Summary

Corey Graves had high praise for CM Punk and Roman Reigns after their WrestleMania 42 night two main event, calling the match one of the greatest WrestleMania main events ever.

The match ran 33 minutes with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at stake, and Reigns defeated Punk to leave WrestleMania as champion. Graves later reflected on the bout while speaking with Bill Apter and pointed to both the physicality and the emotion as the keys to why it stood out.

Quote from Corey Graves

Speaking with Bill Apter, Graves said:

"I thought CM Punk and Roman Reigns was one of the greatest WrestleMania main events in the history of the 42 years of WrestleMania. I think they told a beautiful, rich story, with physicality, with emotion. Their emotions on their face, the eyes told the story as much as the physicality and destroying ringside tables and things like that. I thought that was a true clinic, a master class in what professional wrestling should be."

Roman Reigns takes that momentum into Backlash

Graves' comments add even more weight to a WrestleMania main event WWE is clearly treating as a major moment in Reigns' latest title run. Reigns is already moving on to his first defense on May 9, when he faces Jacob Fatu at Backlash after the recent contract signing on Raw.

That gives the praise some immediate context. If WWE keeps presenting the Punk match as a defining performance, Reigns vs. Fatu becomes more than a standard first defense, it becomes the next test for a champion coming off one of the biggest wins of the year.

Sources

Corey Graves while speaking with Bill Apter