After spending months – literally – screwing Drew McIntyre out of every single chance he's had to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, CM Punk would finally get his first-ever singles match against the “Scottish Warrior” in the fifth match on a loaded SummerSlam card, even if he had to have Seth Rollins serve as the bout's guest referee to make sure everything remained legal.
Finally, after months of Peter Pan-style mischief, Punk would get to show McIntyre why he's called the “Best in the World” and definitely secure his first televised singles win as a member of the WWE Universe in over a decade, dating back to an eight-minute win over Billy Gunn on Monday Night RAW back in January of 2014.
And yet, as the match progressed, the contest really wasn't about Punk securing a win over McIntyre, but instead the “Second City Saint” looking for revenge following his foe stealing a Larry and AJ Lee friendship bracelet off his person at a show in Chicago earlier this summer, which apparently is a priceless totem more important to the former WWE Champion than even the win.
After finally taking the bracelet off of McIntyre, Punk was gearing up to hit his signature maneuver, the Go To Sleep, but ultimately ended up putting his foe down when he noticed that Rollins had the bracelet around his waist, a decision the “Revolutionary” declared was to simply keep it safe. As the duo verbally sparred in the center of the ring, Punk had had enough, and dropped Rollins with the GTS to both take out the referee and also free things up to deliver even more punishment to McIntyre.
Unfortunately, this was just the opening the “Scottish Warrior” needed, and with Punk's mind elsewhere, McIntyre hit a low blow then the Claymore to ice out his opponent and secure the 1-2-3 in the slowest three count Rollins, or any referee, has called in some time.
McIntyre left the match with his hand raised, somehow was able to retain the Larry AJ friendship bracelet, and ultimately made CM Punk look… old, as he sold injuries for the first half of the match and just looked fatigued for the back half of the proceedings. If Punk was a heel, this would have been a textbook feud finisher, but because McIntyre is a babyface, this leaves more questions than answers, as it was heelish hubris, not the “Scottish Warrior” that slayed “The Best.”
Seth Rollins didn't want to interfere with Damian Priest and CM Punk
When news broke that Rollins was going to be the special guest referee at SummerSlam in the show's only non-title match, with the bout being run under “Rollins Rules,” whatever that means, fans had a feeling that the “Visionary” would get involved in the match one way or another.
Sure, referees aren't allowed to physically interact with in-ring stars, but almost 30 years ago, Shawn Michaels got to be a special referee in a match between Bret Hart and The Undertaker at SummerSlam, and considering Rollins is widely considered the modern-day HBK, it felt like only a matter of time before he threw a chair or a Superkick at “The Hitman's” biggest fan or the “Scottish Warrior.”
And yet, in a special appearance on ESPN, Rollins let it be known that because he doesn't like either man, he should be able to work as an impartial referee.
“I can because I hate them both equally. I want them both to suffer the exact same amount, so I'm gonna do my best to work that out,” Rollins explained via Fightful. “It's gonna be up to them, who's gonna pin, who's gonna make who tap out. We'll get to all that. I'm gonna make sure they beat the crap out of each other.”
Asked if he would be down to interfere with the match, Rollins said no, he didn't want to, which isn't really a no but is more of a hopefully not.
“I hope not. The goal is not to be. You gotta understand, the reason I'm in this position is because neither Drew nor Punk could contain themselves in the lead-up to this. There was too much going on,” Rollins noted. “No referee wanted to be a part of it. The match wasn't gonna get sanctioned until I stepped in and said, ‘Hey, I can throw on the ref shirt. I can give it a shot.' I've never done it. First time in my career. I've never at any level been a special guest referee, so I'm very excited to see what it's gonna be like out there.”
Ultimately, Rollins did get involved in the outcome of the match but only slightly, looking more like Red Shoes Unno than CM Punk at Clash at the Castle. Still, after being laid out with a GTS, Rollins held surprising composure in counting the final 1-2-3, even if he ran out of the ring afterward while looking visibly upset with how things shook out.
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