ESPN Quietly Replaced CM Punk’s WrestleMania 42 Music and Fans Are Not Happy

CM Punk’s WrestleMania 42 entrance is being altered on ESPN Unlimited — and fans noticed immediately. During Night Two of WrestleMania 42 on April 19 at Allegiant Stadium, Punk delivered one of the most cinematic entrances of the event, featuring “Miseria Cantaré” by AFI playing over a stunning opening shot of Punk on top of the stadium before Cult of Personality kicked in for his walkout. That version, however, is not what ESPN Unlimited subscribers are seeing in replays.

ESPN Replaces AFI Track in CM Punk’s WrestleMania 42 Entrance With Generic Stock Music

As spotted by fans on X/Twitter, ESPN’s platform has swapped out the licensed AFI track and replaced it with generic stock music — with crowd noise turned up to compensate. The change is jarring for anyone who experienced the original live or on Netflix, where the full version remains completely intact. WWE‘s own social media uploads on X and YouTube also retain the original AFI version, making the ESPN Unlimited edit the clear outlier across all available platforms.

The likely explanation is platform-specific music licensing. Licensed tracks like “Miseria Cantaré” frequently come with restrictions that allow use in live broadcasts and certain distribution windows while excluding others. When those rights don’t cover a specific platform, replacement edits are a common industry response — even when the substitution significantly undermines the artistic intent of the original moment. Punk’s entrance was specifically built around that AFI track, and removing it changes the entire emotional tone of the presentation. For fans who watched live or on Netflix, the full version remains accessible — it just depends on where you are watching.