50 Greatest WWE Raw Moments Ever
15. Cody Vs Punk 1 (January 22nd, 2024)
A masterclass of salesmanship from two of the best orators in the history of the game, the back-and-forth between Royal Rumble combatants Cody Rhodes and CM Punk days ahead of the battle royal they were both set to enter was multifariously exhilarating.
The two of them coming together at all was an optics win for WWE over AEW; the company that famously promoted both as the biggest deals on the roster, before infamously having no choice but to watch them turn up on the other side, star power very much in tact. But what they actually said nose-to-nose simultaneously exceeded and completely subverted expectations.
CM Punk invoked Dusty Rhodes, not to pick at Cody like a run-of-the-mill rival but to share his own tale with 'The Dream'; one that found a Father asking Punk to watch over his son. Cody bristled at points, though avoided snapping at the possible condescension to remind Punk that he'd become his own man to such an extent that the 'Best In The World' was not going to be good enough to win the 30-man match.
Punk obviously disagreed, and noted how he had fight and determination Rhodes simply couldn't understand, having been born into the business. He commented that he was more "American Dream" than the Grandson of a plumber could ever hope to be. Rhodes absorbed it, knowing what he had in the chamber in response as a just-in-case. He brought up the "Pipe Bomb", Punk's failure to rebuild anew in the blast, and the fact that he did it instead. He was more CM Punk than CM Punk! Punk had his own rebuttal left - the "CM Punk Road To WrestleMania", in which he spun his own frustrating years being overlooked for top spot into something Cody would now have to endure because of him. Rhodes - as he was forced to do for two years until he "finished the story" - didn't flinch. He backed himself, and ultimately backed his words up in the end.
Dream promo work for a dream match, and not one that was technically even booked. The sublime sequel (elsewhere in this article) one year larer zoomed in on belts, prizes and WWE-centric motivation. That was an electrifying product of the moment; this was a necessary meeting of two of the era's sharpest minds