On July 23, at "Raw 1000", the Rock announced he would wrestle for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. During the show, he encountered then-reigning WWE Champion CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, and John Cena, all of whom expressed a desire to face him. The Rock later saved Cena from an assault by Big Show, only to be laid out by CM Punk. On the January 7, 2013 episode of "Raw", the Rock returned to confront his Rumble opponent CM Punk. On January 11, he made his first "SmackDown" appearance in ten years, getting into an altercation with Team Rhodes Scholars, resulting in him delivering a "Rock Bottom" to Damien Sandow and a "People's Elbow" to Cody Rhodes. The Rock closed out the 20th-anniversary episode of "Raw", on January 14, with one of his "Rock Concerts", leading to a brawl with CM Punk. The following week on "Raw", the Rock was attacked by The Shield. Vince McMahon then asserted that if The Shield attacked the Rock in his title match with CM Punk, Punk would be stripped of the WWE Championship.