4 facts about CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre's SummerSlam match every WWE fan must know

CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre at SummerSlam 2024 will be one for the history books. WWE has been building towards this match for seven months, and in recent times the bitter rivalry has intensified to capture the imagination of fans.

Former World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins will be the Special Guest Referee to keep things in check at The Biggest Party of The Summer.

On this note, here are four facts that fans must know ahead of the epic battle between The Best in The World and The Scottish Warrior:

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#4. Several Hall of Famers have been guest referees at SummerSlam

Since the inception of SummerSlam in 1988, six WWE Hall of Famers have been Special Guest Referees at The Biggest Party of The Summer.

They are Jesse Ventura, Big Bossman, Sid Justice, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and Jeff Jarrett. Notably, The Game was the Special Guest Referee for the WWE Championship match between Daniel Bryan and John Cena at SummerSlam 2013.

After The American Dragon defeated The Franchise Player, Triple H famously turned on Bryan, allowing Randy Orton to cash in his MITB contract. The Cerebral Assassin also officiated another WWE Championship match involving John Cena during the 2011 edition.

#3. Seth Rollins will be the 10th wrestler to officiate a match at SummerSlam

Interestingly, Seth Rollins will be the 10th wrestler to play the role of a Special Guest Referee at the marquee PLE.

Overall, this will be the 11th instance where WWE will use a wrestler to officiate a high-profile match at The Biggest Party of The Summer. Notably, Triple H did the honors twice during his career.

#2. CM Punk worked another SummerSlam with a Special Guest Referee

CM Punk left the company after winning the WWE Championship during the summer of 2011, and WWE declared the title vacant. When John Cena became the new champion, The Second City Saint returned to dispute that victory.

As a result, WWE booked an Undisputed WWE Championship match between The Voice of The Voiceless and The Doctor of Thuganomics at SummerSlam 2011, with Triple H being the Special Guest Referee.

The Game wasn't fond of The Second City Saint at the time. However, Triple H officiated the match fair and square, as Punk pinned Cena to win the title. It will be interesting to see if Rollins does the same this weekend.

#1. CM Punk's first televised singles match for WWE in 10.5 years

CM Punk's last televised singles match in WWE was on the January 20, 2014, episode of Monday Night RAW, where he defeated Billy Gunn. Upon his return to WWE in 2023, The Straight Edge Superstar's first televised outing came at the Men's Royal Rumble Match in January 2024. Unfortunately, he tore his right triceps during the match and was consigned to the bench.

His forthcoming encounter with Drew McIntyre will be The Second City Saint's first televised WWE singles match in 10.5 years and his first SummerSlam match since 2013. He lost to Brock Lesnar in a No Disqualification Match at The Biggest Party of The Summer 11 years ago.

It will be interesting to see if Punk defeats McIntyre in Cleveland this weekend.

About the author

Shuvangi Sen Chaudhury is a pro wrestling journalist at Sporstkeeda, covering the biggest trends in the world of WWE and sports entertainment. She did her bachelor's at Royal Holloway, University of London, and has been an avid fan of various sports since childhood.

Shuvangi has over four years of experience creating content for football, cricket, and pro wrestling. She has worked for prominent news outlets like The Inquisitr and EssentiallySports. Focused on making her work reliable and accurate, Shuvangi sources information for her articles from credible sources like Cagematch and ProfightDB.

Shuvangi’s current favorite pro wrestler is Seth Rollins. She admires The Visionary for his remarkable reign with the World Heavyweight Championship between May 2023 and April 2024. She believes Rollins made the title relevant after its reintroduction by consistently defending it against a diverse set of opponents.

If allowed to rework a WWE storyline, Shuvangi would have featured Roman Reigns on weekly TV in a more prominent role leading up to his main event matches at WrestleMania XL. She believes The Tribal Chief was overshadowed by The Rock in The Bloodline-Cody Rhodes saga.

When not covering pro wrestling, Shuvangi loves to watch Formula One and cricket. She wants to try her hand at writing F1 content in the future.

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Edited by Yash Mittal