In the closing moments of Monday's Raw, CM Punk and Cody Rhodes electrified the fans, captivating them with a verbal exchange that was among the best things the company has done creatively in this young 2025.

Punk warned Rhodes that it was he, his friend, who was coming for the Undisputed WWE Championship after winning the men's Royal Rumble match this Saturday in Indianapolis and that he would stab him in the front instead of the back, like The American Nightmare's other so-called "friends."

Despite the clear setup for a WrestleMania main event and a social media response that suggested fans are ready to see that matchup on the grandest stage, the WWE Universe should not fall for this red herring.

Other Directions

As far back as SmackDown before Survivor Series: WarGames, Punk and Roman Reigns have laid the groundwork for a rivalry that should culminate in a high-profile main event, possibly at WrestleMania 41.

While there is still potential for The Original Tribal Chief to be busy with The Rock in Las Vegas come April 19-20, the Punk-Reigns match generated incredible social media interest, including 1.4 million views on YouTube for their face-to-face confrontation and 6.8 million for a YouTube short of their interaction during the men's WarGames match.

If Rock is unavailable and that dream match with The OTC is off the table, the biggest and most logical match-up available to WWE for its signature event is the battle between "Paul Heyman guys."

Also available for The Best in the World is a date with world heavyweight champion Gunther.

The Straight Edge Superstar gave his hometown fans in Chicago a taste of what that match may look like during the recent WWE Holiday Tour. He has also called out The Ring General before. The question is whether the company hierarchy believes the match is big enough to warrant top billing on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

For Rhodes, there are several directions to go in, including a match with The Rock, with whom he planted the seeds for a contest on the Raw after last year's WrestleMania.

If that does not come to fruition, an Undisputed WWE Championship match against John Cena is another option.

With The GOAT embarking on his retirement tour, he will seek a historic 17th world title. What better match to build the biggest show around than a battle between the heroic babyface of the previous era and this era's answer to him?

Punk laid out his reasoning for targeting Rhodes on Raw, and the company could easily build around that coming out of Saturday's show.

Still, there is a precedent for not buying into the tense confrontation from this week's Netflix broadcast that dates back to last year's go-home episode before the Royal Rumble.

We Have Seen This Before

One year ago, on the final Raw before the Rumble, Punk and Rhodes had a tense confrontation in which the former talked about the late Dusty Rhodes and claimed he was a better representative of the American Dream than Cody.

It ended with the competitors face-to-face, each jockeying for a WrestleMania main event and claiming to win the 2024 men's Royal Rumble.

While the first faceoff featured two men chasing the same goal, and the latest saw Punk looking to take the WWE title that Rhodes won via his Rumble victory a year ago, it is still not indicative of an impending showdown for the top prize in professional wrestling.

After all, they were a huge part of that go-home show in 2024, with no evidence or expectation that a clash between them was ever on the horizon.

Monday's confrontation also served as a reminder from Punk to Rhodes that he is burning the candle at both ends, leading to him losing the title, regardless of whether it's The Best in the World or another challenger.

It also put Punk in a position to "keep up," as Rhodes noted. The Second City Saint has been sidelined by personal vendettas with Drew McIntyre and Seth Rollins since returning to the ring, keeping him out of title contention and taking his focus off of his end goal of capturing a championship.

Will history repeat itself in the form of a program with Reigns that prevents Punk from standing tall on the WrestleMania stage, with a championship held high overhead? It very well could.

There is undoubtedly money to be made from a Punk-Rhodes matchup. Their two verbal encounters have been electric and left fans genuinely intrigued by what a program between the two of them may look like.

As was the case a year ago, though, their most recent altercation felt more like WWE farming for a reaction while ensuring this year's men's Rumble is the most unpredictable of all time rather than an honest attempt to highlight the feud that will main-event WrestleMania 41.

If not, and the pair do battle inside Allegiant Stadium in April, great. They have earned that spot and provided proof of their ability to captivate the audience.

For now, though, it feels like a preview of things still to come rather than a match that is in immediate plans for this upcoming Road to WrestleMania.