On Saturday’s WWE WrestleMania 41 (Night One), Seth Rollins is set to do battle against CM Punk and Roman Reigns as the headlining act. Over the past decade, the narrative involving the trio, dating back to when they were all part of The Shield (Rollins, Reigns, and Dean Ambrose/Jon Moxley), has created intense anticipation for this showdown. They first appeared together at the WWE Survivor Series 2012 as hired henchmen for Punk. Their rivalry has evolved, featuring both on and off-camera confrontations after Punk left WWE in 2014, voicing strong criticisms of the company. However, in a surprising turn of events, Punk returned to the WWE in 2023 during the Survivor Series.
During his recent interview on “Not Just Football,” Seth Rollins was asked about his feelings towards Punk and Reigns.
Rollins expressed, “Easily CM Punk. Easily. I do have an issue with Roman’s ego and his perception of what WWE should be. However, as a person, he’s not so much my problem. He has made significant sacrifices for our organization. Regardless of whether it was Heyman whispering in his ear or his inflated self-image about how big of a star he is, he somewhat lost his way. Attempting to get him to remember why we joined this company 12 years ago is crucial as we prepare to transition it to the next generation. If everyone wants to be Roman Reigns and no one is around to work except for four times a year, we wouldn’t have a show to run. It’s necessary to have those who are dedicated and willing to put in the work. But, persuading him to understand that he perhaps may not be the best role model for the future of the industry is challenging.
Rollins further elaborated, “Though, this pales when compared to my feelings for CM Punk. This man is dishonest, opportunistic, false crusader, a conman. He has no problems tricking you at every opportunity, taking zero responsibility for his actions. He abandoned the company and ignored his friends. I understand if someone has personal issues to sort out, but it’s a different story when you ask people to forfeit their jobs and dreams out of loyalty to you. And if they don’t, you choose to publicly disgraced them in any way possible. Further, you accept money from some rich kid to come back to a profession you discarded and continue to undermine our company. When that rich kid stops paying you, you come back, hoping to earn from us, while pretending to support our cause. My revulsion for CM Punk cannot be adequately described. It is incomparable.”