We had a feeling CM Punk and Cody Rhodes stepping into the ring for a verbal clash would lead to something special and it most definitely did during last night's RAW.
Things started relatively civil between the two, with Punk reflecting on a phone call with the late WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes in 2007 in which he asked Punk to look out for his son, Cody, in OVW (NXT precursor, Ohio Valley Wrestling).
Reflecting on his longtime friendship with the American Nightmare, the Second City Saint made it clear he'll do what he has to in the Royal Rumble, including eliminating Rhodes to win the match and head to the main event of WrestleMania. Punk even went so far as to say he's more of an "American Dream" than even Cody.
To that, Rhodes talked about how he eventually achieved what Punk wanted after he left WWE, saying that arguably makes him more Punk than Punk himself.
The Best in the World acknowledged that Cody had carried WWE for the past two years and that he'd even been handed the WWE 2K24 cover; however, now he's back, Punk plans to take everything from him.
Rhodes concluded by making his intention to finish his story known and said he'd do so by going through Punk. With that, they stared each other down to end a promo that has to rank among the best we've seen in WWE for a very long time.
Of course, it's not just Punk that Rhodes needs to worry about because The Rock's recent return could lead to the Brahma Bull challenging Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship on the Grandest Stage of Them All.
"The Rock is The Great One - he's still electrifying," Rhodes recently said of that possibility. "CM Punk is one of the greatest stars in the history of wrestling. I know what I'm up against. Look at the roster - it’s loaded with stars. But that doesn't bother me. I'm not flinching. I'm not rooting against anyone else, I'm just working to make it happen."
Take a look at this epic verbal exchange on RAW in the X posts below.