Summary

Roman Reigns added another layer of heat to his WrestleMania 42 feud with CM Punk by unloading on the champion in a social media video ahead of their WWE World Heavyweight Title match.

Reigns mocked Punk's claim that he is a fighting champion, then took several personal shots as he continued the back-and-forth between the two heading into Sunday. The exchange comes shortly after Punk said his Sika remark about Reigns went too far, giving the rivalry even more personal edge before WrestleMania.

Quote from Roman Reigns

"You've defended the title three times. You've had it, what, the whole year? You're not a fighting champion. You're not even a fighter, we've seen how that went."

Reigns continued by arguing that Punk has been protected by the industry rather than proving himself on the same level.

"Coddled? By management? Because I'm money and they've known that since the beginning, I told them. I'm an unsigned billion dollar check, go back and find it. It's in the archives. You don't have that type of confidence because you're not the type of man I am. You're not cut from the same fabric as me. It blows my mind that you think we're fucking equals. In which way?

"It's only gonna take the first couple of minutes for the whole world to see there's no way we could ever be on the same level. 'Coddled.' The whole industry coddles you just by having you in it. You talk about the old timers, those were tough guys. We've seen what happens when you try to be a tough guy."

Reigns later went on to say:

"We put our whole reputation, the whole art form on the line for you because, what? 100,000 internet marks loved you from the beginning? Let's go back to your journey days when you were on the indies. It was the shits. An embarrassment. There's not a legend in my family that respects you. You're the reason we don't let marks in the business. Keep my fucking name out your mouth. On Sunday, it ends for you."

What Reigns' promo means for WrestleMania 42

Roman Reigns has made the WrestleMania 42 match feel like more than a title defense for CM Punk, because the feud is now built as much around pride and legacy as the WWE World Heavyweight Title itself.

That matters for Sunday in two obvious ways. First, WWE now has a clear personal hook on top of the championship stakes. Second, Reigns is framing Punk as someone who does not belong on his level, which gives Punk an even bigger point to answer when they finally meet in the ring.

Sources

Roman Reigns via X