6 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (13 April - Results & Review)
2. Punk Tells No Lies
CM Punk and Roman Reigns closed out their WrestleMania 42 storyline build Monday night with a rather subdued promo exchange that saw the champ essentially go to confession, with the challenger serving as the priest.
Punk acknowledged that he was envious of Reigns and hated him for a litany of things, mostly centered on Roman’s status as a member of a wrestling dynasty, handed opportunities, and how he became a years-long world champion who main-evented numerous WrestleManias. He apologized for taking a swipe at Reigns’ father Sika as well.
The World Heavyweight Champion also traced his own path, through VFW halls, the indies, and international promotions to get to where he stood today, pledging to stand in the ring on Sunday still the champion.
Reigns brought things home by admitting he hated Punk’s relationship with the fans, how they chanted his name for 10 years after he left, but on Sunday, the nostalgia act would end.
As go-home angles go, this was perfectly fine, but it also didn’t raise the bar. The problem in many ways was that Punk and Reigns set the bar so incredibly high with their initial encounter after the Royal Rumble, and their next face-to-face after Elimination Chamber was also incredible, and everything after it has been diminishing returns.
Monday’s closing angle was essentially a one-man show, with Roman carrying maybe a quarter of the load. Punk’s promo was good, but the subdued nature of the exchange made it feel like less of a blood feud and more of a business transaction. The match will be great on the night, but when fans look back on this feud, they will play the promos from February and early March, with last week’s Punk promo sprinkled in.