The wrestling world was in for a shock when The Shield, a trio comprising Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose (Jon Moxley) arrived on the scene during the WWE Survivor Series in 2012, providing paid backup to CM Punk.
A shift in the narrative occurred the subsequent year when The Shield found themselves squaring off against Punk. A lasting rivalry was initiated, enduring until the end of 2013 and stretching into 2014, a period that also marked Punk’s exit from the WWE.
In the decade following Punk’s WWE departure, many changes took place, not least of which was Roman Reign’s ascent to the height of WWE popularity, under his new moniker, “The Original Tribal Chief.”
In a recent conversation on the “Cheap Heat” podcast, Punk shed some light on his relationship with Reigns.
He shared, “We’re on different shows and with my injury and his time off, I saw him at WrestleMania, that’s the last time I saw him. The Shield came here and made a ton of waves in a short amount of time. My relationship with all of those guys was pretty good. I just had to get the hell out of here for my own sanity. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. I think a lot of the questions you have, ‘What is Punk’s relationship with Roman? What does Punk feel about Seth?’ All of that stuff is going to play out on television because that’s what I do. Wrestling fans love drama. When you tune into Raw and SmackDown, you want to see the big names and big money stuff. What is Rock going to do? What is Punk going to do? What is Roman going to do? John Cena is coming back. You throw Cody (Rhodes) into the mix, he’s the champ. Gunther. You get all of those big names and superstars revolving in the same area and sparks are going to fly.”
Since the RAW after WWE Bad Blood 2024, where he clinched victory from Drew McIntyre within Hell in a Cell, Punk has been absent from WWE broadcasts.