CM Punk made a surprise return to WWE's "Monday Night Raw" and captured the Undisputed WWE Championship by defeating Sami Zayn in the show's main event. The bout came about unexpectedly after a backstage attack by Gunther left the scheduled challenger, Cody Rhodes, too bloodied to compete, prompting officials to rule him out. Raw general manager Adam Pearce insisted that Zayn defend the title regardless, opening the door for Punk to step in as an automatic challenger.

The match, held at the Allstate Arena in Chicago on 6 July 2026, marked Punk's first appearance in nearly three months, following his loss of the World Heavyweight Championship to Roman Reigns. Backed by a raucous hometown crowd, Punk withstood a series of Zayn's signature moves, including multiple Blue Thunder Bombs and even his own Go to Sleep finisher, repeatedly kicking out of pin attempts. Zayn showed his championship pedigree with stomps, a double axe handle and reversals, but an increasingly frustrated Zayn was ultimately unable to keep Punk down.