WWE World Heavyweight Title Match: CM Punk (c) vs. Roman Reigns - WWE WrestleMania 42 - Sunday - 19/04/2026
CM Punk continues to prove that his way of wrestling should be the basis for WWE. WWE are never going to best the rest of the wrestling world in workrate and nor do they want to, but they should at least aim to be the best at psychological, story filled matches and they really just aren’t. They are often layerless, lacking in subtlety or any true quality. And when compared to when Punk is in the ring, the difference is ever more clear. Punk throughout the whole year, each match, looked to me potentially slowing down and being on his last legs, but he then defies those thoughts by going 30 minutes in the main event of Wrestlemania and, along with Roman Reigns, smokes the rest of the roster in every way. And the best part was how much they played into Punk not being at his physical peak, leaning more into him acting like a heel. It was similar to how Flair used to cheat in his age, it was almost endearing and a great sign of in-ring smarts rather than the act of a villain. Roman Reigns is pretty much like a Greek god in this promotion and Punk knew he couldn’t beat him fair, so he went low and used every trick in the book to win. It was a great story because it wasn’t fully forced. Punk cheated, but didn’t dominate. It was very 50/50. And in turn, Roman didn’t sacrifice his typical routine for a generic babyface performance either. Neither sacrificed or gave in who they are on every other day. It was micro changes that allowed the story to flourish, which is great storytelling. Any other wrestlers would’ve had Roman selling for sympathy and Punk doing a “conflicted about cheating” routine. But Punk seemed to relish being antagonistic and Roman relished in breaking Punk down bit by bit. They hated each other and conveyed that wonderfully. The only downside to the match was the flat finish. Perhaps they missed a trick doing too many kick outs to the point I expected Punk to kick out of the spear, or maybe I expected a different finish, but it just felt a tad cold. However that minor fault was just that. The rest was immense professional wrestling. If Roman Reigns sticks with these types of performances in his run as WWE World Heavyweight Champion, he might be worth seeking out once more. ****1/4
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