The Real History of Why Seth Rollins Hates CM Punk

Sportskeeda Wrestling

Brace yourselves, WWE Universe! In this exclusive video, we delve into the intense and heated rivalry between two of wrestling's biggest names: Seth Rollins and CM Punk Ever since CM Punk's shocking return to the WWE at Survivor Series, tensions have skyrocketed, and the wrestling world is buzzing with questions. Why do Seth Rollins and CM Punk harbour such deep-seated animosity towards each other? What ignited this explosive feud, and how does it tie into Punk's shocking comeback?  Join us as we break down the history, events, and backstage drama that have fueled the fire between these two icons. From past controversies to recent face-offs, we leave no stone unturned in uncovering the roots of their bitter enmity.  Join us on this thrilling journey through the tumultuous clash of egos that is Seth Rollins vs. CM Punk! Share your thoughts in the comments below! Do you think their feud is justified, or is there more to the story? Let the conversation begin!   You can also visit our site: https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe  #CMPunk #SethRollins #WWERaw #WWE #Wrestling #Sportskeeda

Transcript

00:00 It is the biggest and most talked about return in pro wrestling in quite some time, but not

00:09 everyone is happy about it.

00:10 It was clear in Chicago at the Allstate Arena at Survivor Series War Games that when CM

00:16 Punk came back to a huge reaction where everyone was praising him, there was someone who wasn't

00:22 happy about it.

00:23 And that is WWE's World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins.

00:27 Why does Seth Rollins and CM Punk have such a seething hatred for one another?

00:33 It's Sports-Keyed Wrestling, I'm Kevin, get into the comments below and hit that like

00:36 button.

00:37 By now you've seen that video of Seth Rollins being held back by Michael Cole and Corey

00:41 Graves at Survivor Series, and you've probably heard Seth Rollins tell the Nashville crowd

00:46 at a big event for Raw that he didn't want to waste a single word on "that hypocrite."

00:53 It's crazy to think that there were such hard, bitter feelings, or so it seems, from Seth

00:57 Rollins toward CM Punk when the latter helped give Rollins a big career boost on the main

01:03 roster of WWE.

01:04 Yeah, The Shield debuted with helping Punk win a title match at Survivor Series in 2012.

01:12 You could even argue that Rollins wouldn't be in the position he's in today if he didn't

01:16 get that, you know, boost from Punk at the beginning.

01:19 So what went wrong in that relationship?

01:22 What's the history behind all of this resentment?

01:25 We can only speculate on the early part of it.

01:28 There had been some level of frustration from Rollins' side when Punk decided to pack

01:32 his bags and leave WWE in 2014.

01:40 Yes we know he was technically terminated on his wedding day, yeah that was very awkward,

01:44 but that wouldn't have happened had he not walked out on the first place.

01:49 Punk had his reasons for leaving, and it's just a really bitter separate issue.

01:53 We know Rollins is a true franchise player for the WWE, one of the most reliable top

01:58 talents of the last decade, and maybe a number two guy behind Roman Reigns.

02:03 But the true feud between them, CM Punk and Rollins if you want to call it that, began

02:08 years later in 2019 when Punk joined the WWE Backstage Talk Show on Fox in the early stages

02:16 of WWE's very lucrative media partnership with Fox Television.

02:21 For a little context, Rollins wasn't exactly being the most likable wrestler in the world

02:26 at the time, far from it.

02:27 Someone who was defending WWE, with rising sentiment changing in the wrestling landscape,

02:33 the rise of AEW, Rollins simply defending WWE when some fans would turn on it, it was

02:39 a little bit of a social media barnstorm there.

02:43 Rollins was coming off two runs as WWE Universal Champion, and by this point fans had turned

02:48 on him for a combination of different reasons, one being the bad booking of his character,

02:52 the second being his tweets and podcast interviews, particularly one where he sounded less than

02:57 supportive of his old shield brother Jon Moxley who had recently jumped ship to the newly

03:02 created AEW.

03:05 Rollins social media presence got a lot of attention, including CM Punk who joined the

03:10 conversation while he was on WWE Backstage, which was a Fox run program not directly produced

03:16 by WWE but certainly a beneficial one to both parties.

03:21 Rollins used the opportunity to tell him on Twitter at the time "Fight me" and doubled

03:26 down on that request.

03:27 When Renee Paquette asked Punk about this on the WWE Backstage Show, the best in the

03:32 world had a less than flattering response.

03:45 It's safe to say that Seth Rollins didn't take too kindly to these comments.

03:49 I interviewed Seth Rollins right around this time, right before WWE's Survivor Series

03:54 that year having a big residency in Chicago, and I was doing it with Q101 Radio, and he

04:00 was pretty brutal in his response to everything that Punk was saying.

04:17 He said that he knew technically it was an FS1 Fox show, but it wouldn't exist without

04:22 WWE.

04:23 But he didn't just stop there.

04:25 He said that if Punk wanted to come to a show and talk smack about a company that he had

04:29 no part of over the last five years, then of course Rollins was going to defend WWE.

04:35 He said that WWE has given him everything he's wanted in life and provided a living

04:40 for his family and if he wants to make money, he can make money with Rollins.

04:44 At one point in our conversation, Rollins even brought up WrestleMania, so maybe there

04:49 was a little bit of him working an angle, maybe some of this was real.

04:53 Yeah, those lines do get a little blurry.

05:03 Rollins has sustained his power in the business and popularity through the pandemic years,

05:08 and it was his comments in early 2023 during Summerslam weekend with House of Wrestling's

05:14 Nick Houseman that once again brought the conversation of CM Punk to the forefront.

05:20 He was asked about CM Punk following the controversial AEW brawlout incident and mincing no words,

05:32 Rollins said that Punk was "a cancer to the business" and said that people over

05:37 there only just figured out what people in WWE already knew about him.

05:43 He did go on to cool on those comments with a little bit of backtracking, which was subtle,

05:48 but a bit of brilliance in terms of continuing to pull the strings.

05:52 In an interview not too long after the "cancer" comments, Rollins said that it pained him

05:56 to say such things about Punk, who he acknowledged played such a big part in his career.

06:01 However, he stated he isn't a fan at all of how Punk has conducted himself in the last

06:07 six or seven years or the headspace he's been in, basically keeping the flame burning

06:17 without needing to do too much.

06:18 And as things stand, it's paid off quite a bit.

06:21 Rollins clearly has had some genuine disdain for how CM Punk has handled his business since

06:28 leaving WWE, and he may not like him as a person at all.

06:32 Personal issues can play out very well in the pro wrestling theater, can't they?

06:38 But business is business, and every party involved knows that there's money to be

06:43 made, which is probably why Punk made a subtle comment on Raw about how he's only a couple

06:49 of people.

06:52 You can see from this that it's been a lot more from the Rollins side, but he's casually

06:57 kept the fire burning, patiently waiting for a day where he can make a lot of money and

07:03 get a real prime spot on a big show, and that day is coming closer than ever.

07:10 The match they want, the spot they can get, the issue they have to get there, all the

07:16 pieces are coming together.

07:18 How much do you want to see CM Punk vs Seth Rollins, and where do you want to see it?

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