CM Punk and Cody Rhodes secured a critical tag-team victory over Gunther and Sami Zayn at WWE’s Saturday Night’s Main Event inside Madison Square Garden. The chaotic win officially locks in the Undisputed WWE Championship match for SummerSlam as a one-on-one bout between Punk and Rhodes, preventing Gunther and Zayn from turning the main event into a Fatal 4-Way.
The match devolved into a brawl following a referee bump. Rhodes attempted a Cody Cutter on Gunther, but Gunther dodged, causing Rhodes to accidentally strike Punk. Gunther capitalized immediately with a powerbomb on Rhodes. A second referee sprinted to the ring to count the pin, but SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis yanked the official out of the ring before the three-count.
Aldis then took the championship belt and struck Gunther with it, allowing Punk to execute the GTS and place Rhodes on top of Gunther for the pinfall.
The interference was an act of direct retaliation. Gunther viciously attacked Aldis from behind on the previous episode of SmackDown. By utilizing his authority to manipulate the finish, Aldis legally cemented the SummerSlam main event as a standard singles bout, enforcing the contract stipulations.
The victory caps weeks of intertwined rivalries stemming from WWE Night of Champions, where Zayn originally captured the Undisputed WWE Championship by defeating Rhodes and Gunther in a Triple Threat Match. After Rhodes earned a rematch, Gunther attacked him on Raw, which inadvertently paved the way for Punk to step in and end Zayn’s brief nine-day title reign.
With Gunther and Zayn’s championship aspirations temporarily derailed, World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns capitalized on the Madison Square Garden location by closing the broadcast with a celebratory segment alongside the New York Knicks’ 2026 NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson.