CM Punk telling Cody Rhodes “nobody can touch me, not even Dusty’s kid” is the meanest thing anybody’s said on WWE television all summer, and it’s the reason I actually care who’s champion when the bell rings in Minneapolis.
That line landed last Friday on SmackDown from Oakland, during the face-to-face where Punk shoved the mic into Rhodes’ chest and just kept talking. This isn’t a new habit. Punk already shoved Rhodes on the Kickoff stage earlier this summer, so the physical part wasn’t the shock in Oakland. The shock was that he looked at the son of a WWE Hall of Famer and told him his own name was borrowed.
My grandmother, who still has strong opinions about Napoli’s transfer window, would call that a below-the-belt shot. She’d also be delighted.
Punk isn’t attacking Rhodes’ work rate or his title reign, the parts that are actually his. He’s going after the parts Rhodes didn’t earn: the last name, the “finish the story” mythology, the inherited spot at the top of the card. Calling him Dusty’s kid packs Punk’s whole argument for why he still deserves to be champion into two words.
Punk’s betting that underneath the polish, Rhodes is still riding a family name into the main event.
Oakland agreed with him.
WWE has spent two years building Rhodes as the clean-cut babyface who finished the story, and the crowd gave the villain the better pop anyway. Punk got the warmer reaction in the building. The guy calling Rhodes a nepo baby to his face got cheered louder than the guy WWE keeps insisting is the franchise cornerstone. The go-home shows don’t want you thinking about that, but the building already told you.
Punk didn’t stop at the insult either. He told Rhodes he’d break his heart in Minneapolis, a specific, ugly little promise for a guy who’s spent his career specializing in specific, ugly little promises. Rhodes fired back the only way he really could, calling for his own entrance music early and saying that’s what plays when he wins his fourth Undisputed WWE Championship.
Fine answer. Not the same register as “not even Dusty’s kid.”
WWE aired the whole exchange themselves, which tells you they know exactly how good it was:
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/2080825445830762646
To be fair, momentum swung the other way the week before, at Saturday Night’s Main Event, when Punk appeared to accidentally clip Rhodes with the title belt during a tag match. That’s the type of moment that can turn a crowd on the guy holding the belt regardless of intent. Oakland cheering for Punk anyway, one segment later, says the crowd wasn’t punishing him for it. If anything, it made the “Dusty’s kid” line land harder, because Punk walked back into that building and got the reaction he wanted despite it.
Tonight’s SmackDown streams live from Green Bay with one more face-to-face before Rhodes defends the succession argument WWE still hasn’t settled against Punk this weekend. Whatever they say tonight, they’re not topping Oakland. Punk already said the quiet part and the building already told WWE which guy it believes. SummerSlam runs August 1-2 at U.S. Bank Stadium, and Punk is walking in as champion with a two-word insult still hanging in the air.
I’ve watched the Oakland clip more times than I want to admit, mostly because Rhodes’ face barely moves when Punk says it. That’s either great composure or a guy who’s heard the “nepo baby” thing enough times that it doesn’t land anymore. Either way, I want Saturday night to happen right now.
