Kevin Owens confronted by CM Punk after verbally abusing beloved WWE personality

Kevin Owens berated a beloved WWE personality, and CM Punk, of all people, came out. This is officially their first-ever meeting since Punk returned to WWE in 2023.

This week on SmackDown, Joe Tessitore opened the proceedings after Michael Cole introduced Pat McAfee. The 54-year-old was not to perform commentary duties for the night but to interview Kevin Owens and give him a fair shot at explaining himself. Last week, KO berated Tessitore and questioned his journalistic integrity.

Things got heated, and Owens told beloved personality Tessitore that he could take any apology and stuff it up his backside. CM Punk then confronted KO and explored the possibility of them headlining WrestleMania against each other.

Just like Sami Zayn told CM Punk that he wasn't a WrestleMania headliner, Kevin Owens did the same, adding that he himself was a two-time main eventer. Punk and Owens had a heated back-and-forth, where KO tried to walk away, but Punk called him back.

He then told KO that he doesn't need to headline WrestleMania to beat him down, clearly teasing a future match between them.

WWE did a fantastic job in building this future match-up. As you might know, KO and Punk have a shared history from their Ring of Honor days, where Punk, the then-locker room leader, berated Owens for wearing a T-shirt as his ring gear.