WWE Got It Right With CM Punk’s Raw Return

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Sami Zayn fans aren’t gonna like it.

That doesn’t mean WWE made the wrong decision.

CM Punk returned on this week’s WWE Raw in Chicago to replace Cody Rhodes as Zayn’s opponent in the main event.

Punk won the Undisputed WWE title in a great match, thus ending Zayn’s reign at a whopping nine days.

Chicago loved it. A portion of the online crowd did not.

And yet, WWE got it right.

There were issues with the scheduled Rhodes vs. Zayn match. Rhodes winning would (and should) have made even more WWE fans unhappy and, yet again, put the QB1 in an unenviable position from a public perception standpoint.

Zayn winning? It would have been nice, but at best, it would have set up a rematch scenario with either Rhodes or Gunther at SummerSlam. Not to mention that it would have allowed Zayn’s character to succeed when, at its best, the story has been fueled by the complete opposite.

Rhodes vs. Punk was the biggest match WWE could do in this scenario. They got there with an unpredictable twist with a predictable payoff, and it worked.

Some argued the match doesn’t need the title. I disagree. Both men have been in the top champion role for the past year or more, and having the championship on the line makes it bigger.

This is one of the biggest matches WWE has left at its disposal. It’s arguably the second-biggest behind the inevitable Oba Femi vs. Roman Reigns match, which appears to be in a holding pattern until WrestleMania 43.

We thought the same would be the plan for Rhodes vs. Punk. Maybe it was, but I’m glad it’s not.

WWE needed another box office match for SummerSlam, and this was the right choice.

Even better, where Rhodes, Punk, and Zayn go from here becomes much more fascinating after the bait and switch on Raw.