CM Punk Went OFF-SCRIPT With 18+ Line On Sami Zayn (WWE News)

Non-PG CM Punk line was NOT included in WWE's internal rundown.

Sep 14, 2026 September 14th, 2026

While Sami Zayn defeating CM Punk for the WWE Championship was the biggest story coming out of last week's SmackDown, one other thing that caught the attention of many was a particular non-PG line from Punk during a backstage interview.

When talking about the various people gunning to take the WWE Title from him, the Second City Saint referred to Sami Zayn as "a guy who broke his hand jerking it to his nine-day fluke title win" - referencing Zayn's ongoing hand injury and his previous short stint as the WWE Champion that was brought to an end by Punk.

Via Fightful Select, the Chicago native's "jerking it" line was not listed on WWE's internal rundown for SmackDown, suggesting this was something Punker said on the fly.

For those who missed SmackDown, Sami Zayn shocked the wrestling world by walking out of Mexico City with the WWE Championship, though it was far from a clean win for the Underdog from the Underground. First up, it was Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae getting involved to try and lend a helping hand to Sami, but that would end up with a GTS to Johnny. After that, Kevin Owens would arrive on the scene, grabbing the WWE Championship and taking a swing at Zayn, only to accidentally hit Punk. As KO then went to level Sami with that belt, his long-time best friend-turned-mortal-enemy hit Owens with a low blow before then landing a Helluva Kick on CM Punk for the 1-2-3.

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Andrew Pollard

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer and Presenter, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.

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