CM Punk First WWE SmackDown Rivalry

WWE

At WWE WrestleMania 42, Roman Reigns defeated CM Punk to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.

Since the WWE Raw After ‘Mania, fans have not seen Punk on the company’s programming, but new reports have revealed that The Best In The World is expected to move to Friday Night SmackDown upon his return.

If Punk is to head to SmackDown, there are a number of stars who would make for an interesting first rival on the blue brand.

Here are seven potential CM Punk first WWE SmackDown rivalries.

7. Ricky Saints

During their time in All Elite Wrestling, Ricky Saints got one of the biggest wins of his career when he defeated CM Punk to win the 2023 Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament.

Now that he is part of the WWE roster, Saints has been making a name for himself on Friday Night SmackDown.

Wanting to step in the ring with one of the best in the company, it would be interesting for Saints to step up to Punk, rekindling this rivalry in a major way.

Ricky facing off with Punk would place him among the top talent on SmackDown and lead to a rivalry that fans will be quite interested in.

6. Ilja Dragunov

Since losing the United States Championship at the end of 2025, Ilja Dragunov has been trying to find his way to a prominent role on SmackDown.

After his reign as US Champion, Dragunov established himself as one of the best in-ring competitors in WWE today.

If CM Punk is heading to Friday Night SmackDown, he could want to test himself against someone like The Mad Dragon to prove he is still The Best In The World.

Dragunov stepping up to face Punk would be a great way to see him once again thrusted into the spotlight upon his jump to the blue brand.

5. Trick Williams

CM Punk has made a lot of visits to the WWE Performance Center over the years to work with the younger talent on NXT.

One of the stars that he got very close with and provided some guidance to is Trick Williams.

Since getting called up to the WWE main roster, Trick has become the United States Champion and one of the most popular stars in the company.

Punk feuding with Trick would be interesting and could give an indication if the fans are willing to side with Williams over an established main event level talent.

4. Randy Orton

At WWE WrestleMania 42, Cody Rhodes defeated Randy Orton to retain the Undisputed WWE Championship.

Since this loss, fans have not seen Orton on WWE television with no signs of his return at this time.

Upon his eventual return to the promotion, it would be interesting to see Orton rekindling his rivalry with CM Punk for the first time since 2011.

Having stayed apart for the better part of three years since Punk’s return, it would be intriguing to see the former World Heavyweight Champion battle “The Legend Killer” on SmackDown.

3. GUNTHER

Following WrestleMania 42, GUNTHER made the move to Friday Night SmackDown to challenge Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship.

The Ring General has no love lost with CM Punk stemming from their last and only televised singles meeting back at WWE SummerSlam 2025.

After GUNTHER missing a few months of action following his title loss to Punk, it would be interesting to see these two stars clash on Friday Night SmackDown.

GUNTHER reviving his rivalry with Punk would lead to some more hard hitting and intense battles against one another moving forward.

2. Cody Rhodes

On the April 20 WWE Raw After WrestleMania 42, Cody Rhodes came out to confront CM Punk and teased a future title match between the two.

Rhodes has stood atop of the company for the past two years and has not stepped in the ring for a singles match with Punk at the time of this writing.

Being two of the biggest stars in WWE today, this would be a huge match that could headline any premium live event.

Taking his friend up on his offer, Punk could make his way to SmackDown looking to challenge Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship sometime soon.

1. Sami Zayn

Sami Zayn has been undergoing an attitude change over the past several months after his failure to win a world title.

This has led to a heated rivalry boiling over between Zayn and Rhodes in recent months.

After not being pleased with Cody being treated better than him and getting more opportunities, Zayn would be upset to see Punk get his own chance at the top prize on SmackDown.

Having only faced each other once since his return, Punk could find a bitter rival in this new version of Zayn if he makes the move to the blue brand upon his return.

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