Entire History Of Seth Rollins Vs CM Punk: We are now less than a day away from WWE RAW’s debut episode on Netflix. This is a massive deal for so many reasons. Not only is the biggest professional wrestling company moving its flagship show to the biggest streaming platform in the world, but it is also the actual start to the ‘Road to WrestleMania,’ despite not being called as such.
For these reasons, WWE has packed this episode of Monday Night RAW with big names, big returns, and big matches. Roman Reigns will face Solo Sikoa for the right to be the Tribal Chief in a Tribal Combat Match. Liv Morgan will defend her WWE Women’s World Championship against Rhea Ripley, and Drew McIntyre will face Jey Uso in a big-money match. John Cena will start his retirement tour, and The Rock is expected to be on the show.
But with all these big names and big storylines taking place on the show, what a lot of fans look forward to the most is a dream match over a decade in the making, Seth Rollins vs CM Punk.
These are two of the most respected, loved, and best wrestlers of the 21st century. While Rollins is an in-ring magician, Punk is a (no pun intended) cult of personality on the mic.
But it is not their strengths that make them heated but respected competitors. These two men hate each other’s guts in the storyline. But this sentiment, to a degree, is a bleed-on from real life.
Today we will look at what makes these two men such hated rivals. What they have said about each other in real life, and why are fans excited for this match?
Check Out: WWE RAW On Netflix Where To Watch
Entire History Of Seth Rollins Vs CM Punk
Before joining WWE, CM Punk was one of the most beloved independent wrestlers in the US. When he signed a WWE contract, he was the world champion at Ring of Honor. A few years later, when Punk had defied all expectations and had become a main eventer and a WWE champion, the Stamford-based promotion came in to sign another ROH World Champion, Tyler Black, who would later take on the name Seth Rollins.
When Rollins did join the WWE and became the NXT Champion soon after, Punk was the WWE Champion. Even Seth’s main roster debut, as part of The Shield alongside Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose in November 2012, was to assist The Second City Saint in defending his title.
The two men did not cross a lot, apart from a famous tag team match where they teamed together until Punk walked out and was then released from the WWE on his wedding day in 2014.
The big corporate entertainment machine that is the WWE kept driving on. However, a strange phenomenon emerged. Whenever the live audience did not like any match, promo, or anything on TV, they started chanting CM Punk’s name. This happened for years after he departed from the company. Many wrestlers, including Seth Rollins, were not fans of it but could do nothing but not address the situation.
The real-life beef between Seth and Punk started in 2019. It is possible that Rollins harboured some ill will towards the Voice of the Voiceless for all these years, but the first shot was fired in 2019, when Punk was brought in by FOX for their WWE analysis show ‘Backstage.’.
Seth, seeing that CM Punk was now tangentially related to the WWE, despite having no intentions of returning to the company in any capacity, tweeted at him, saying that the two should have a match.
Fight me @CMPunk
— Seth Rollins (@WWERollins) November 13, 2019
Punk, still not wanting to return to wrestling, shot it down immediately. On WWE Backstage, he said this:
“I want my journalistic integrity to be intact, so this isn’t the show where you come on and shoot your little angles. Seth (Rollins) needs to stop tweeting and realise that sometimes it’s better to be viewed as the fool and shut your mouth or open your mouth and remove all doubt.”
In 2021, CM Punk returned to wrestling after seven years and joined All Elite Wrestling (AEW), which is the No. 2 promotion in the USA. Punk, along with several other wrestlers on AEW programming, regularly took verbal shots at the WWE.
Punk had a decent time at AEW, even becoming the world champion. But then he got into a scuffle with The Elite, who were the EVPs of the promotion, got away for a few months, returned, had a fight with “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry backstage at All In, and was fired (or quit depending upon who you asked).
During Punk’s first sabbatical from AEW, Seth Rollins was asked in an interview whether he would like to see a superstar like CM Punk return to WWE, to which Rollins gave a surprisingly blunt answer, saying,
“Oh, Philly Phil (Phil Brooks, aka CM Punk). Stay away. Stay away, you cancer. Get away from me forever. I don’t like Phil. I don’t like Phil. He’s a jerk. Did we just figure that out? Do we just figure that out? No. Everybody in the room is like, ‘Oh no, did he say that?’ Yeah, no. He’s a jerk. Come on. We figured it out over there; we knew it over here. I don’t want him back. Go do something else. See you later.”
Despite being beloved by the fans, Punk was also a highly criticised personality. He did get in a legal feud with former friend Colt Cabana after leaving WWE, and many even felt that his scuffles in AEW were mostly, if not entirely, his fault.
But then, the most shocking thing happened. After almost 10 years away from the company, CM Punk returned to the WWE at Survivor Series 2023. On his return, Rollins was visibly (although it was probably an act) quite upset. The two even had a heated exchange on the following week’s RAW.
However, The Best In The World got injured in January 2024 during the Royal Rumble. While he was planning to face The Revolutionary at WrestleMania 40, he instead commentated during Rollins’ match against Drew McIntyre for the World Heavyweight Championship. That night, he started a feud with McIntyre, as after being teased, he laid the new champion out, which allowed Damien Priest to cash in his MiTB briefcase and win the title.
While Drew and Punk went on to have the feud of the year, culminating at Bad Blood inside Hell in a Cell, Seth caught a stray during this feud, as when Punk ruined McIntyre’s MiTB cash-in, it resulted in Rollins losing his match to Priest.
After his feud with Drew McIntyre, CM Punk teamed up with The Bloodline inside WarGames at Survivor Series 2024. After this match, WWE started laying the pipeline down for the CM Punk vs Seth Rollins match.
The two punched each other out and had a brawl the following week when it was announced that the two would face off at RAW Netflix. During this time, Rollins, in a promo, explained his issues with Punk, claiming that when he left the company in 2014 and took shots at it, it was Seth who put the company on his back and faced the fire. He did not appreciate when the veteran returned and reaped the fruits from the plants sowed by Rollins.
In a promo exchange on the last RAW of 2024, a week before their match, the two men spit fire at one another.
Check Out: WWE RAW On Netflix Where To Watch
In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, the Monday Night Messiah revealed the real reason behind his dislike of Punk, saying,
“For a guy (CM Punk) who, when I met him, made it seem like he was all about giving back to the business, he really turned into a pretty selfish guy and really wanted to take more from the industry. He (CM Punk) said some really bad things about me. Talked down about me for years, and the company (WWE), for years. I’m talking some really bad stuff. Called me a bootlicker and crap like that. You don’t know me. You don’t know what I stand for. I’m a loyal person, and I felt pretty insulted by a lot of the ways he treated me, treated the place I work for, and treated friends that I worked with. I don’t need to get into any of the stuff with Colt Cabana. If you want to look at that kind of stuff, that’s out there.”
These men will now face off in arguably the most anticipated bout in the 32-year-long history of Monday Night RAW. In terms of in-ring action, it can be the best match on RAW Netflix and a Match of the Year contender. And in terms of story, it is already firing on all cylinders.
The first episode of RAW Netflix will take place in the Intuit Dome on January 6 at 8 pm EST (7 January 6:30 am IST). While in much of the world, it will stream live on Netflix, in India, all WWE programming, including this episode of RAW, will be broadcast live on the Sony Sports Network and the SonyLiv App.
Check Out: WWE RAW On Netflix Where To Watch
Get the Latest WWE News at IceCric.News and Follow for Live Updates – Facebook & Instagram.
