Summary

Roman Reigns took direct aim at CM Punk before their WWE World Heavyweight Title match at WrestleMania 42, saying the version of Punk fans remember no longer carries the same aura.

While speaking with Michael Cole ahead of Sunday's main event, Reigns said he believed WWE had reached a point where its full-time roster could carry the company without leaning on legacy names. Instead, he said the current moment has drifted back toward nostalgia, with Punk at the center of that frustration.

The latest comments add another layer to a feud that has already been framed as one of WrestleMania 42's central stories, with Triple H recently saying the tension between Roman Reigns and CM Punk goes beyond the ring.

Quote from Roman Reigns

"What irks me the most is I put in all that work to get us to the point where we could move on from people like CM Punk, John Cena, The Rock. I got it to a point where we were so strong within our own full-time roster, and now I look around and its a retirement act here, a retirement act there. We’re living off this nostalgia of CM Punk and it’s not 2012. The magic and the mystique of him is gone now. He’s just a regular guy. That’s what pisses me off the most. I put my soul into lifting this company up, and the people who were supposed to be able to carry that equity shit the bed. That’s what irks me. Punk is what he is. He’s tried his hardest in the last two months to affect me, my status, my product, my superstardom, all of it. He can’t."

What Reigns' Punk comments change at WrestleMania 42

Reigns pushed this feud beyond a standard title-match sell by tying Punk to a bigger complaint about WWE's direction, and that raises the personal stakes going into Sunday. Instead of treating Punk as a dangerous challenger on résumé alone, Reigns framed him as a symbol of the past that should no longer define the company.

That matters because the WrestleMania 42 main event is now carrying two arguments at once, the championship itself and Reigns' belief that his era should not have to lean on Punk nostalgia. If Punk beats him, it undercuts the point Reigns just made. If Reigns wins, WWE has an easy way to reinforce the idea that he backed up every word.

Sources

Roman Reigns while speaking with Michael Cole