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Wrestlemania 42 fallout: CM Punk, Cody Rhodes tease Undisputed WWE Title match

Brian Jones Profile Picby: Brian Jones04/21/26brianjones_93

CM Punk and Cody Rhodes could battle in an epic WWE title matchup after they competed against separate opponents at WrestleMania 42. On Monday Night Raw, Rhodes came out to the ring to speak to Punk, who opened the show. The two were discussing their WrestleMania matches, and Punk looked at Rhodes’ title belt while saying he has to stay ready for another opportunity.

“The path for you, keep being champion. Keep winning,” CM Punk told Cody Rhodes. “The path for me… I just got to stay ready because you never know when a championship opportunity is just going to fall out of the sky.

As Punk walked out of the ring, Rhodes had a response for him. “Hey, Punk,” Rhodes said. “Just say when.”

Punk entered WrestleMania 42 as the World Heavyweight Champion but lost to Roman Reigns in Night 2. Rhodes defended his Undisputed WWE championship against Randy Orton and won. However, Rhodes took a beating from Orton during and after the match, and it left him with a swollen eye.

More on CM Punk and Cody Rhodes

It would be compelling to see Punk and Rhodes battle for the title. Punk returned to WWE in 2023 after being away for 11 years and has been on a roll. In August, Punk defeated Jey Uso to win the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam, but lost it to Seth Rollins a few minutes later when Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract. He won the title again in November, defeating Uso at Saturday Night’s Main Event. At that time, the title was vacated after Rollins was stripped of the belt due to a shoulder injury.

Rhodes returned to WWE in 2022 after being away for six years. Since his return, the Georgia native has won the Undisputed WWE title three times. His first title win came at WrestleMania 40 when he defeated Reigns, who held the title for nearly four years (he won the WWE title in 2022 but won the Universal title in 2020).