CM Punk is set to go head-to-head against Roman Reigns for the world heavyweight championship at WrestleMania on Saturday, 18 April.
Reigns outlasted 29 other Superstars to win the 2026 Royal Rumble and earn the opportunity to headline The Showcase of the Immortals against whichever world champion he wished to challenge.
Two nights later on Raw, The OTC was confronted by Punk, which resulted in an intense war of words.
The rivals traded shocking insults on several topics, including the quality of their historic World Title reigns, Punk's involvement in bringing The Shield to the main roster and Punk claiming that Reigns followed his example.
Reigns fired back by declaring that Punk was an example of what not to do and said that the only reason Punk is back in WWE is because he allowed it.
Reigns also took issue with Punk leaving WWE and disparaging the company more than a decade ago as well as Punk's actions following their brief alliance at Survivor Series: WarGames, while Punk called out Reigns for his recent comments on "The Pat McAfee Show" and for being a "part-timer."
The shocking standoff concluded with Reigns telling Punk that he has always hated him and that he would challenge him on The Grandest Stage of Them All.