At SummerSlam, CM Punk will finally go one-on-one with Drew McIntyre with Seth “Freakin” Rollins stepping in as Special Guest Referee. When Punk returned to WWE, neither McIntyre nor Rollins were happy about it. And when Punk got injured in the 2024 Royal Rumble Match, McIntyre stated that he prayed for it to happen and mercilessly mocked The Second City Saint for being out of action. His actions, however, would have consequences.
At WrestleMania XL, Punk was at ringside as a guest commentator for McIntyre’s World Heavyweight Championship Match against Rollins. After Drew won the title, a post-match confrontation between him and Punk helped limit McIntyre’s reign to mere minutes as it directly paved the way for Damian Priest to cash in his Money in the Bank contract and defeat McIntyre to become the new World Heavyweight Champion.
Punk struck again when he cost McIntyre a title opportunity the following Monday night in a No. 1 Contender’s Match on Raw and also interfered in McIntyre's World Heavyweight Title Match against Priest at WWE Clash at the Castle.
An irate McIntyre fired back by pretending to quit WWE, then unleashing a brutal beatdown of Punk on SmackDown, stealing a bracelet that represented Punk’s love for his wife and dog in the process. McIntyre won the Money in the Bank Ladder Match and inserted himself into the World Heavyweight Title Match between Priest and Rollins on the same night, only to have Punk cost him the match one more time.
Rollins was furious with Punk in the aftermath, believing that Punk's animosity toward McIntyre cost him a chance to win the championship. With Punk finally medically cleared, who will emerge victorious in the highly anticipated match between The Second City Saint and The Scottish Warrior, with The Visionary stepping in as Special Guest Referee?
BREAKING: CM Punk gets @DMcIntyreWWE one-on-one at #SummerSlam ... with special guest referee @WWERollins! pic.twitter.com/2Fic2zoKFL
— WWE (@WWE) July 23, 2024
Source: WWE