on ESPN’s First Take, Punk praised the reigning champ:

Seth is somebody that I’ve known the entirety of his career. I could say a lot of really nice things about him, I don’t really enjoy saying nice things about him. Hell of a competitor, he’s the champ for a reason. I’ve been in his shoes before, cashing in Money in the Bank on somebody a lot of people wanna see as the champion.

CM Punk via ESPN’s First Take

Punk knows exactly what it’s like to chase glory at the top. During his first WWE run, he cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase twice, against Edge and Jeff Hardy, to claim the World Title. Still, mutual respect won’t erase the fact that Rollins masterfully ruined Punk’s big moment. 

His fake knee injury set the stage for a ruthless cash-in that ended Punk’s night in just over five minutes. At Clash in Paris, the tension will reach new heights as Rollins defends his World Championship in a high-stakes Fatal 4-Way match against Punk, Jey Uso, and LA Knight.

Dave Meltzer Cites CM Punk as a Major Reason for ESPN’s Fallout with AEW

Seth Rollins isn’t the only one who has clashed with CM Punk. The former WWE Champion’s career is filled with high-profile feuds, and his controversial exit from AEW remains one of the most talked-about moments in recent wrestling history. From the infamous backstage brawl with Kenny Omega and Jack Perry to his explosive interview at AEW All Out, Punk burned plenty of bridges on his way out.

CM Punk, Seth Rollins and Paul Heyman
CM Punk, Seth Rollins, and Paul Heyman (via WWE)

Now, his name is once again at the center of another story, his time involving ESPN and AEW. With WWE’s new PLE deal with ESPN making headlines, Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Punk was the actual reason that the sports giant has now removed AEW content from its website. According to Meltzer, this tension between ESPN and AEW actually traces back to Punk’s 2023 interview.

This is embarrassing for the company. AEW hurt themselves with ESPN in 2023 due to the C.M. Punk interview, where he said stuff highly negative about Adam Page, and the belief was that AEW leaked the contents of the interview to its wrestlers, and it ended up on a wrestling website or sites before it was even published by ESPN.

Dave Meltzer via Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Meltzer explained that while ESPN initially distanced itself from AEW, the success of major events like All In at Wembley Stadium eventually made the Tony Khan-led promotion too big to ignore. Now, AEW faces another challenge with WWE’s increasingly aggressive counter-programming strategy. 

For the first time, the Stamford-based promotion is scheduling a main roster PLE directly against one of AEW’s marquee events. On September 20, Wrestlepalooza will go head-to-head with All Out, marking not only a bold competitive move but also the official start of WWE’s partnership with ESPN, a deal that was originally planned to kick off in 2026.

Also read: