CM Punk Compares His Hiatus To Roman Reigns’ Schedule

The war of words between CM Punk and Roman Reigns has turned personal, with the World Heavyweight Champion using Reigns’ own words against him.

Speaking to Pat McAfee ahead of the Royal Rumble, Reigns claimed that he had “graciously scaled back” his schedule over the last two years to allow other stars to get over, but felt the creative direction hadn’t evolved without him. Appearing on No Contest Wrestling with TJ Henderson and O’Shay Jackson Jr., Punk addressed his own ten-year absence from the company and flipped the script on the “Tribal Chief.”

When asked if he regretted missing a decade where he could have worked with names like AJ Styles or John Cena, Punk was defiant.

“Do I ever think like, ‘I missed ten years. I could have worked with AJ a bunch. I could have done more with Cena.’ I think I did pretty good,” Punk said.

He then drew a sharp comparison between his departure and Reigns’ recent part-time status.

“The Tribal Chief says he graciously scaled back for two years. I graciously stepped back for ten, and it took him that long to become the superstar that he is. I have no regrets.”

By framing his controversial 2014 exit as a “gracious” move that allowed Reigns to finally find his footing, Punk has added a new layer of narrative tension to their upcoming main event at WrestleMania 42.