There is still no clear number one contender for CM Punk’s WWE Championship after Sami Zayn once again caused chaos on SmackDown.

Friday night’s main event was supposed to settle the championship picture, with Kevin Owens, Finn Balor and Gunther meeting in a triple threat match to determine who would challenge Punk next.

Instead, Zayn made sure there would be no winner.

An angry Zayn stormed to ringside during the match and dragged Balor out of the ring, bringing the contest to a halt as the situation quickly spiralled out of control.

Punk then arrived and went straight after Zayn, throwing him around before the fight moved towards the ring. Owens soon turned his attention to Punk, leading to another brawl between the champion and his recent challenger.

With everyone distracted, Zayn spotted his opportunity.

He grabbed Punk’s WWE Championship and used it to strike Punk, Owens, Balor and Gunther. SmackDown then went off the air with Zayn standing tall and holding a championship he clearly believes he deserves the opportunity to fight for.

It was the second consecutive week that Zayn had taken matters into his own hands.

Last week, Zayn interfered in Punk’s WWE Championship defence against Owens after becoming increasingly frustrated that he had not received a title opportunity.

Zayn initially appeared to be helping Owens and handed him the WWE Championship to use as a weapon against Punk. Owens refused, prompting Zayn to take matters into his own hands and strike Owens with the title instead.

That allowed Punk to pin Owens and retain his championship.

Zayn was far from finished. After the match, he attacked Punk before hitting Owens with the championship once again, closing the show having made his feelings about the WWE title picture very clear.

This week’s SmackDown began with Owens addressing what happened. He said he would deal with Zayn in his own time, but his immediate focus was earning another opportunity against Punk.

Gunther and Balor soon joined the discussion, with both men wanting their own chance at the championship.

That resulted in the triple threat number one contender’s match being booked for the main event.

However, thanks to Zayn, WWE is no closer to finding Punk’s next challenger.

The bigger question now may be how much longer Zayn can be kept away from the WWE Championship picture.

Amidst all the CHAOS, Sami Zayn stands tall! 😱@SamiZayn is willing to do whatever it takes to be WWE Champion AGAIN! pic.twitter.com/yeck5bj5YW

, WWE (@WWE) August 29, 2026

What do you think should happen next? Should Sami Zayn receive a WWE Championship opportunity, or should Owens, Balor and Gunther get another chance to determine the number one contender? Let us know in the comments.