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CM Punk Responds To Roman Reigns Ahead Of WWE WrestleMania 42 Clash

By John Canton • Published Apr 18, 2026 11:45 EDT
CM Punk Roman Reigns WWE
CM Punk and Roman Reigns on WWE RAW - Source: WWE.com

CM Punk has responded to Roman Reigns’ latest expletive-filled rant.

The trash talk between World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk and Royal Rumble winner Roman Reigns started over two months ago, and it has continued on Monday Night Raw, as well as outside the ring. It’s all been done to set up their WrestleMania 42 match.

During their many promos together, Punk has taken shots at Reigns as a part-timer who isn’t around often, while Reigns claims he has earned the right to work a reduced schedule so he can spend time with his family.

In a social media video shot in a car in Las Vegas, Roman Reigns did a promo about CM Punk while claiming Punk isn’t respected in pro wrestling.

“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.

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 f**king 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.”

That’s when Reigns took a shot at Punk for being loved by internet wrestling fans who watched him early in his career.

“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 s**ts. 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 f**king name out your mouth.

On Sunday, it ends for you.”

CM Punk Wishes Roman Reigns Brought That Energy To WWE TV

When CM Punk appeared on ESPN Get Up, he was asked about what Roman Reigns said in that promo. It led Punk to say he wishes Reigns brought that kind of energy to television.

“My response is, man, I wish he brought that energy the days he actually decided to show up on a couple of Mondays.

Look, I take nothing away from Roman. Tremendous superstar, he has the credentials, he’s a heavyweight, he’s gonna be a tough out for me, but I’m not looking to lose on Sunday. I’m sure he isn’t either.”

That led CM Punk to predict that Reigns will need to see an orthodontist, likely because Punk plans to knock his teeth out with the GTS knee to the face.

“But this is about pro wrestling versus cinema, and I’m glad that he had four days to shower and think about what he would say to me in a rebuttal and did it in a car while I wasn’t around. But I’m gonna be around and in his face on Sunday. I’m gonna send him to the orthodontist, I’m gonna make his orthodontist a very rich person.”

WWE WrestleMania 42 takes place on April 18 & April 19 in Las Vegas. Here’s the lineup so far.

Saturday, April 18 Matches

  • Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Randy Orton
  • WWE Women’s World Championship: Stephanie Vaquer (c) vs. Liv Morgan
  • Seth Rollins vs. Gunther
  • Women’s Intercontinental Championship: AJ Lee (c) vs. Becky Lynch
  • Women’s Tag Team Championships: Irresistible Forces – Nia Jax & Lash Legend (c) vs. Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss vs. The Bella Twins – Nikki & Brie Bella vs. Bayley & Lyra Valkyria
  • Unsanctioned Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Jacob Fatu (Match Will Also Air On ESPN 2 In First Hour)
  • LA Knight and The Usos – Jimmy & Jey Uso vs. The Vision – Logan Paul & Austin Theory and IShowSpeed (Match Will Also Air On ESPN 2 In First Hour)

Sunday, April 19 Matches

  • WWE World Heavyweight Championship: CM Punk (c) vs. Roman Reigns
  • WWE Women’s Championship: Jade Cargill (c) vs. Rhea Ripley
  • United States Championship: Sami Zayn (c) vs. Trick Williams
  • “Demon” Finn Balor vs. Dominik Mysterio
  • Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match: Penta (c) vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Dragon Lee vs. Rusev vs. JD McDonagh vs. Rey Mysterio (Match Will Also Air On ESPN In First Hour)
  • Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar (Match Will Also Air On ESPN In First Hour)

WrestleMania 42 will STREAM LIVE Saturday, April 18, and Sunday, April 19, 2026, at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT on ESPN in the United States and Netflix everywhere else.

H/T Wrestletalk