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Roman Reigns, who just captured the World Heavyweight Championship at WWE WrestleMania 42, opened up about his true perception of CM Punk.
During his appearance on the WrestleMania Post-Show, the “Tribal Chief” was asked about his current level of respect for his rival, right after they went to war in an intense, decisive main event in Las Vegas.
The former member of The Shield surprised a large part of the fanbase by clearly separating his bitter personal friction from his huge professional admiration for the “Best in the World.”
“There’s a reason why in the UFC, after a big fight, you will see that respect that’s laid out, and that’s the thing, the fact that I’m out here as The Tribal Chief and I can still hear a couple people calling for CM Punk, you have to respect that. Do I respect the man and his personal life? I don’t know. But when it comes to when he steps into the arena, when the ring’s set up, when the pyro is gonna go off, I got a lot of respect for the man that steps into the arena and performs in front of all these people because he puts his heart and he puts his soul, he puts his physicality on the line.”
“Do we see eye-to-eye? Hell no. Are we cut from the same fabric? Hell no. But at the same time, we’re a part of the same fraternity, just like you (Corey Graves), just like me and (Big) E. There’s very few of us. So, when you can go out there and you can main event and you can put it on the line and you can actually hold your own — CM Punk didn’t just run his mouth. He backed it up. He just ran into a better man today.”
Reigns beat Punk clean on Sunday night, April 19, at Allegiant Stadium. His next rivalry should be revealed soon, possibly as early as tonight on RAW.