CM Punk returned to WWE in Chicago’s Allstate Arena to shockingly beat Sami Zayn for the WWE Undisputed Championship. Zayn was previously scheduled to defend his newly won world title against Cody Rhodes, but Rhodes was (kayfabe) injured in the opening segment, opening the door for the hometown hero to pull a Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania IX and swoop in for the WWE Title win.
Punk appeared in great shape after putting on more muscle during his post-WrestleMania break.
Sami Zayn won the WWE Championship—his first-ever world title on the WWE main roster—after 13 years with WWE and 24 years as a professional wrestler. Despite being a heel, Zayn’s win was celebrated throughout wrestling locker rooms and discord chats worldwide given the internet darling’s countless contributions to the business.
Zayn’s subsequent world title defense just nine days after his big win led to speculation of just how long Zayn’s run would be. A sub-fanbase filled with persecution complex, the Internet Wrestling Community prepared for the worst ahead of Zayn’s big title defense over WWE top star Cody Rhodes, whom Zayn beat in Saudi Arabia to achieve his lifelong dream. Rhodes was taken out of the match during Raw’s cold open when he was attacked by Gunther.
WWE backlash is a business in and of itself, no pun intended, especially the imaginary outrage that exists mostly on Twitter. Though tens of thousands of fans continue to show up to live events (tonight’s WWE Raw from the Allstate Arena cleared 12,000), online backlash remains an influence on booking whether the WWE office admits it or not.
Jey Uso’s recent Royal Rumble and King of the Ring wins is the ultimate example of a controversies that led to outrage online while sold-out arenas of real-life people continued yeeting. Real life or not, online discourse has become a permanent fixture in pro wrestling fandom, and one that WWE cannot help but monitor.
Sami Zayn’s world title win represented a much-needed sea change in a WWE landscape that has become predictable and safe. Though he is one of pro wrestling’s biggest stars of a generation, Cody Rhodes’ dominance over the world title picture has become the new normal in WWE. The same has been the case with Roman Reigns, who recently won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania not too long after an era-defining run as the longest-reigning world champion of the modern era. Though Reigns and Rhodes are two pillars in WWE’s mainstream resurgence, it was clear from the overwhelmingly positive reaction for Zayn’s big win that it’s time for a change.
Rising young stars like Oba Femi, Trick Williams and Jacob Fatu are waiting in the ring as WWE looks to awkwardly transition from a loaded crop of established stars to a new generation that is already in the midst of a meteoric rise.
In the end, one of WWE’s biggest stars of all time returned to his hometown of Chicago to make another magic moment inside the Allstate Arena. The outrage from the eternally unhappy IWC and the elation from Chicago are likely to cancel each other out over the coming weeks.