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CM Punk and Roman Reigns’ Heated WWE History, Explained

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Heading into WrestleMania 42 WWE’s two biggest stars — CM Punk and Roman Reigns — are re-igniting a near 15-year long feud.

Punk was on top of the WWE in 2012 as Champion, and everyone wanted a piece of him. As the story goes, he pitched a three-man group of mercenaries to protect him and the title.

The Shield was CM Punk’s idea

Originally, the group was going to consist of Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Punk’s long-time friend Chris Hero. Reigns later replaced Hero. The Shield debuted at Survivor Series in 2012 and at first, they were aligned with Punk. However, they quickly used their power as a trio to wreak havoc on the men’s division and they started taking titles of their own. In 2026, The Shield is regarded as one of the greatest WWE factions of all time, helping launch the careers of all three men.

“They wanted Roman Reigns. They came to me and they were like ‘what about Leakee?’ I didn’t — it wasn’t my hill to die on,” Punk said on Colt Cabana’s Art of Wrestling podcast. “I said, ‘sure,’ because it made sense to me. Oh, they want their guy in, he’s the pretty guy, but that’s good because this guy can learn from working under me.”

In 2013 Punk feuded with The Shield, leading to their 3-on-1 handicap match at TLC. Punk said it was stressed to him to make Reigns look “strong,” but he didn’t understand why they couldn’t just win the match. Reigns later admitted Punk’s comments made his job a lot harder.

Reigns and Punk team up at survivor series 2024

When Punk returned to the WWE in 2023, he wasn’t the most well-liked guy in the locker room. Drew McIntyre and Seth Rollins are two other notable men he had issues with. However, come Survivor Series 2024, he and Reigns put their differences aside to defeat their common enemy: Solo Sikoa’s new Bloodline and Bronson Reed. They got the job done but there was a lot of tension between the two men. Reigns blocked Punk from entering the match, sending Sami Zayn in instead. Later, Punk blocked Reigns from entering, getting in the cage himself. The intense standoff only made fans more eager to see them have a singles match.

Cm Punk and Roman reigns’ WrestleMania 42 showdown

When Punk won the World Heavyweight Championship he immediately had a target on his back. Naturally, The Tribal Chief wants to win back some gold. But according to Reigns, that’s not why he’s challenging Punk at WWE WrestleMania 42. He’s doing it because he hates Punk.

“I did the best I could, I really did, but I will never forget 10 years ago or so, when you go on your little best friend’s podcast, running your mouth, making my life harder than it should have ever been,” Reigns said in their early promo exchange.

On this week’s episode of WWE Raw, they came face-to-face in another heated exchange. Punk says he’s not going to call him “Joe” because it would insult a real Samoan he loves and respects (AEW’s Samoa Joe). Punk insisted he’s in the mind of Reigns, but if he is, The Tribal Chief isn’t showing it. Instead, he tells Punk he’s not a “top dollar player” like his wife, AJ Lee. Eventually Punk had heard enough, punching Reigns in the head.

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