Roman Reigns SLAMS CM Punk

"When it comes down to it, CM Punk was not as good or as over as a John Cena."

By Andrew Pollard / August 20, 2021

WWE.com

Speaking to Ariel Helwani at BT Sport to promote this weekend's SummerSlam PPV, Roman Reigns has thrown a sprinkling of shade in CM Punk's direction - and the Head of the Table's comments have caught the attention of WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley.

After Helwani asked Reigns for this thoughts on part-time stars returning to take the spotlight from some of the full-time guys and gals on the WWE roster, the current Universal Champion threw out Punk's name and said the Second City Saint was never as good as John Cena or The Rock.

"I do think there's that strange threshold, but I think those statements are coming from bitter people who possibly thought they were better than they really were. When it comes down to it, CM Punk was not as good or as over as a John Cena, wasn't as good or as over or moved the needle like The Rock. It just was what it was."

Of course, Punk was extremely vocal in the past about part-timers returning and hogging the spotlight, particularly when The Rock returned to face John Cena in the main event of WrestleMania 28; a main event the Straight-Edge Superstar thought should've been him going up against Cena.

Once Roman's comments made their way online, the legendary Mick Foley was quick to respond and declare CM Punk as "damn good" and "damn over".

CM PUNK WAS DAMN GOOD, AND DAMN OVER.

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With one interview he changed the course of the wrestling business. He had great matches with a wide variety of opponents on a nightly basis. When/if he returns to wrestling, he will once again be damn good and damn over. @CMPunk https://t.co/di1QS7qkZq
— Mick Foley (@RealMickFoley) August 19, 2021

It's all subjective whether CM Punk was ever better or more over than John Cena or The Rock, but those comparisons are obviously putting Punk up against two of the best to ever do it - one being the poster child of WWE for 15 years, the other being one of the top three names in company history.

As Foley said, there is no doubting that CM Punk was great, was over, and was responsible for some amazing matches and memories during his WWE career and beyond.

Authored by Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.

Posted On: 20th Aug 2021

In this post:

John Cena CM Punk Roman Reigns