Kevin Owens Addresses CM Punk Program After WWE SummerSlam 2026

WWE

Kevin Owens has addressed his upcoming program with CM Punk after their victories at WWE SummerSlam this past weekend.

Night One of SummerSlam saw CM Punk retain the Undisputed WWE Championship, defeating Cody Rhodes on August 1.

The following night kicked off with the match to determine the number one contender to the Undisputed WWE Championship, originally set to see Sami Zayn face Finn Balor.

Reinstated to his role as SmackDown General Manager, Nick Aldis would get straight down to business, adding GUNTHER to the match, along with a returning Kevin Owens, turning the singles match into a four-way.

With Owens victorious, the star would be asked about facing off against CM Punk in the near future during the WWE Now SummerSlam Recap.

Speaking to Sam Roberts, Owens would make his thoughts clear, not being drawn on the topic and suggesting a conversation with Punk first, stating:

“You go ask him that first, and then we’ll talk. We’ll see what he says to that”

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Returning to the ring having been absent since before WrestleMania 41 last year, Owens would also reflect on the other competitors in his SummerSlam match, saying:

“Obviously I couldn’t ask for three better guys to be in the ring with at a return like this. Both from an emotional, sentimental standpoint with Finn and Sami being my brothers.

“And GUNTHER, we’re not as close in any way, shape or form, but we have a very strong mutual respect as professional wrestlers. I have no problem saying that he’s the best wrestler in the world at this point. So to be in the ring with those guys? It’s just incredible.

“And we’re cut from the same cloth, we got here the same way, we grinned as hard as we could to get here, we all had similar paths to get here. There’s a lot of respect for that; to have that around me as I go out and do it again was just fantastic.”

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After his return, Owens would also reveal that he thought that a comeback to in-ring action was off the cards due to the severity of his injury.

The Summer Of Punk Continues

Defeating Sami Zayn on the July 6 episode of Raw, CM Punk continues as Undisputed WWE Champion, with SummerSlam being the first major PLE stop for the star in his third reign.

Despite multiple non-televised matches taking place on the house show circuit, CM Punk has only been in action once since winning the title, defending it against GUNTHER during the WWE Summer Tour, with the rest of his engagements being tag team matches with Cody Rhodes.

Standing as one of the top titles in the company, the Undisputed WWE Championship isn’t likely to be defended on television every week, something that is also true of the World Heavyweight Championship, retained by Roman Reigns in a victory over Seth Rollins at SummerSlam.

It’s unlikely that a number one contendership opportunity for a star with the popularity of the returning Kevin Owens is just going to be thrown into play on an episode of SmackDown, although stranger things have happened. Then there’s the aftermath of Randy Orton returning and delivering an RKO to Rhodes during the match.

With Punk in command of the Undisputed WWE Championship and Owens waiting for his moment, there are opportunities at Saturday Night’s Main Event on September 6 in Atlanta, Georgia, followed by Money in the Bank in October and Survivor Series: WarGames the following month.

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• cm punk
• SummerSlam
• wwe
• KEVIN OWENS

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