Highlights
- CM Punk and Seth Rollins have a rivalry in WWE and are rumored to face off at Royal Rumble.
- Roman Reigns has animosity towards CM Punk and didn't initially want him in The Shield.
- WWE is reportedly planning a match between Roman Reigns and CM Punk, which could be a dream match for fans.
Ever since CM Punk returned to WWE, Seth Rollins has been putting him down for one reason or another. That’s because WWE is building a rivalry between them, and they’re rumored to square off at Royal Rumble next year. Another top wrestler in WWE who doesn’t like CM Punk is the current Universal Champion, Roman Reigns.
Both wrestlers have a history, and while they’ve never feuded online, there’s some animosity between them. Reigns has talked about Punk before and didn’t have good things to say about him. Which begs the question, what exactly is their beef all about?
CM Punk's Heated History With Seth Rollins, Explained
Seth Rollins wasn't happy to see CM Punk at Survivor Series, but WWE's World Heavyweight Champion and Punk have verbally sparred many times.Roman Reigns Wasn't In CM Punk's Idea Of The Shield
CM Punk Wanted Chris Hero Instead
- CM Punk Left WWE In 2014
- Wrestled Roman Reigns On Raw And Won
- Roman Reigns Vs CM Punk Is A Dream Match For Fans
Roman Reigns’ first main roster appearance happened as part of The Shield when he debuted at Survivor Series 2012. He and his Shield brothers interfered during the main event, which was between CM Punk, Ryback, and John Cena for the WWE Championship. This allowed the Straight Edge Superstar to retain his championship at the show, and it was later revealed that Punk had hired the trio to help him win his matches.
Even behind the scenes, The Shield was Punk’s idea. However, there was one major difference: he wanted Chris Hero to play Roman Reigns’ role in the group, but WWE wanted otherwise. On Colt Cabana’s Art of Wrestling podcast, Punk said:
"They wanted Roman Reigns. They came to me and they were like 'what about Leakee?' I didn't... it wasn't my hill to die on. I said 'sure' because it made sense to me. Oh, they want their guy in, he's the pretty guy, but that's good because this guy can learn from working under me."
As it would later turn out, this podcast episode likely caused most of the issues between Roman Reigns and CM Punk.
10 Things You Never Knew About The Shield's Debut
Want to learn about how The Hounds of Justice came to be in WWE? Here's 10 things you didn't know about The Shield's WWE debut!Roman Reigns Said That CM Punk Made His Job A Lot Harder
CM Punk Commented On Roman Reigns' Push On A Podcast
Around 2013, CM Punk started feuding with The Shield, and at TLC, he faced them in a 3-on-1 handicap match as well. Punk talked about this on the Art of Wrestling podcast, and said that WWE stressed to him that he had to make Roman Reigns look strong. Punk asked why not just let him win if making Reigns look strong was the plan, but he was told that Vince wanted him to get over and he did. But every once in a while, someone would come up to Punk and remind him that he had to make The Big Dog look strong in the match. At one point, he got sick and tired of hearing it.
"So while we're putting the match together, every two minutes somebody new is coming up to me. 'Hey, you've gotta make him look really strong.' So I got so sick of Michael Hayes, and everybody else coming up to me, people who weren't even involved in the match 'hey, you're making him look really strong, right?' And I finally said 'you know what? You know what would make them look really strong? If they beat me.' Because three guys can't beat one guy. That's f**king dumb. 'But no, Vince wants you to go over.' 'Okay.' 'But you gotta make 'em look...' 'God damn it! I f**king get it! I know how to do the job, shut the f**k up." (h/t Cagesideseats )
After this, people started making “make Roman look strong” memes and on the Loaded Management podcast some years back, Reigns said that this “made my job a lot harder” and it’s likely why he doesn’t like Punk much. But despite his opinion on Punk, Reigns has said that he’ll work with him if that’s what everyone wants.
Roman Reigns Vs CM Punk Is A Dream Match In WWE
WWE Is Reportedly Planning A Match Between CM Punk & Roman Reigns
A recent Sports Illustrated report says that WWE wants to do a Roman Reigns vs CM Punk match in the future. If Reigns meant what he said about working with Punk, then this will be a huge match. Right now, Roman Reigns is one of the biggest heels in the industry, so it’ll be interesting to see how they pit him against Punk. There’s a chance that he might even turn face again, but that’s pure speculation.
The point is, there are wrestlers like Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns and probably more in the back who don’t like Punk too much, but they’ll still work with him if the management asks them to. Punk’s been known as a controversial wrestler, and he doesn’t deny it, but he’s here in WWE now and if guys like Triple H and Punk himself are to be believed, he’s a different man. During his Raw promo, Punk said that he’s not here to make friends, but money. Roman Reigns vs CM Punk is money, and both wrestlers are probably aware of it. Punk has already mended his relationships with many wrestlers in WWE like Kofi Kingston, The Miz, and even Triple H so there’s no reason to believe that he can’t do the same with Reigns in the future as well.
