Just as CM Punk looks like he’s about to make a return to wrestling, Roman Reigns has had his say on the former five-time world champion.
BT Sport’s Ariel Helwani spoke to the current Universal Champion and asked what Reigns thought about the idea of part-timers coming back and stealing main event slots from the full-time talents on major pay-per-views for WWE.
Goldberg and, to a lesser extent, John Cena are doing exactly that this Saturday.
Reigns used CM Punk, who seems AEW bound, as an example as to why criticising those moves isn’t always totally sensible.
“I do think there’s that strange threshold, but those statements are coming from bitter people who possibly thought that they were better than they really were…
“CM Punk was not as good or as over as John Cena and he wasn’t as good or as over or moved the needle, like The Rock [did]. It just was what it was. From a full-time performer, I understand the frustration and wanting more but like I said before, you gotta take it.”
Punk isn’t the only one who voiced his frustration at part-timers securing top sports down the years, but it’s interesting that Reigns has chosen him to target.
Cena spent nearly 15 years on top of WWE and as of next year, has been on WWE TV for 20 years. His work ethic and ability to be the cornerstone of the company – during CM Punk’s run it’s worth noting – has led many to consider him as one of the greatest ever.
The Rock, who actually won his tenth and last world title from CM Punk and is also Reigns’ real-life cousin, is another man it’s hard to compare against.
The Great One is now one of the biggest stars in Hollywood after being named the highest-earning actor for the past two years. During his time in WWE, he helped WWE do some of their greatest business ever in an era with Stone Cold Steve Austin as his main rival. WWE has never seen higher heights.
It’s no real slight to say Punk wasn’t as influential as them, but there is no downplaying Punk’s popularity. During the summer of Punk in 2011 and his 420-day WWE title run, the Chicago-native had a ton of memorable moments and matches and developed a cult following.
Another interesting bit of context here is CM Punk was the one who originally pitched for The Shield to debut in WWE. That’s how Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose (now Jon Moxley in AEW) and indeed Reigns got their big break in WWE.