WWE News: Roman Reigns Is Open To Dream Match Against Former Superstar, Even Though He Doesn’t ‘Like The Guy’
As documented by Fightful, Roman Reigns was a guest on the latest episode of Complex’s Load Management podcast, and he discussed some of his potential opponents down the line. CM Punk’s name was brought up during the conversation, which led to the “The Big Dog” sharing his real thoughts about the former superstar.
According to Reigns, Punk made his job “a lot harder” in the past. While he’s open to facing “The Straight Edge Superstar” in the squared circle, he revealed that the confrontation could get heated.
“If it’s something the fans can get behind and sink their teeth into the product and dive into the creative with us, I’m willing to do it. I don’t like the guy, I don’t know many people that do, but I’m willing to put business first and make good content. He’d probably need to be slapped around a few times in order to get his mind right. If the fans are going to like it, most likely I’m going to do it.”
Reigns noted that the former superstar has an affinity with the promotion’s hardcore fan base, which would ultimately lead to a big money event should the bout ever come to fruition.
As the report highlighted, Punk left WWE in 2014 following a dramatic fallout with the company. This subsequently led to a defamation lawsuit — which Punk won — creating a rocky relationship between the former champion and the company. Punk has lent his punditry expertise to WWE Backstage on FOX since then, but he isn’t pursuing a return to the promotion.
Punk has left the door open to a wrestling return, but he did say that it would take a huge offer for him to return to Vince McMahon’s company. However, the chairman has reportedly blacklisted the outspoken veteran, so a match with Reigns might not be on the cards in the near future.
Reigns didn’t go into great detail about his issues with Punk, but there is certainly no love lost between the pair. As noted by Cageside Seats, Punk mentioned “The Big Dog” during his infamous interview on Colt Cabana’s The Art of Wrestling podcast in 2014, stating that officials demanded he make him look good during his handicap match against The Shield at 2013’s TLC pay-per-view.
While he didn’t criticize Reigns directly, the former World Champion wasn’t happy about the booking decision, even though he won the bout. He gathered that officials were more interested in pushing Reigns after the matchup.
As The Inquisitr reported earlier this year, Punk also poked fun at the Universal Champion on social media, which led to some fans and pundits speculating that there was beef between the pair.
Punk denied that he bore any ill will toward Reigns. He claimed that his criticisms were meant as a joke, and he was surprised to learn that there were rumors of him talking down on the Friday Night SmackDown star making the rounds.
During the Load Management interview, Reigns also opened up about his desire to face The Rock. The real-life cousins have been teasing a showdown at next year’s WrestleMania, and the Friday Night SmackDown star wants it to happen.
