CM Punk’s World Heavyweight Championship victory over Sami Zayn on Monday Night Raw drew praise across the wrestling world, and Bully Ray believes WWE got virtually everything right on its road to SummerSlam.
Speaking on Busted Open, the WWE Hall of Famer applauded not only Punk’s title win, but the way WWE intertwined multiple storylines throughout the show, from Gunther’s attack on Cody Rhodes to Nick Aldis bringing Punk into the title match.
“Everything the WWE did last night with Cody, with Gunther, with Punk, with Sammy, with Nick, with Adam… it all worked.”
Bully continued by praising WWE for avoiding the predictable scenarios fans had discussed leading into the show.
“We talked about several scenarios yesterday morning that could happen on the show last night. None of those scenarios played out, but it doesn’t matter because the scenario that the WWE came up with—Grand Slam. Loved it. It worked. If you’re going to do it, let’s do it.”
While many fans focused on Punk winning his eighth world championship, Bully said one of his favorite moments actually came before the match even started.
“When Punk gets in the ring and Sami walks to Punk and they’re face to face, out of nowhere, Sami mushes Punk right in the face. That got a gasp from the audience.”
He believes the unscripted-looking moment immediately elevated the intensity between both competitors.
“That slight little mush shoving Punk’s head meant so much. I don’t think Punk knew it was coming. Look at his eyes afterwards. Look at his face light up afterwards. He was like, ‘Oh, okay… this is the way it’s going to be.’ I think that fired Punk up. I think it fired Sami up. I know it fired the crowd up because I heard the reaction to it.”
Bully also singled out Punk’s entrance as one of the night’s best production decisions, noting WWE resisted the temptation to immediately play his entrance music.
“They go into the back of the arena and that garage door opens and there’s CM Punk standing there and they don’t hit the music. The place went ballistic.”
Rather than relying on “Cult of Personality,” Bully said the audience itself became Punk’s soundtrack.
“The music is the place going ballistic. The music is the sound of the crowd screaming at the top of their lungs. I want to hear the crowd scream. I don’t need to hear the music.”
The Hall of Famer also compared Punk’s relationship with Chicago to one of wrestling’s most iconic pairings.
“CM Punk is as synonymous with Chicago as ECW was with Philadelphia. They’re connected at the hip. It’s peanut butter and jelly.”
Looking ahead to SummerSlam, Bully believes WWE also laid the groundwork for multiple compelling directions, particularly through Cody Rhodes’ injury angle and Nick Aldis quietly inserting Punk into the championship picture.
“One of the things that I really liked last night was the C story in the midst of the A story. The A story being Punk and Sami. The B story being Cody and Gunther. The C story—Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce.”
Bully praised the subtle rivalry between WWE’s two general managers, saying Aldis quietly outmaneuvered Pearce by giving Punk the championship opportunity.
“Nick one-upped Pearce on his own show. It was beautiful. The story… it was a great thread throughout the show.”
While Punk’s title victory served as the night’s biggest moment, Bully believes it was WWE’s layered storytelling that made the episode stand out, calling it one of the company’s strongest pieces of television heading into SummerSlam.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Busted Open, with a h/t to Wrestling Headlines for the transcription.
