CM Punk delivered one of his most pointed assessments yet of Roman Reigns' path to the top of WWE just days before the two meet in the WrestleMania 42 main event.
Speaking with Corey Graves, Punk acknowledged that Reigns eventually became one of the biggest stars in the history of the business but was honest about the road that got him there and what he sees as an inherent unfairness at the heart of it.
"Myself and guys like me, this business has evolved and changed so much, but there is still always going to be resentment towards people that are born on third base. I have been friends with and seen dozens of people that I thought had talent that were never afforded a single opportunity Roman got, and I have watched him get opportunity after opportunity after opportunity, and frankly, fail.
Failure is your best teacher, but I don't think he really learned anything from that. He had management and an entire system that was going to shove him down everybody's throat, and by some miracle, he finally figured it out," Punk said.
Punk built his career from the ground up through the independent wrestling circuit, spending years grinding before making it to WWE, where he still had to fight for every opportunity.
Reigns, by contrast, arrived as part of The Shield in 2012 with the resources of the entire WWE machine behind him and the backing of Vince McMahon from day one due in large part to his family lineage in the Anoa'i wrestling dynasty.
Punk also told others during the WrestleMania week media circuit that if Reigns genuinely had a say in his return to WWE, he should have said no.
Punk defends the World Heavyweight Championship against Reigns in the night two main event of WrestleMania 42 on Sunday, April 19, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. It will be the first time the two have met in a singles match since Punk's return to WWE at Survivor Series 2023.
