Roman Reigns and CM Punk's real-life heat explained
The latest episode of Friday Night SmackDown has unfolded yet another thrilling chapter in the breathtaking build to the final premium live event of the year, Survivor Series: WarGames 2024. In the main event, OG Bloodline came face-to-face with Solo Sikoa’s heel faction.
Shockingly, Paul Heyman made his much-awaited return and introduced the fifth and final member of the Original Bloodline for WarGames match - none other than the returning CM Punk. The Second City Saint wasted no time and ran inside the ring and launched an attack on The Bloodline, and the OG Bloodline managed to overpower Solo and crew.
Despite Heyman’s return addition of an appropriate fifth member, The Original Tribal Chief seemed upset and was seen asking Punk why he was there, to which The Second City Saint pointed at Paul Heyman, stating he was back for his old friend, not for him.
Amid the visible tension between the two Heyman guys, fans wondered whether Roman and CM Punk legitimately hate each other. The answer to this is possibly yes. There have been multiple instances where Reigns and Punk have expressed their thoughts about one another.
One of the major reasons behind their heat was CM Punk supposedly pitching against Reigns. In an interview with Colt Cabana’s Art of Wrestling Podcast, Punk revealed that he originally pitched the idea of The Shield. He wanted Kassius Ohno to join the faction in place of Roman Reigns. However, the Stamford-based promotion did not see it that way and picked The Original Tribal Chief in his place, and the rest is history.
Roman Reigns took shots at CM Punk
During his stint in AEW, CM Punk trash-talked a lot about WWE, and in an interview, he even blamed the Stamford-based company for using part-timers as main eventers. The shot was allegedly directed at Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, especially as he was the champion and the face of the company at that time.
In an interview with Ariel Helwani on BT Sports, Roman Reigns fired back at Punk for criticizing WWE and aiming at him indirectly. The Original Tribal Chief labeled The Second City Saint as a “bitter” person and said he was never better than John Cena and had not moved the needle - like The Rock.
"Those statements are coming from bitter people, you know, who possibly thought they were better than they really were; when it comes down to it, CM Punk was not as good or as over as John Cena. [He] wasn't as good or as over and moved the needle like The Rock. It just was what it was," said Roman Reigns.
In another interview at Comic-Con 2015, Reigns also responded to Punk’s claim on the formation of The Shield. The former Undisputed WWE Universal Champion mockingly said the only thing CM Punk even created was his Pepsi tattoo on his shoulder.
However, some previous reports claimed that people backstage saw a changed man in CM Punk since his return, and there is a chance that, just like Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns would have also settled their differences behind the scenes.
It will be interesting to see how both men will work together as a team during the Men WarGames match at Survivor Series 2024.