For the better part of two months, CM Punk and Roman Reigns have thrived off mutual hatred. The two built a WrestleMania program around it. However, through all the personal barbs, verbal vitriol, and physical altercations, one thing seemed to be missing from this feud.
Roman Reigns vs CM Punk is a Feud Built on Mutual Hatred
See, it made sense why Reigns hated Punk, and he wasted no time outlining it. Punk was everything Reigns wasn’t, and when WWE tried to have the Big Dog fill the Punk-sized hole, needless to say, it didn’t go well. Reigns blamed Punk for that thanks to four simple words on a podcast: ‘Make Roman look strong.’ According to Reigns, Punk made his life harder. He was never his mentor, after all; he never wanted Reigns in the Shield in the first place. So, as far as the OTC saw it, he’d hated his rival for a long time and certainly had his reasons.
It took Punk a few weeks, but he eventually admitted he hated Reigns, too. Though he only did so after eviscerating Reigns and invoking the mention of his dead father. That brought the Usos back into things, which led Punk to make the same tried and true insult to Reigns, that none of what he accomplished would be made possible without having help from others, first the Shield, then the Bloodline. So then Reigns called Punk old and tired, and Punk admitted he was…tired of carrying the company and this feud with a part-timer on his back. Because every week on every tour in every city, the champ was there and Reigns wasn’t.
But that wasn’t the real reason Punk hated him, it turns out. On Monday, the truth was finally revealed.
CM Punk to Roman Reigns: “I hate you because I envy you”
On Monday, Roman Reigns did what he does when he decides to do it. He opened the show and closed it. After a pre-recorded promo kicked things off, Reigns hit the ring for the crowd to acknowledge him. That’s when CM Punk came out, a man of the people, from the crowd. Whether Punk was mocking Reigns with an old Shield entrance or just showing his connection to the fans, it seemed to work as Reigns told Punk that if he entered the ring, the two wouldn’t need mics. Punk approached the apron, and there he stood to offer the truth Reigns demanded he tell.
The truth was, Punk hates Reigns because he envies him. WWE was the only dream Punk ever had since his childhood; it was the only thing he ever wanted for himself. He hates that it was handed to Reigns. He hates that Reigns was champion for 1,316 days because, at the end of the day, no one was going to remember the how of it all. They were going to remember the number because that was the legacy the history books had written. Punk hates that number. He hates the number of times Reigns has main-evented WrestleMania, and that he had to share his first time doing it as a singles wrestler with the man. He hates that he envies Reigns and hates that this feud had him disparage Sika, a man he truly respected and admired as a man, wrestler, and champion.
Punk apologized to Reigns for his comments that invoked his father’s name as he entered the ring and stepped closer to Reigns. He hates that Reigns was born into a dynasty, and he wasn’t. He was born on the streets of Chicago without the kind of family Reigns had. He had to choose his own family, and he found that in the locker rooms of VFW and KOC halls. He found it in bowling alleys, barns, and abandoned churches up and down the Midwest. Punk noted how he found his family in the indies, and then he conquered the indies before traveling the world and conquering there, too. Punk wasn’t handed anything and wasn’t born with a silver spoon already on third base. He worked for everything he has, and he hates that he has to share any of it with Reigns.
Roman Reigns Gets the Final Word
Punk promised Reigns that when the sun set in the Vegas desert on Sunday night, he’d have gold above his head as the announcer says, “and still world heavyweight champion,” and the crowd chants his name. Reigns acknowledged Punk was being truthful up until that last part. He had a truth of his own to share. Reigns reiterated that he’s hated Punk for a long time and not for any of the reasons he expressed months ago. The main reason was that he hated the connection Punk had to the fans. Reigns said he hopes one day, when he leaves, they miss him as much as they missed Punk, that when he leaves, they continue to chant his name for 10 years. The truest thing Punk has ever done in his career is his connection to the fans, and no one can take that away from him. But what Reigns can take away is his title.
Reigns reminded Punk that he gave him two months of relevancy, and Punk did nothing with it. On Sunday, Reigns is going to put an end to the nostalgia act and experiment that has been Punk’s reign at the top. He’s going to clean up the mess Punk started and take this place back to where it was at the very top, where it was worth every single dollar people paid. Reigns had the last word when he told Punk on Sunday that the tribal chief takes back WWE, and when he does so, Punk and the whole world will acknowledge him.
The Rightful Main Event
When this feud began, Roman Reigns and CM Punk were equals, and that lasted to the last exchange. Neither man looks weak, and neither looks like the clear-cut favorite. There are reasons to believe WWE could go either way with the winner, and that’s what makes this the perfect show-closing main event. Reigns has everything Punk has ever wanted, but Punk is everything Reigns wants to be. Their animosity, while rooted in deep hatred, also carries with it begrudging respect for what the other has done in the industry.
Punk made it extremely personal when he promised to bury the OTC next to his father, but the feud benefited from the shared history of the two well before that. It all began over a decade ago and has only festered behind the scenes since then. Reigns says he’s the reason Punk is back, and Punk says he’s the reason Reigns even exists in WWE in the first place.
Unlike the other world title main event, which sacrificed substance for celebrity, this match has kept its integrity intact. Unlike Raw’s other grudge matches built around two big men proving who is the best or two former champions battling over one’s perceived slight by the other, this feud feels real and not manufactured. It’s built on a simple principle: pure, unadulterated hatred for the other. And that is a story as old as time.
