In a recent appearance on the Ringer Wrestling Show, CM Punk discussed the significance of main eventing WrestleMania, particularly when a championship isn’t on the line, as is the case with his upcoming triple threat match against Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 41.
While acknowledging the prestige of headlining WWE’s biggest event, Punk surprisingly stated that he believes the Women’s World Championship match deserves the coveted final slot on one of the two nights.
“I’m very much a title match main event,” Punk declared, anticipating how his statement would be received online. “Here’s the sound bite all those fu**ing losers are gonna steal and put on their Twitter is, if it was up to me, believe it or not, Rhea, Bianca, and IYO would be the main event. I’m not saying which night. I can tell you that if I was in Triple H’s spot, I would gravitate towards that.”
Punk elaborated on his reasoning, emphasizing the deserving nature of the Women’s World Championship contenders. “My reasoning for that is, when is IYO ever going to get another chance? Bianca has done it already. It would be great if she got to do it again. Rhea 100% you know, you look at people and you say, WrestleMania main event, Rhea Ripley is top of the list.”
He humorously admitted that his perspective might prioritize his feelings over pure business strategy. “So I almost look at it more of that mindset that I have, it’s kind of a detriment as a booker because I might not be putting business in front of my feelings. I’m putting my feelings in front of business. I think all three of those ladies are so supremely talented. I know they’re gonna steal the show. I want to see my friends and my colleagues accomplish things, and it doesn’t so much matter to me if I accomplish them.”
Punk also reflected on his own journey and the frustrations of striving for the main event spot. “I know what it feels like to have that chip on my shoulder to be like, ‘This is my year, right? I’ve done this for 11.5 months’, and then somebody comes in and goes, ‘Nope, nope’, and you’re just kind of like, okay, and it happens year after year, and it gets a little much. So here I am arguing against myself. It’s funny how life works. I never would have thought I would have been saying any of that stuff, like 10 years ago.”
Despite his personal desire to headline WrestleMania, Punk acknowledged the depth of talent in WWE. “But I also think it’s kind of indicative of our locker room and the embarrassment of riches we have talent wise that so many different people could be that main event, Gunther, Jey, Cody, obviously. Nobody’s gonna tell me that John Cena shouldn’t be main-eventing WrestleMania in his last Mania.”
He concluded with an encouraging message for the entire roster. “So it’s just like, yeah, stay vigilant everybody, bust your ass, and if it’s meant to be, it’ll come to pass, and I’m obviously living, breathing proof of that.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit The Ringer Wrestling Show with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
