CM Punk wins the Undisputed WWE Championship from Sami Zayn on Raw

It was a big week in professional wrestling that usually only comes after a premium live event or PPV. This week, WWE and All Elite Wrestling (AEW) saw major championship changes at the top of their respective rosters as both companies inched toward their main events: SummerSlam and All In.

CM Punk returned to WWE programming on “Monday Night Raw” and was the replacement in the WWE Undisputed Championship match against Sami Zayn. Cody Rhodes was going to be in the match until he was attacked by Gunther. Zayn thought he was safe until Raw general manager Adam Pearce told Zayn he had a replacement. Punk showed up and the crowd in Chicago immediately went into a frenzy.

CM PUNK TO DEFEND UNDISIGNED WWE CHAMPIONSHIP AGAINST CODY RHODES AT SUMMERSLAM

Punk and Zayn put on one of the best television matches of the year for WWE. In the end, it was Punk who captured the WWE Undisputed Championship and ended Zayn’s brief reign as champion after nine days. Later in the week, Punk and Rhodes were booked for a title match at SummerSlam, but first they’ll have to team up to take on Zayn and Gunther in Saturday night’s Main Event in New York City.

AEW’s “Dynamite” featured MJF trying to defend his AEW World Championship against Kenny Omega. If Omega lost the match, he would no longer be able to compete for the title. It was a similar stipulation that Rhodes had to deal with when he was in AEW and that “Hangman” Adam Page had in his own match against MJF earlier this year, which he lost.

AEW routinely presents PPV-level main events on “Dynamite” and Wednesday’s title match was no different. MJF and Omega showed off their elite talents and did everything they could to make the title mean something. MJF crashed into the announce table and attempted to use the Dynamite Diamond Ring to cheat for another victory.

KENNY OMEGA CAPTURES THE AEW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN AN EPIC MATCH OVER MJF

Will Ospreay, who is guaranteed a title match at All In, intervened to take the ring from MJF before he could wear it, but it nearly cost Omega the title. MJF hit Omega with a low blow and the title as the referee attempted to eject Ospreay from the ring area. However, Omega kicked out when the referee was only counting to one.

The Florida crowd was electric. MJF, apparently battling a knee injury, did everything he could to keep Omega down, but to no avail. Omega hit MJF with some V-triggers and a One-Winged Angel to finally put MJF away. He captured the championship and began his second reign as AEW World Champion.

There are many unknowns in professional wrestling despite the scripted nature of the shows and events. You never know who’s going to come back, you never know who’s going to be on the shelf, and you never know who’s going to actually win when it’s all said and done.

What we do know right now is that August will start and end spectacularly. SummerSlam and All In are emerging as unmissable events. Each event has been slower than most fans are used to, but everyone can expect high-level drama and intrigue in each one. Let’s not discount that fact as the days and weeks go by.

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“Hangman” Adam Page returns in “Collision”

“Hangman” Adam Page returned to AEW programming after being absent for months following his AEW World Championship loss to MJF earlier this year. Dressed in a black suit jacket, Page walked down the entrance ramp into a raucous crowd.

He talked about dealing with cervical radiculopathy, which has kept him out of the ring for almost four months. He talked about his hobby of gardening and planting seeds and told the crowd that he wanted to plant one more seed. He recalled risking his chance at the AEW World Title again against MJF and losing the match.

Page promised he would be a “man of his word.”

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“I know the stipulation, it doesn’t live signed in ink on a contract filed in a filing cabinet somewhere, but it does live in me. And I wanted to let you know that I intend to be a man of my word,” he said. “I will never compete for the All Elite Wrestling men’s world championship again.”

He suggested that he was inspired by Omega’s title win and that he sees “miles and miles of empty track” before him. He called out TNT champion Kevin Knight, national champion Mark Davis, continental champion Jon Moxley and international champion Kyle Fletcher.

“I’m going to have to find something else to do and you can bet you’re…I’ll do it.”

Welcome back, page.

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Sheamus says goodbye to WWE

Sheamus made his WWE debut in 2009, first appearing on ECW and then Raw. He immediately became a formidable challenger to John Cena and surprisingly captured the WWE Championship against him at TLC in December of that year.

Man, how time flies.

Sheamus would become a four-time WWE Champion, three-time United States Champion, five-time Tag Team Champion, and winner of the King of the Ring, Money in the Bank, and Royal Rumble. In the later years of his career, he would be hampered by injuries, but he had one last moment with Cena in the ring at Madison Square Garden before Cena finally retired.

