Backstage News On CM Punk Winning The WWE Title From Sami Zayn

CM Punk wasn't without a world title within WWE for very long as he captured the Undisputed WWE Championship from Sami Zayn upon his return in the main event of the July 6 episode of Monday Night Raw in Chicago, Illinois.

Zayn was originally scheduled to defend the belt against Cody Rhodes, but Cody was not medically cleared to compete following a backstage attack from Gunther. Punk was ultimately brought back as Rhodes' replacement and defeated Zayn for the belt following a helluva kick and GTS.

Despite the way it played out on-screen, the plan for some time had been for CM Punk to win the Undisputed WWE Championship from Sami Zayn, Sean Ross Sapp noted on Fightful's Post-Raw Review.

"This was the plan all throughout that. They knew that they were leading to this. They always knew that Sami Zayn was going to drop this title to CM Punk because they have known when CM Punk was going to come back for a while, I believe," Sean Ross Sapp said.

When exactly the plan for Punk to win the belt was made is unknown, but Punk had been off WWE TV since the Raw after WrestleMania 42. Punk was removed from TV in April after WWE's short-term plans for the WWE Title and World Heavyweight Championship pictures were changed.

Fan reception to CM Punk's Undisputed WWE Championship win has been mixed so far. The response was positive in the building, but many social media users have since negatively compared Punk's title win to that of Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania IX.

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