One man is responsible for CM Punk dethroning Sami Zayn on his WWE return, says Bully Ray

On the recent episode of Busted Open Podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray praised the brilliant storytelling unfolding on RAW. A storyline linked to the CM Punk vs. Sami Zayn angle that seemingly led to the main event title match was due to a particular official’s decision.

The official in question here is SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis. Bully explained how Aldis was suspended, and Pearce was put in his role as SmackDown GM. Adam cleverly took the chance to announce an Undisputed WWE Championship match for his show, RAW.

“Nick Aldis put his hands on Gunther a couple of weeks ago, gets relieved of his duties, suspended for a little while. Pearce takes over SmackDown. Pearce says, ‘We’re going to have the championship match on RAW’ because he’s the GM of RAW. He’s going to want the biggest match they could possibly have for Netflix… So what does Nick do? Nick is the one who gets in touch with Punk. It’s Nick’s phone call that got Punk to lace up his boots. Nick is the one who dropped the opportunity into Punk’s lap. Nick one-upped Pearce on his own show. What a nice little story in the midst of the bigger story,” said Bully Ray.

However, Aldis retaliated by calling CM Punk, offering him Rhodes’s spot. Ray believes this is the point WWE is making. Aldis convinced Punk to lace up his boots for his return match. In this way, Aldis managed to completely one-up Pearce on his own brand, leading to the apparent title change as well.

Bully Ray points out one detail he loved from Sami Zayn vs. CM Punk

Bully Ray praised all the drama that unfolded on RAW. He points out one thing, though, which he felt got a massive crowd reaction, as no one saw it coming. This was when CM Punk entered the ring, but Sami Zayn shoved him in frustration.

“When Punk gets in the ring, and Sami walks to Punk, and they’re face to face, out of nowhere, Sami mushes Punk right in the face. And that got a gasp from the audience. And that slight little mush shoving Punk’s head meant so I don’t think Punk knew it was coming. And look at his eyes afterwards. Look at his face light up afterwards. He was like, ‘Oh, okay, mother trucker. This is the way it’s going to be,'” said Bully Ray.

Bully loves this small moment because before the bell rings, that’s all they have to do. It was a last-minute opponent for Zayn to be preparing for, and mushing was his way of acknowledging how he felt about Punk facing him.

If you use quotes from this article, please credit Busted Open Podcast and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.