This Week's Raw Almost Got SERIOUSLY Dark For CM Punk (WWE News)

Roman Reigns was originally due to mention Larry on this week's WWE Raw.

by Andrew Pollard
WWE Raw CM Punk Roman Reigns
WWE

After this week's WWE Raw ended with CM Punk punching Roman Reigns after the Tribal Chief had called Punk old, some fans felt it was a little underwhelming that a dig at his age would be what pushed the Second City Saint over the edge. However, it appears that this segment was originally going to be a lot darker than what we ultimately got.

Of course, two weeks ago, we saw CM Punk shockingly say how Roman "won't be alone anymore... because I'm gonna bury you next to your father," referencing Reigns' legendary father Sika of the Wild Samoans, who passed in June 2024 at the age of 79. With the OTC absent from last week's Raw, Punk was confronted by the Usos, as Jimmy and Jey demanded an apology for those comments.

So, with it announced ahead of time that CM Punk and Roman Reigns would both be at this week's Raw, fans were expecting a brutal dollop of payback from Roman, be that physical or verbal. Instead, in a slightly flatter interaction than their previous exchanges, the segment concluded with Reigns calling Punk old, Punk decking his WrestleMania 42 opponent, as security broke things up, and Roman smirked.

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As some fans had speculated about ahead of this week's Raw, Cory Hays of Bodyslam.net has confirmed that this latest segment was originally meant to have Roman Reigns reference Larry, CM Punk and AJ Lee's dog, who sadly passed away at the end of last year.

Whether wrestlers should be bringing up deceased relatives or deceased pets is questionable in itself, but it very much felt like the Roman Reigns character referencing Larry would've been on brand for the Head of the Table in response to his dead father being brought into this.

With there four more Raws between now and WrestleMania 42, including three advertised Roman Reigns appearances, it remains to be seen whether Larry will be brought up at some point before the Showcase of the Immortals rolls around.

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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 day job, 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/Saints, Jamie Hayter, 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. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.