CM Punk returns on Raw, wins the WWE Championship from Sami Zayn

CM Punk’s hiatus from WWE is officially over after he returned to Raw last night and surprisingly – or not – won the WWE Championship from Sami Zayn.

The advertised match between Zayn and Cody Rhodes never took place, with WWE pulling the classic bait-and-switch by having Gunther attacking Rhodes in the opening segment of the show, causing an injury and making him ineligible for the match as doctors wouldn’t clear him.

Both the Raw and Smackdown General Managers confirmed that a title match will happen regardless, with the challenger not revealed until it was time for the main event.

With Zayn in the ring and loud chants of “CM Punk” ringing inside the Allstate Arena, the cameras cut to backstage where a shutter door started rising, revealing Punk in his ring gear ready to go.

Punk won the match with the Helluva Kick and a GTS, and then exited the ring, sat on the security wall, blew a kiss to the camera, and vanished through the crowd, the same thing he did when he beat John Cena at Money In The Bank in 2011.

Zayn’s title reign lasted a whopping nine days, with zero successful title defenses.

This is Punk’s first run with the WWE title since 2013.