The fans at Madison Square Garden went home happy as Roman Reigns, the one, the only, the tribal chief made his triumphant return to collect those receipts he promised on social media a few weeks ago. But not only did Reigns get his payback on Seth Rollins, the man who stomped him into steel steps and put him on the shelf following Royal Rumble, he got them on CM Punk, the man who tossed him out of the rumble but perhaps more importantly, was being helped in the steel cage by Reigns’ own wiseman. There’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s get right to it.
Roman Reigns is Back and He Has Vengeance on His Mind
CM Punk and Seth Rollins were absolutely battering each other in one of the best television main events in some time. Pedigrees, stomps, GTS after GTS after GTS…None of it was enough for either man to put the other away. The vitriol was real. Neither Punk nor Rollins wanted to escape from the cage. They both wanted to inflict as much damage as possible on their most hated rival. Nothing was enough as these two gave each other everything they had and then some. Rollins told Punk that if he wanted this, if he wanted Raw to be his house, he’d have to take it from him but Rollins wasn’t going to make it easy. Rollins went to the second rope and hit the super stomp on Punk and it seemed that would be it. But then the crowd erupted into a roar because that saw what Rollins didn’t and that was a certain tribal chief running into the open cage to attack his former friend turned enemy. Roman Reigns threw Rollins out of the cage resulting in Rollins getting the victory but it was clear from the beginning of the match, the win didn’t matter as much as the beatdown. And it appeared Reigns was on the same page.
Rollins stammered on the outside as Reigns hit a superman punch followed by a spear. As the crowd rallied behind their OTC, Reigns effortlessly threw Rollins into the barricade and then, with Rollins down, Reigns hit the man with a stomp. For Roman Reigns, that moment could have been cathartic but he wasn’t done. He lined Rollins up on the steps, promising to do to the man the same thing he had done to him. But he was stopped as Adam Pearce and his officials arrived on the scene. And that’s when the real intrigue happened as Reigns looked in the ring and saw something he didn’t like.
It’s unknown if Roman Reigns would have gone after Punk at all had he not seen Paul Heyman comforting Punk in the middle of the ring. Reigns watched as Heyman hugged Punk and consoled him. That didn’t sit well with Reigns, who made his way into the ring and attacked Punk. Reigns broke up the embrace and sent Punk flying into the cage before hitting Punk with a spear. Heyman backed into the corner and couldn’t do anything but watch as Reigns stood tall as Raw went off the air.
A Triple Threat for the Ages
Ever since CM Punk threw both Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns simultaneously over the top rope during the Royal Rumble, rumors were circulating that we were headed to a triple threat match at WrestleMania 41 with these three men. On Monday, WWE started the build to that very match and they did it in a way that doesn’t feel forced. Reigns and Rollins, that’s a story as old as time. These two have been on a collision course to a WrestleMania match for over a decade, and in earnest, they’ve been on that path since last year’s WrestleMania, when Roman Reigns opted to hit Seth Rollins with a steel chair instead of Cody Rhodes. That action cost Reigns his title but more-so, it was a powerfully compelling moment that called back to Rollins breaking up the Shield, the same Shield that all those years ago, Punk brought into the WWE to be his mercenaries.
At WrestleMania 41, it’s all coming full circle between this trio and their triangle of hatred. Seth Rollins hates Roman Reigns because of everything he did to the company during his reign as champion. Reigns hates CM Punk because Punk cost him the rumble, is owed a favor from Heyman, one that is yet to be announced, and made comments years ago that Reigns says made his job harder. Punk hates Rollins because Rollins has cost him everything he’s spent his entire career working towards and refuses to let the past be the past. Reigns hates Rollins because of how he broke up their friendship, something Reigns is clearly still haunted by. Seth Rollins hates Punk because of how he left WWE, tried to destroy the company on his way out, and returned to call the place his home once again. And Punk, well he probably didn’t hate Roman Reigns before Raw on Monday, but he sure should now. And it was Punk too, who didn’t want Reigns in the Shield and famously started the “make Roman look strong” dialogue. So needless to say, the hate between these three runs deep and goes back over a decade.
Read More: What to Expect when CM Punk and Roman Reigns Share the Arena at Upcoming SmackDown Tapings
CM Punk brought the Shield to life, both in storyline and in reality. Now, Punk may have the chance to do what he couldn’t do before, destroy his own creation. Even if that creation has gone its separate ways and taken over the company in Punk’s absence. With Punk gone, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins became the faces of the company. They made the towns. They drew sold out houses. They wrestled in main event upon main event. And neither of them have forgotten that through it all, they endured chants for a man who left them high and dry.
This is a triad of real-life vitriol, of art imitating life. And that’s the best way to make money in this business. CM Punk vs Seth Rollins vs Roman Reigns may not be a WrestleMania main event if the title isn’t involved, but it will no doubt be a match for the ages.
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