Undertaker Denies CM Punk Rumors; Cody Rhodes Talks The Rock 'Hate'; Dijak Contract | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

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

Undertaker Explains History with CM Punk

Speaking this week during a Q&A session on his Six Feet Under with Mark Calaway Patreon page, The Undertaker addressed rumors of heat between himself and CM Punk.

During the conversation (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), Taker brought up his match against Punk at WrestleMania 29 and denied that it created any issues between them:

"I guess, you know, he thought he should have been the main event when we worked [at WrestleMania] against somebody else, not against me. Then, when he works with me, I'm not sure if he thought that he should have went over, but I mean he's got confidence in himself, so I don't—working wise, I mean, perfect, and that's all I care about.

"At the end of the day, you don't have to like me. You don't have to be best friends, but somehow or another, it all got blown out of proportion that like, 'Undertaker hates CM Punk.' No, I don't. I try not to give people the power of hate."

As The Undertaker referenced, Punk was vocal in the past about the fact that he wanted to headline WrestleMania 29.

However, The Rock beat Punk for the WWE Championship and ended his 434-day title reign at Royal Rumble that year, setting the stage for The Rock vs. John Cena II in the WrestleMania 29 main event.

That left Punk without a clear opponent, but he was placed into a feud with The Undertaker, which led to their encounter on the Grandest Stage of Them All.

Although it wasn't the main event, The Deadman's WrestleMania winning streak was still intact, so it was a huge match nonetheless. Also, most would likely agree with the notion that Taker and Punk had great in-ring chemistry and put on the match of the night.

The Undertaker's comments don't make it sound as though he and Punk are close friends, but it doesn't appear he is harboring any ill will toward The Best in the World either.

Cody Rhodes Talks Relationship with The Rock

On the heels of his encounters with The Rock at and leading up to WrestleMania 40, undisputed WWE champion Cody Rhodes talked about his relationship with The Final Boss.

During an interview on the Cheap Heat podcast (beginning at the 6:30 mark), Cody was asked about The Rock, what their relationship was like before the WrestleMania storyline and where they stand now:

Rhodes suggested that while he doesn't know exactly what The Rock thinks of him, he wouldn't blame him if his feelings were less than favorable, saying: "If he hated me, I would fully understand. I derailed one plan, created another plan, but The Final Boss is certainly a welcome addition to WWE."

The American Nightmare was referencing the notion that WWE seemed to be building toward a match between The Rock and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40, only to reverse course when fans voiced their displeasure and threw their support behind Rhodes.

WWE ultimately settled on a tag team match pitting Rhodes and Seth Rollins against The Rock and Roman Reigns in the main event of Night 1, followed by Rhodes vs. Reigns for the undisputed WWE Championship in the main event of Night 2.

Rhodes beat Reigns for the title, but on Night 1, The Rock pinned Rhodes, perhaps setting the stage for a future match between them.

The Rock vs. Rhodes in a major singles match likely wouldn't have been viewed as a match fans were clamoring for in the not-too-distant past, but things changed on the road to WrestleMania.

Rhodes and The Rock had excellent chemistry during the build, and it can be argued that their rivalry actually overshadowed Rhodes vs. Reigns.

Cody suggested that The Rock wasn't overly familiar with him before his latest run and may not have realized the type of connection he has with the fans, but that likely changed once The Rock got a firsthand look.

The Rock vowed to go after Rhodes once he returns, and all signs point toward them locking horns at some point over the next year.

Dijak Reportedly Hasn't Yet Signed New WWE Contract

Since going back to NXT in 2022, Dijak has enjoyed a career renaissance, but his future with WWE reportedly remains somewhat unsettled.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), Dijak hasn't yet signed a new contract with WWE, although Dijak and WWE are optimistic about getting a deal done eventually.

It was previously reported by Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp that Dijak's WWE contract is set to expire in June 2024.

Dijak arrived in WWE in 2017, initially wrestling under the name Dominik Dijakovic. While he didn't win a title, he had many memorable matches, including a series against Keith Lee.

In 2020, Dijak was called up to the main roster as part of the ill-fated Retribution stable and renamed T-Bar. Retribution never gained traction and soon became an afterthought, but Dijak gained new life when he was sent back to NXT two years ago.

Dijak completely revamped his character and went on to have several more in-ring classics, including memorable encounters with Ilja Dragunov.

More recently, Dijak has become a beloved figure on X thanks to his penchant for "ratioing" his detractors.

Fightful noted that WWE is happy with Dijak's social media presence and that he has plenty of support within the company from head of creative Triple H and head of NXT Shawn Michaels.

Dijak was called up to Raw on Monday as part of the WWE draft, which suggests WWE may have some long-term plans in place and a desire to get him re-signed.

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