The Riyadh Shockwave and the Internet Meltdown

Pull up a barstool, grab a cold pint of whatever cheap domestic light beer is on tap, and let’s talk about the absolute state of the WWE Internet. One week ago at Night of Champions, Sami Zayn pinned Cody Rhodes to win the Undisputed WWE Championship. Half the fans are throwing parades, while the other half are acting like Triple H personally came to their houses and kicked their dogs.

Then the dirt sheets dropped a massive bomb on the situation. Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the planned SummerSlam main event was Cody Rhodes versus CM Punk, and Sami Zayn was not even on the board. Now the booking sheet is in shreds.

With a championship match scheduled for Raw in Chicago, we have a powder keg. Fans are debating whether WWE will pivot or stick to the original plan. Let's break down the madness.

Divided Factions: Underdog Romance vs. Box Office Reality

The Sami Believers: Give the Man His Flowers

On one side of the bar, you have the Sami Zayn loyalists currently high on pure, unadulterated joy. They argue Zayn is the ultimate utility player in WWE history. He can make a broomstick look like a main-event threat, and he finally got his reward.

To these fans, the title change was a masterclass in organic storytelling. Sami pinning Cody after neutralizing GUNTHER in Riyadh was a stroke of genius. It proved that crowd connection still matters more than corporate planning.

On online forums, the sentiment is clear. Fans argue Sami has earned a long, sustained run at the top. They believe putting the title back on Cody immediately is a coward's move.

They want the underdog to carry the belt all the way to Minneapolis for SummerSlam. In their eyes, Zayn represents the workhorse ethic that the championship actually needs. They want him to defend it against all comers.

I get the romance, I really do. Sami Zayn looks like a guy who runs a local community garden, but he performs like a hall of famer. Yet, the business reality is a cold shower.

The Cody and Punk Realists: Money Talks

Now turn your head to the corner of the bar where the spreadsheet nerds and realists are drinking whiskey. They are furious. They look at Sami Zayn and see a transitional champion who just disrupted a stadium-grade money feud.

To them, Cody Rhodes versus CM Punk is the biggest match WWE can present right now. That is the match that sells out stadiums and moves merchandise. It is the story that has been building since CM Punk teased a feud with Cody on the Raw after WrestleMania earlier this year.

The contrarians on the forums are posting wall-to-wall complaints. They argue that Sami's win was a cheap pop that ruins months of careful build. They think WWE is over-indexing on internet favorites at the expense of casual fans.

They point out that a stadium show in Minneapolis needs marquee star power. In their eyes, Sami Zayn simply does not move the needle like Cody or Punk. They want the big stars in the big spots.

There is merit to this argument. Cody Rhodes has been the franchise player, and CM Punk is the returning anti-hero with a massive chip on his shoulder. Putting the title on Sami Zayn, even for a few weeks, feels like a detour.

The Raw in Chicago Conundrum

The plot thickens this coming Monday on Raw in Chicago. Cody Rhodes, having defeated Jey Uso on SmackDown to become the top contender, gets his shot at Sami Zayn. That is CM Punk's backyard, and the rumors of his return are deafening.

The booking here is incredibly risky. Some fans are already calling it a potential disaster. The match is scheduled to happen on Raw on July 6, 2026, which makes the stakes massive.

If CM Punk returns and costs Cody the match, the roof will blow off the arena. But it also risks turning Sami Zayn into a complete afterthought in his own title reign. He becomes the guy holding the belt while the two biggest stars in the company fight over who gets to take it from him.

Conversely, if Cody wins the belt back on Monday, Sami's reign lasted exactly one week. That makes him look like a fluke champion. His title reign would end after just seven days, which is a terrible look for a guy who pinned Cody after a grueling 24-minute triple threat.

It is a booking corner that WWE has painted itself into, and the exit is not obvious. Fans on Twitter are arguing that a Triple Threat match is the only logical solution to save everyone's momentum.

My Take: Who Wins the Argument?

Here is my hot take, and I will stand by it even if you throw your drink at me. The realists are right, but the execution has been messy. Sami Zayn is a phenomenal wrestler, but he is a transitional champion.

WWE wanted the shock value in Riyadh, and they got it. Now they have to clean up the mess. The original SummerSlam card looked incredible before everything went sideways.

According to the reports, the planned card before Rhea Ripley's injury at Clash in Italy on May 31 was stacked. You can read about the Rhea Ripley plans before her injury which forced a massive reshuffle. Here was the full line-up in the pipeline for the planned Undisputed WWE Championship match at SummerSlam 2026:

  • Cody Rhodes vs. CM Punk – WWE Championship
  • Rhea Ripley vs. Alexa Bliss or Jacy Jayne – WWE Women’s Championship
  • Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins – World Heavyweight Championship
  • Liv Morgan vs. IYO SKY – Women’s World Championship
  • Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar – Hell in a Cell
  • Charlotte Flair vs. Jade Cargill
  • Trick Williams vs. Carmelo Hayes – United States Championship
  • GUNTHER vs. Royce Keys
  • Paige & Brie Bella vs. Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid – Women’s Tag Team Championship

That card was a home run. Losing Ripley was a massive blow to the women's division. Messing up the men's main event on top of that is just bad management.

WWE needs to get the belt back on Cody Rhodes as fast as possible. Sami Zayn is great for a feel-good moment, but Cody versus Punk is the match that defines this era. With a hostile Chicago crowd and the booking on a tightrope, the writers are playing with fire.