WWE Rumors on CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre, Cody Rhodes vs. Solo and Stars Cursing on TV

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

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Reported Reason for Punk's Booking at Bash in Berlin

CM Punk scored a decisive victory over Drew McIntyre in a strap match at Bash in Berlin last weekend, and WWE reportedly made a concerted effort to make him look strong in the win.

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), the booking of the strap match had a lot to do with the fact that Punk was still in search of his first big win since returning to WWE.

Punk made his return at Survivor Series back in November, and he got injured during his first televised match, which was the 2024 men's Royal Rumble match. Punk then lost his first match back from injury against McIntyre at SummerSlam.

Per Meltzer, WWE "felt [Punk] needed a massive win because he's a massive star," which explains why he hit McIntyre with the GTS four times en route to victory at Bash in Berlin.

Meltzer also noted that WWE knew McIntyre would be fine losing in that fashion since it had a plan in place to give him some momentum back.

That played out Monday night on Raw, as McIntyre brutally attacked Punk and left him with a bloody mouth. McIntyre also took back the bracelet featuring the names of Punk's wife and dog, and destroyed it.

Punk insisted he was done with McIntyre after beating him at Bash in Berlin, but the Scottish Warrior made it clear their rivalry was far from over.

Given the fact that they have one win each against each other and because of the personal nature of their feud, all signs point toward them potentially settling things inside Hell in a Cell at Bad Blood next month.

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WWE Reportedly Planning Rhodes vs. Sikoa Rematch

WWE is teasing a WWE Championship rematch between Cody Rhodes and Solo Sikoa, but it reportedly may not happen when most are expecting it to.

According to Meltzer (h/t Mukherjee), another Rhodes vs. Sikoa match is in the works, however, it is not scheduled to occur next month at the Bad Blood premium live event.

After Rhodes beat Kevin Owens to retain the undisputed WWE Championship at Bash in Berlin, the commentary team immediately began talking about the expectation that Rhodes would face Sikoa next.

Rhodes and Sikoa clashed in the main event of SummerSlam, but Roman Reigns interfered and helped Cody win as payback against Solo for taking over as Tribal Chief of The Bloodline during his absence.

With help from Jacob Fatu, Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa, Sikoa attacked Reigns on a subsequent episode of SmackDown and put him on the shelf.

Meltzer noted that while it is not 100 percent confirmed when Rhodes vs. Sikoa will happen, he "wouldn't be surprised" if it is booked for the first episode of SmackDown on USA Network.

This week marks the final SmackDown on Fox, and it will transition to USA Network starting on Sept. 13.

WWE would undoubtedly love to have a big main event to promote for that show, plus it could likely draw even more viewership with the insinuation that Reigns may return on that episode to get revenge against Sikoa again.

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WWE Wrestlers Reportedly Told to Be Mindful of Cursing

WWE leadership reportedly held a meeting Monday with a focus on reminding Superstars to be careful with their use of language.

According to PWInsider.com (h/t Wrestle Ops), WWE talent was told to be "mindful" of cursing while on camera due to the fact that WWE is still presenting a TV-PG product.

Since former longtime WWE chairman, CEO and head of creative Vince McMahon resigned from the company in January amid allegations of sexual misconduct and sexual assault in a lawsuit, WWE has clearly gotten a bit more relaxed with its content.

For years, there was a strict ban on the use of blood unless it happened accidentally, but new head of creative Triple H has used blood in certain scenarios to enhance stories.

Also, there have been more adult themes at times than in the past, but for the most part, WWE has refrained from having its talents use vulgar language in promos.

There are exceptions to the rule, though, with The Rock being the most obvious one, as he dropped his fair share of F-bombs during his feud with Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins leading up to WrestleMania 40.

WWE was able to censor The Rock, but most of his swearing occurred in promos he cut on social media rather than the ones he cut on Raw or SmackDown.

There is a great deal of intrigue surrounding whether WWE will loosen the reins even more once Raw moves from USA Network to Netflix in January, but as of now, WWE still wants to appeal to a family audience.

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