Kevin Owens and CM Punk's Undisputed WWE Championship program became deeply personal on the August 14 episode of Friday Night SmackDown, with Owens bringing up Punk's turbulent history outside WWE.
Punk called Owens to the ring and encouraged him to say whatever he had been holding back. Owens went straight back to their days on the independent wrestling scene, claiming Punk embarrassed and berated him in front of other wrestlers when Owens was still trying to establish himself.
The conversation then shifted toward Punk's relationships within the wrestling industry. Owens claimed that the people close to Punk had turned against him and said, “Every friend you have in this business hates you.”
That line carried an obvious connection to Punk's AEW history. Owens' real-life friends, Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks, were involved in the infamous backstage altercation with Punk following AEW All Out in 2022. Punk was later involved in another backstage incident following AEW All In in 2023, leading to AEW terminating his contract in September 2023.
Owens used that history to question Punk's return to WWE. He argued that Punk's attempts to make peace with people in WWE were not genuine and suggested he came back because he had run out of alternatives.
“You came back because you got no choice,” Owens said. “The person you are made you screw things up everywhere else.”
Punk dismissed the criticism and responded, “Being hated by losers is the price I pay for not being one of them.”
Owens then contrasted their careers, pointing to his own consistency over the past 12 years. He highlighted his championship victories and his WrestleMania main event against Stone Cold Steve Austin.
The argument ended with Owens making his intentions clear ahead of their title match in Toronto.
“I’ll punch you in the face and beat your bitch ass for the WWE Title,” Owens said.
Punk will now have the opportunity to answer Owens inside the ring next week, with the Undisputed WWE Championship on the line.
