CM Punk Fuels Bayley Buzz, WWE Rumors on Original SummerSlam Card, Royce Keys Addresses Criticism

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

CM Punk Adds to Bayley Intrigue

CM Punk loves stirring the pot, and that's exactly what he did Saturday on social media. The undisputed WWE champion posted a photo of Bayley standing on the ramp as her entrance video played:

Bayley lost to Lyra Valkyria at Saturday Night's Main Event earlier this month. Between Valkyria's victory and post-match attack, it looked at the very least like a way to write Bayley off WWE programming for the time being.

"I mean, watching that show I thought it was a blowoff," Dave Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio (via Julien D'Alessandro of Wrestling Inc). The stuff that Lyra Valkyria has said since makes it sound like a blowoff. Maybe she's going to come back in two weeks and attack Lyra and keep the thing going."

Meltzer compared it to Bron Breakker's backstage assault on Ricochet during a June 2024 episode of Raw. That preceded Ricochet's exit from WWE but could've furthered a storyline if he had decided to stay with the company.

Bayley reportedly hasn't signed an extension with WWE, though nothing is confirmed about her future.

With the rumors flying, some might read Punk's post as akin to a goodbye message. He could just as easily be trolling everyone.

Ripley Injury Disrupted SummerSlam Plans

Rhea Ripley has been out of action since suffering a torn meniscus in early June, and the severity of the injury took her out of the picture for SummerSlam. WWE's creative team had to make multiple alterations to the card because of her absence.

An interim WWE Women's Championship will be up for grabs in a ladder match featuring Tiffany Stratton, Jade Cargill, Chelsea Green, Charlotte Flair and either Giulia or Lash Legend.

WrestleVotes Radio reported on Fightful Select (via Steve Carrier of Ringside News) that WWE was planning to have Flair and Cargill compete in a singles match. In addition, Stratton was supposed to defend the United States Championship against Blake Monroe, per Cory Hays of False Finish.

Of those impacted, Monroe suffered the worst fate.

The former AEW women's champion debuted on SmackDown by attacking Giulia, but she has yet to wrestle since making the move up from NXT. A SummerSlam bout and its accompanying build would've helped Monroe rebuild some momentum.

Instead, she has remained on the periphery for multiple more weeks.

Keys Discuss In-Ring Usage Since Move to WWE

Like Monroe, the buzz surrounding Royce Keys slowly dissipated following a move from AEW.

Keys debuted at the Royal Rumble and almost immediately disappeared, much to the consternation of fans who were excited to see him in a WWE ring.

In an interview with 107.7 The Bone, the powerful heavyweight explained how he was working hard at his craft despite not being featured on television.

"Once I debuted at the Rumble people were like 'where did he go?' I was on the road every single week opening up the shows," he said (via WrestleTalk). "Of course you're not gonna see dark matches unless you're in that city, but I was on the road, every single week, for about three months, doing dark matches, getting feedback, getting better.

"That's what I was doing, so I'm throwing that out there for anyone saying I was missing or, what's the word they used, I was buried or whatever the internet says, no, I was doing dark matches."

That time away from the spotlight appears to be paying off.

Keys won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal ahead of WrestleMania 42 in April and has since competed regularly on SmackDown. At SummerSlam, he's teaming with LA Knight and Solo Sikoa in a six-man tag against Jacob Fatu and The Usos.