Cody Rhodes And CM Punk Get Personal In WWE Raw Promo Segment Ahead Of Royal Rumble

Last week, CM Punk challenged Cody Rhodes to a face-off on "WWE Raw" via Instagram. Monday night, Punk and Rhodes met face-to-face on "Raw," literally.

After some niceties, Punk began the exchange with an anecdote about Rhodes' father, "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes. According to Punk, in 2007, Rhodes' father personally called Punk and asked him to watch over his son as he went through Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). Punk recalled watching over Rhodes' career before promising that, should the two of them come face-to-face in the Royal Rumble, he would be actively seeking Rhodes out to eliminate him.

Rhodes then spoke about his own quest to separate himself from his father, and reminisced on how Punk treated him "as a peer" in OVW. Before Rhodes can continue, Punk openly wondered if, come Sunday morning, the two of them would still be friends. There is no time to answer, as Punk got close to Rhodes' face, and inquired if Rhodes can separate business from personal, like he (Punk) is able to do.

Punk did not relent from attacking Rhodes' identity, claiming that he was more of an "American dream" story than Rhodes, who grew up in the industry with a famous father. Rhodes did not take Punk's personal jabs lightly, and retaliated by invoking Punk's infamous pipebomb promo. Rhodes discredited Punk's grit and called himself "more Punk" than Punk was.

Rhodes promised to move forward and especially through Punk, uncharacteristically shoving Punk as he attempted to exit the ring. In response, Punk pulled Rhodes back into an intense face-to-face. The New Orleans crowd alternated between chants of "Cody Rhodes" and "CM Punk" as both men stared at each other with scowls of contempt.

The Royal Rumble is slated for Saturday, January 27, with an 8pm EST start time.