Punk keeps hold of the gold

Kane dashes Batista's hopes of reclaiming the title

Last updated: 21st July 2008

WWE Smackdown CM Punk Chuck Palumbo

CM Punk: Successful defence

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A Kane-enforced double-disqualification wrecked Batista's chances of snatching the World Heavyweight title away from CM Punk at the Great American Bash.

After earning the right to face the Straightedge Superstar, The Animal looked well set to reacquaint himself with the gold until The Big Red Machine wreaked havoc.

An evenly contested fight hung in the balance until suddenly, CM Punk and Batista's battle for supremacy was overshadowed by a burlap sack bearing monster in the Nassau Coliseum.

Deliberate and devastating, the seven-foot menace known as Kane brought an unruly ending to a hotly contested bout between two recent Raw draftees, laying both men out.

For weeks, Raw's tormented monster has stalked the Monday night brand in search of answers to mysterious, twisted questions that none seem able to answer.

Spouting his incoherent and puzzling mutterings - "Is he dead or is he alive?" - WWE's own towering inferno continued his crazed assault on a defenseless production crew member.