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WWE
Cody Rhodes came face-to-face with CM Punk in the middle of the ring during "WWE Raw."
The WWE Champion emerged for the last segment of the show following Sami Zayn's loss to Drew McIntyre, running in to make the save but getting an apparently inadvertent Helluva Kick from Zayn, prompting both McIntyre and Kevin Owens to laugh as they observed the situation; Zayn pursued Owens to leave Rhodes in the ring, and he got to talking about his upcoming WWE title ladder match with Owens at the Royal Rumble event. He made it clear that he was looking forward to putting the feud behind him, but found himself interrupted by Punk's music as he made his entrance. Punk asked Rhodes if he was doing okay, saying that he remembered while he was World Champion he similarly had no friends, and recognizing that as WWE's poster boy Rhodes gets to spend less time with his wife and daughter.
Rhodes appeared unfazed by Punk's words, and asked of his intention, prompting Punk to affirm his intent to win the 2025 Royal Rumble and challenge Rhodes for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania. The champion recalled their earlier days in the business, telling Punk that now he is chasing him and that he hopes he can catch up. The pair then continued to push for the last word, staring one another down as the show went off the air. Punk will be entering the Rumble to achieve his career-long goal to main event WrestleMania but he has yet to win the annual staple in seven attempts across three decades, joining a field of announced competitors including two-time winner John Cena alongside former winners Drew McIntyre, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Rey Mysterio.

