Roman Reigns and WWE World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk did not wait for Monday’s Raw to begin their war of words ahead of their main event showdown at WrestleMania.
After Punk retained the title with a win over Finn Bálor at Elimination Chamber, Reigns fired the first shot on X: “Not sure who looked more tired — the crowd or the champion. Enjoy this final month of relevancy.”
Punk responded to Reigns live on the Elimination Chamber post-show, saying, “He’s got time to tweet, but he doesn’t have time to come to Chicago.”
He added that 19,346 fans packed the United Center for Elimination Chamber. Punk claimed it was WWE’s second-highest arena gate ever, topped only by John Cena’s last match in Washington, D.C. in December — noting Reigns wasn’t No. 1.
Punk then took another shot at Reigns’ part-time schedule, calling him “Rusty Reigns.” Punk said that even though he’s heading to WrestleMania tired and bandaged, staying active is what keeps him sharp.
The champion’s parting shot included a blast at Reigns’ family and The Bloodline, who helped keep Reigns atop WWE for 1,316 days as Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.
“I got a GTS for you and every one of your stupid family members,” Punk said.
With seven weeks until WrestleMania in Las Vegas, Reigns is slated for five of the next seven episodes of Raw as the build intensifies toward what WWE is calling one of the biggest main events ever in WrestleMania history.