CM Punk, Kevin Owens tell their story without naming names

The CM Punk vs. Kevin Owens WWE championship match was made for Aug. 21 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and that meant they only had one more week to build to it on Friday Night SmackDown. So they booked another face-to-face between the two. Maybe they would talk the same shit to each other on mic that they did off mic last week? "You chose to berate me, insult me, and scream at me in a locker room full of my peers." 😳@FightOwensFight on his history with @CMPunk. pic.twitter.com/6snc1IcnHL — WWE (@WWE) August 15, 2026 They referenced that right away, calling back to it in a clever enough way. Then they got to the meat and potatoes of the whole issue, the root of the problem they have with each other. Owens brought up their history in Ring of Honor, which kickstarted the problem, and then said something about how he’s treated his friends. Punk asked him to name those friends. They were very clearly talking about The Elite here, and Owens copped to that by saying it wasn’t just those t