CM Punk and Roman Reigns story should have been told differently, WWE veteran says (Exclusive)
CM Punk joined forces with Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn, and The Usos at WWE Survivor Series: WarGames on November 30. Dutch Mantell, formerly known as Zeb Colter in WWE, believes the post-match in-ring segment should have been booked differently.
Punk and Reigns' team defeated Bronson Reed, Jacob Fatu, Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and Tonga Loa in a 42-minute WarGames match. During the bout, Punk and Reigns struggled to co-exist until The Best in the World saved The OTC from getting put through a table by Reed. After getting on the same page, Punk showed respect for Reigns by accepting his post-match handshake offer.
Mantell appeared on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk with Rick Ucchino and Sid Pullar III. He questioned why the WWE stars shook hands and explained how he would have told the story:
"I wouldn't have had Roman Reigns shake his hand," Mantell said. "Who offered a hand first? Roman? CM Punk should have just looked at him and [said], 'I'm not shaking your hand,' or one of them, because they're not attacking each other. They just don't like each other, and if one of them didn't shake the other's hand, now that's a story that can continue. 'Why didn't you do it?' 'Well, I didn't want to.' That's the best reason. 'I don't much like the guy. I'll team up with him. Don't mean I like him, though.'" [1:45 – 2:15]
Watch the video above to hear the panel speculate on what might happen next in the storyline.
Dutch Mantell on Paul Heyman's status with CM Punk and Roman Reigns
Before Survivor Series: WarGames, Roman Reigns' special counsel Paul Heyman surprisingly aligned with CM Punk again after 11 years. As part of a pre-match agreement, the former ECW owner now owes Punk a favor.
Regardless of which wrestler Heyman works with, Dutch Mantell thinks WWE's creative team has lots of options moving forward:
"There's a lot of doors open to them, so they'll sit on this, they probably already got a way out of it anyway, but the doors are open. They're not trying to open any doors. The door's unlocked, so all they gotta do is go through it, and that'll work because one may work a little better than the other, but I think both of them would work." [3:40 – 4:00]
In the immediate future, Punk looks set to feud with Seth Rollins after the two engaged in a war of words on the December 2 episode of RAW.
What do you think the future holds for CM Punk and Roman Reigns? Hit the discuss button and let us know.
Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.