On WWE SmackDown, Seth Rollins delivered a final, pointed message before his WrestleMania 41 main event clash against CM Punk and Roman Reigns, a match set to headline night one. Rollins began the show in the center of the ring, sitting cross-legged and deliberately removing the WWE logo from his microphone, a clear nod to CM Punk’s infamous “pipebomb” promo from 2011.
As the crowd chanted for Punk, Rollins directly questioned Punk’s motivations for his return to WWE, asking if it stemmed from genuine fan appreciation or was solely driven by a lucrative contract, referencing Punk’s contentious 2014 departure and his subsequent return in 2023. “Tell me when I’m telling lies,” Rollins challenged the audience.
He then accused Punk of feigning care for the WWE Universe and the company itself, labeling him a “liar, a fraud, a coward.” Shifting his focus to Roman Reigns, Rollins acknowledged Reigns’ overt self-interest, pointedly dubbing him “Mr. Private Jet, Mr. Limited Schedule, Mr. Handpicked Opponents.”
Rollins further delved into their shared history, bringing up how Paul Heyman orchestrated the formation of The Shield, uniting Rollins, Reigns, and Dean Ambrose (now Jon Moxley) to act as protection for CM Punk years prior. Rollins expressed feeling consistently overshadowed by Reigns’ perceived fast-track to main event status, highlighting his own repeated sacrifices for the greater good, even recalling his compromised physical state at WrestleMania 40, where, despite a damaged knee and his stepfather’s battle with cancer, he ensured Reigns’ loss to Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Title.
Rollins concluded his impassioned address by declaring that their 12-year-long narrative would reach its definitive end at WrestleMania 41, vowing to “sacrifice everything I have to make sure this business moves forward in the right direction. That’s not a prediction. That’s a spoiler.”
