CM Punk is once again keeping his championship cold.

Just hours after making his shocking return to WWE television and defeating Sami Zayn to become the new Undisputed WWE Champion on Raw, Punk paid tribute to one of the most memorable moments of his career.

The newly crowned champion shared a photo on Instagram showing the Undisputed WWE Championship sitting inside his refrigerator, offering no caption and letting the image speak for itself. The post instantly reminded longtime fans of Punk's famous 2011 celebration after defeating John Cena at Money in the Bank in Chicago, when he placed the WWE Championship in his fridge during his storyline exit from the company.

Punk's latest post came after he ended Sami Zayn's brief reign, which lasted less than two weeks. Zayn had only captured the Undisputed WWE Championship at Night of Champions on June 27 in Saudi Arabia before losing it in the main event of Raw.

The title change came under unexpected circumstances. Cody Rhodes had earned a championship opportunity after winning a No. 1 contender's match on SmackDown and was originally scheduled to challenge Zayn. However, Gunther launched a backstage attack on Rhodes before the match, leaving the door open for Punk to step in and take his place.

Punk made the most of the opportunity, defeating Zayn to capture his eighth world championship in WWE. The victory also marked his first match since dropping the World Heavyweight Championship to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 42.

Interestingly, Punk had hinted that a title opportunity could appear when least expected during the Raw after WrestleMania, when he confronted Cody Rhodes, making his championship victory feel like a payoff to that earlier tease.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by CM Punk (@cmpunk)