CM Punk Thwarts Drew McIntyre Cash-In, Damian Priest Retains World Title At WWE MITB

Ninety days after he cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and became WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Damien Priest sought to defend his title against the man who held it first: Seth "Freakin'" Rollins. By the time the dust cleared, however, Drew McIntyre was laid out on the ground, now briefcase-less; Priest was walking out with his title, and Rollins was hurling insult after insult towards the man on the announce desk, CM Punk.

In the opening tides of this match, Priest and Rollins were gridlocked. For every punch Priest threw, Rollins had a new springboard move to answer. Throughout the entire match, however, the threat of McIntyre — the then-Mr. Money in the Bank — loomed over the two men, and Priest hesitated on his offense more than once to nervously exchange glances with the ramp.

In the match's final act, Rollins landed a Falcon Arrow on Priest. For a moment, it seemed as if McIntyre had no intentions of a same-night cash-in after all. Priest weakly kicked out of Rollins' offense, but any controversy around the referee's call was dashed when McIntyre's music blared through Scotiabank Arena's speakers. McIntyre marched down the ramp to cash in his Money in the Bank contract, and the match was made into a triple threat.

Rollins and McIntyre locked up nearly immediately in a rehash of their WrestleMania bout. Rollins attempted to deliver the Stomp, but McIntyre answered with a Future Shock DDT. The following Claymore attempt was interrupted by a clothesline from Priest, and just as McIntyre resurfaced, Toronto went wild for a returning CM Punk. Punk drove McIntyre out of the ring and beat the Scot out of the ring — the match was not stopped, as Triple Threat matches are no-disqualification bouts by default. McIntyre retreated back into the ropes. Punk followed, but not before taking the WWE World Heavyweight Championship title to strike McIntyre with. Priest capitalized on the interference to pin McIntyre and retain the title.

The segment closed with Corey Graves doing his best to hold back an irate Rollins, who wasted no time in verbally targeting Punk. Punk merely sat, satisfied with his work, with a sleeve on his tricep.

With this interference, Punk simultaneously continued his rivalry with McIntyre, and seemingly revived his old feud with Rollins. Rollins and Punk were originally supposed to headline WrestleMania 40, before Punk was taken out with a triceps injury at Royal Rumble 2024. As of writing, there is currently no information as to Punk's immediate plans, and whether he intends to deal with McIntyre and Rollins simultaneously.