WWE Hall Of Famer Says He Was ‘Blown Away’ By CM Punk Vs Cody Rhodes Being Announced For SummerSlam 2026
Published: 11 seconds ago by Sanchez Taylor | Last Updated: 11 seconds ago by Sanchez Taylor
Sanchez has over six years of pro-wrestling news writing experience, covering the biggest news stories in WWE, NXT, AEW, TNA Wrestling and more. He has personally interviewed a number of top stars, producing exclusive content with the likes of AEW’s Swerve Strickland and WWE’s Nick Aldis.
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Hall of Famer Mark Henry has reacted to the Undisputed WWE Championship match announcement for SummerSlam.
Following CM Punk’s Undisputed Title win on Raw, the new champion was confronted by Cody Rhodes on the July 10 SmackDown episode.
It didn’t take long for the duo to get down to business, with Cody Rhodes issuing a challenge for SummerSlam, and CM Punk accepting.
Speaking on Busted Open, Mark Henry noted that he was blown away by this announcement, as he expected a match of this calibre to be saved for WrestleMania 43, or another event down the line.
He explained:
“Cody also said ‘I don’t know when,’ then Punk – without any thought process, without any considering who’s in line for it – said ‘When? Say less.’ That match was made right then.
“I was blown away, because I did think, just like Cody did, that if they ever had a situation where two dominant personalities and talents like those two guys, that the match would end up probably at WrestleMania.
“It would probably be the headliner for Royal Rumble. It would probably be the headlining match for SummerSlam; I was thinking next year’s SummerSlam, but hey, there’s no time like the present.”
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Mark Henry’s comments can fuel a number of debates about WWE booking, primarily, should every big match be saved for WrestleMania?
While WrestleMania has built its reputation on being the Show of Shows, saving every big match for April doesn’t make sense for a company like WWE, which produces multiple weekly TV shows all year round.
If every match people want to see is saved for one show a year, what’s the point in watching WWE TV for the other 51 weeks?
This CM Punk vs Cody Rhodes match being made for SummerSlam – still one of WWE’s biggest shows in its own right – allows the match to take place when it feels natural for it to do so, rather than prolonging the build or holding off for a build in January.
The latest updates and news stories ahead of SummerSlam on August 1 and 2 can be found right here.
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