8 Most Pathetic Examples Of Backstage Politics In Wrestling

6. Drew McIntyre Is Incinerated By CM Punk And Roman Reigns

WWE Saturday Night's Main Event Drew McIntyre
WWE

Something very weird unfolded on the February 2, 2026 episode of WWE Raw. 

Having just won the men’s Royal Rumble match, Roman Reigns made his entrance to cut a promo - which was very quickly interrupted by CM Punk. In a segment ostensibly designed to spark excitement over their WrestleMania main event, the opposite happened almost. The two men seemed to bond over their mutual lack of respect towards Drew McIntyre. 

Punk challenged Roman to challenge him. Punk said that Roman could take the “easy way out” and beat a guy he knew he could beat. Punk said that the title made Drew McIntyre, not the other way ‘round. Roman borrowed Punk’s shovel and said that he’s selecting Punk because he hates him - but not before pondering “I could pick you because you’re the biggest star available…”. 

Neither Punk nor Roman were feuding with Drew at the time. This was notable. Vince McMahon was always adamant that his wrestlers should never tease anything that he himself did not intend to deliver. Triple H is not Vince McMahon - but he’s closer to him philosophically than some are willing to admit. So what happened here?

Roman and Punk already had the coveted Sunday main event sewn up. This was all but certain to begin with as the only obvious choice, and was officially confirmed just three days later on February 5. During WrestleMania season, Triple H likes his main rivalries to feel a bit more “real”, and thus a meta approach is taken more often than not. Perhaps that explains it. 

Or maybe Punk and Roman wanted to make absolutely certain that the public knew what the real main event was, and buried Drew six feet under to put their match over. This Triple H brand of backstage politics made the idea of another Drew Vs. Cody Rhodes match even more untenable. 

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick (Creative Writing BA Hons) is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over a decade of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential UK institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!