CM Punk appeared on Raw after WrestleMania to make one thing known: he’s staying ready for the next championship opportunity that drops out of the sky. Otherwise put, Punk isn’t going on vacation or taking time off. He’s staying in WWE and just waiting for his moment. And as it turns out, Punk might not have to wait all that long.
Cody Rhodes Tells CM Punk to Name the Time and Place
CM Punk took a moment to acknowledge the losses to the WWE family over the past few months, noting that they were the unseen heroes. They worked in the back and in the trucks and made the production possible. Punk said his job was easy; they did the real work, grinding every day and never getting the accolades the in-ring performers do. After noting those losses and some of his personal losses, Punk talked about the loss of his title. He said the fans helped him get through his grief, and he was betting they’d help him get through this title loss as well. As Punk said, he wasn’t even supposed to win the world title in the first place. So he got to thinking that at his age, if all he had gotten was three minutes with the championship, that would have been okay. He didn’t wallow; instead, he stayed ready because he knew another opportunity to be champion was going to come his way one day. As Punk said, if he hadn’t stayed ready, it would have probably been Jey Uso standing in the ring. But it wasn’t, and that’s when Punk was smiling. He had the chance to live out his dream and prove he was still the best in the world. He gave everything he had on Sunday, but it just wasn’t enough. Punk wasn’t going to sulk, though, and he wasn’t going to go on vacation. He was going to stay ready because you never know when an opportunity is going to fall out of the sky.
Enter Cody Rhodes and his black eye. Rhodes definitely looked and sounded worse for wear. He told Punk this was his show and his time, but he came out there because Punk wasn’t acting as he expected. Punk assumed Rhodes thought he was going to crash out, and Rhodes said yeah. Rhodes noted he felt like a loser, which prompted Punk to ask if that’s how Rhodes thought he should feel. There was a little bit of tension between the two before Punk told the audience to relax, as he and Rhodes were friends. And Rhodes wasn’t entirely wrong; in a word, he was a loser, and Rhodes was a winner. But the reason Rhodes felt bad is that he did what he had to do against a friend, against his mentor. Punk got to beat up someone he hated, so that was easy. Punk noted Rhodes felt the way he did because heavy is the head that wears the crown. The way he sees it, Rhodes’ path forward is to keep being champ and to keep winning. Punk’s path was to stay ready. Punk stepped closer to Rhodes and eyed the title as he added, ” He’s going to stay ready because you never know when a title opportunity is going to fall out of the sky.
CM Punk left the ring, but Cody Rhodes stopped him with three simple words: “Just say when.”
