Roman Reigns is the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion, and in victory, he offered a measured but pointed assessment of the man he defeated to get there.
Reigns defeated CM Punk in the WrestleMania 42 night two main event in a match lasting over 30 minutes, winning with two spears and standing tall to close the show. At the post-show, Reigns reflected on the match and what he now thinks of Punk after sharing the ring with him on the grandest stage.
“It feels good. It feels as it should. That’s what’s so pure about our business is we know right away, there’s nothing like this,” Reigns said.
He also spoke about the unique dynamic of two completely different performers finding a middle ground inside the ring.
“That’s the beauty of how subjective this is, you have two extreme examples of professional wrestlers and sports entertainers in me and CM Punk, and somehow we can go out there and find a middle. That’s how I love this business,” Reigns said.
When asked directly whether he gained any respect for Punk after the match, Reigns drew a careful distinction between the man and the performer.
“The fact that I’m the Tribal Chief and I still hear people out here chanting for CM Punk, I have to respect that. Do I respect the man and his personal life? I don’t know. But when it comes to when he steps into the arena, when the ring’s set up, when the pyro is gonna go off, I got a lot of respect for the man that steps into the arena and performs in front of all these people because he puts his heart and he puts his soul, he puts his physicality on the line. Do we see eye-to-eye? Hell no. Are we cut from the same fabric? Hell no. But at the same time, we’re a part of the same fraternity, just like you and I, just like me and E. There’s very few of us. So, when you can go out there and you can main event, and you can put it on the line, and you can actually hold your own. CM Punk didn’t just run his mouth. He backed it up. He just ran into a better man today,” Reigns said.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit the WWE WrestleMania 42 post-show with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