Reports emerged during the week that Sheamus’ contract was expiring and that he would be leaving the company. He seemingly confirmed the reports when he changed his social media profiles to his real name, Stephen Farrelly, and released an outgoing message to fans.

“Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Banger after Burger after Banger after Banger after Banger after,” he wrote in X, “slam chaired by WWE.”

It’s unclear if this will be the end of the road in professional wrestling for the 48-year-old Irishman. But there will certainly be tremendous opportunities in and out of the ring for him moving forward.

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Spotlight: CM Punk and Candice LeRae’s interaction

Overall, it may lead to nothing and go unnoticed, but the interaction between CM Punk and Candice LeRae jumped off the screen during “Friday Night SmackDown.”

Punk finished talking to Cathy Kelley when he turned to see LeRae and Johnny Gargano, who were still doing a draw and not talking to anyone. Remember, Sami Zayn was the only one Gargano seemed to be listening to, for better or worse. LeRae offered a harsh reminder to Punk after he beat Zayn for the title.

“I hope you’re proud of yourself,” LeRae said. “As annoying as Sami can be, he’s the only person who didn’t give up on Johnny. He’s actually the voice of the voiceless. And while Sami held that title, it was hope. Hope for the true underdogs. Hope for Johnny, hope for me and you, you stole it from us. So, yeah, I hope you’re proud of yourself.”

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Punk responded the only way he could.

“I’m proud of myself. You had hope for nine days. Good for you,” he said. “I hope you can hear me, Johnny Wrestling, because that’s who I remember. Johnny Wrestling. Whatever it is. And you too. Just stop what you’re doing and get back in the ring. Go back to doing what you two do best. Whatever it is, it’s not working.”

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Baron Corbin returns to WWE

It had been quite some time since Baron Corbin was seen in a WWE ring. But when he finished with Major League Wrestling (MLW), rumors proliferated that his return to WWE was imminent.

He made himself known to the squad on Friday night when he interfered in a match between Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes.

Corbin came into the ring and applied the End of Days to both Williams and Hayes. But the big question is why? Why go after two guys who were putting on a great game? Was he competing for the United States Championship again? And what did that mean for Ricky Saints who was watching the game attentively?

We’ll have to keep watching SmackDown to find out.

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Rocky Romero talks about New Japan’s G1 Climax

New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s prestigious G1 Climax kicked off over the weekend in Chicago. Rocky Romero spoke with Pak Gazette Digital about the event before the bell rang.

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Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling airs this week

Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling (MLP) will air this week when it debuts on TSN at midnight ET on Wednesday.

Rohan Raja spoke to Pak Gazette Digital in May about MLP and why fans should tune in.

“I remember when we did our first show, a lot of fans, me, even if you go on Twitter and even the news articles report it, the quality is like an AEW or WWE product. It’s top notch. We have Mauro Renallo as the voice of MLP,” he said at the time. “He’s on fire and he still does a lot of things like Jake Paul, he did Anthony Joshua’s last boxing match, Tyson Fury’s last boxing match. “We’ve got all these star-studded guys.

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“How I sum it up is like a global collision, but every week we have guys from AEW there, we have guys from Japan, we have guys from Mexico, we have guys and girls from WWE coming. So, I feel like that’s the most important thing, where they’re not just showing the Canadian talent but they’re showing everything. Now I feel like wrestling, you can glimpse the worlds colliding, but I feel like we’re the promotion that’s had everyone: a showcase of everything in one. With the TSN tapings and how it’s going to play out, it really “It will amplify what we have built and is something you won’t want to miss.”

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Other professional wrestling news and notes you may have missed:

• Kyle Fletcher defeated Konosuke Takeshita for the AEW International Championship during “Beach Break.” It is the third championship held by the Don Callis Family faction.
• Willow Nightingale earned a shot at the AEW Women’s World Championship at Redemption against Thekla.
• Xia Brookside defended the TNA Knockouts World Championship against Lei Ying Lee at “Impact”.
• Chris Jericho spoke with Pak Gazette Digital about his upcoming documentary “Vietslam.”
• Major League Wrestling (MLW) announced that world champion Killer Kross will be in the movie “Godshot.”
• Avery Styles, son of WWE Hall of Famer AJ Styles, will make his Game Changer Wrestling debut on July 31.
• Fight Factory Wrestling’s Dave Sturchio previewed The War on the Shore 3 with Pak Gazette Digital.
• MLW Women’s Champion Shotzi Blackheart clarified who the real “God of Indy” is in an interview with Pak Gazette Digital.