World Heavyweight Championship contender CM Punk was the recipient of a surprise attack from Roxanne Perez during a WWE Live Event in Manchester. While teaming with Sami Zayn and Penta against The Judgment Day, Perez interfered and hit Punk with her finisher, the Pop Rox. Dominik Mysterio followed up with a pin attempt, but Punk managed to kick out just before the three-count.
The unexpected interference occurs just days before Punk is scheduled to challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship at Clash in Paris. He will compete in a Fatal 4-Way match against champion Seth Rollins, LA Knight, and Jey Uso.
Tensions among the four competitors are already at a high point following the August 25th episode of RAW. The show concluded with Jey Uso delivering superkicks to both CM Punk and LA Knight after the three had briefly united to fend off an attack from Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker.
Punk’s path to the championship match has been turbulent. He originally won the World Heavyweight Championship from Gunther in the main event of Night 1 of SummerSlam earlier this month.
However, his celebration was cut short. Seth Rollins appeared, revealed his recent injury was a fabrication, and successfully cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to defeat the newly-crowned Punk and capture the title.