Last Time in Action: Roman Reigns won the Royal Rumble Match (Royal Rumble, January 31); CM Punk defeated Finn Balor (Elimination Chamber, Febraury 28)
For the first time since the February 2 episode of Raw, Roman Reigns appeared in the show-closing of this week’s show.
Before The OTC could speak, world heavyweight champion CM Punk cut him off with his own entrance.
Punk reminded Reigns of their history in Indianapolis, dating back to The Shield’s debut in the city at the 2012 Survivor Series. The OTC hit back later by claiming WWE brought Punk back to appears the “30-40 year-old virgins” living in their parents’ basements.”
Reigns took shots at Punk, claiming he was miserable and complaining backstage, that his people rushed to tell him about it. He promised to beat Punk, take the title back and send him packing with a retirement tour and a trip to NXT to get the next generation ready.
The Best in the World wrapped the segment up with a furious retort, reminding Reigns that he has no more backup, be it The Bloodline or The Shield, and at WrestleMania, he is going to bury Reigns, right next to his father.
Top Moments and Takeaways
“Good thing I’ve got these bags under my eyes because I’ve gotta carry your bulls**t all the way to WrestleMania!” Punk told Reigns.
This lacked the organic nature of the original promo segment and felt like an attempt at recreating that magic, but it was still an intense back and forth that saw each guy land some quality blows before that knockout line from Punk about Reigns’ dad.
Punk made it clear that he is in Reigns’ head and that everything he has said to this point has been to take advantage of his emotions. The line about the late Wild Samoan Sika only continued that gameplan.
This is still the only match of those already announced that feels like a genuine WrestleMania main event and nothing about this changed that.