It has been building for years, and now it is finally happening. CM Punk will put the World Heavyweight Championship on the line against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 42, set to take place Saturday, April 18, and Sunday, April 19, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The event streams live at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT on ESPN in the United States and on Netflix everywhere else.
The path to this marquee matchup began at the 2026 Royal Rumble, where Reigns outlasted 29 other competitors to punch his ticket to The Grandest Stage of Them All. With the right to challenge any world champion of his choosing, he did not hesitate. Reigns set his sights squarely on Punk, making clear that this WrestleMania moment had been a long time coming.
The confrontation that changed everything
Two nights after the Royal Rumble, Reigns made his intentions known on Raw when he came face to face with the reigning World Heavyweight Champion. What followed was one of the most charged verbal exchanges in recent WWE memory, as the two men unloaded on each other with years of tension finally boiling over.
The back-and-forth covered a wide range of grievances, touching on the legacy of their respective championship reigns and who truly built the foundation for the other’s success. Punk pointed to his own role in bringing The Shield to the main roster, suggesting that Reigns built his identity by following a path Punk had already carved. Reigns countered by framing Punk as a cautionary tale rather than a blueprint, and argued that the only reason Punk returned to WWE at all was because he, Reigns, made it possible.
The tension between them stretched beyond career comparisons. Reigns brought up Punk’s departure from WWE more than a decade ago and the pointed criticism Punk directed at the company during his absence. He also raised the events that followed their short-lived alliance at Survivor Series: WarGames, a partnership that clearly left a bitter aftertaste. Punk, for his part, fired back over comments Reigns made on a recent episode of The Pat McAfee Show and called him out for a pattern of sporadic appearances, labeling him a part-timer.
A rivalry rooted in mutual contempt
What makes this feud distinct from others on the WrestleMania 42 card is that it is not built on a title opportunity alone. The animosity between these two runs deep and predates this program by years. Both men have operated at the top of WWE during different eras, and each believes the other has never given credit where it was due.
Reigns closed their Raw confrontation by making one thing unmistakably clear: he has never liked Punk, not then and not now. That declaration, more than any contract signing or sneak attack, gave the rivalry its defining emotional weight. This is not two professionals competing for a title. This is two men who genuinely cannot stand each other, and WrestleMania 42 will be the stage where that hostility reaches its peak.
What is at stake in Las Vegas
For Punk, successfully defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Reigns at WrestleMania would cement his current run as one of the most meaningful of his career. For Reigns, winning would add another defining chapter to a legacy already full of them and silence every critic who questioned whether he had truly earned his way back to the top.
WrestleMania 42 features a stacked lineup beyond this title bout. Cody Rhodes defends the Undisputed WWE Title against Randy Orton, Stephanie Vaquer puts the Women’s World Championship on the line against Liv Morgan, Jade Cargill meets Rhea Ripley, Oba Femi takes on Brock Lesnar, and AJ Lee defends the Women’s Intercontinental Championship against Becky Lynch. Individual tickets are on sale now.
