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Main Event of WrestleMania 42 Set as Roman Reigns Makes His Decision on WWE Raw

Roman Reigns will challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 42 this April in Las Vegas.
Rick Ucchino|
Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns | Netflix

It is on at WrestleMania 42, the Tribal Chief will challenge the Best in the World for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Roman Reigns made his return to WWE Raw Monday night in Philadelphia and the 2026 Men's Royal Rumble winner came face-to-face with his old 'buddy' CM Punk.

The OTC had a very important decision to make, and he could have taken his time, but it sounded like he had his mind made up from the moment he pointed at the WrestleMania sign this past Saturday in Saudi Arabia.

Reigns did play with the crowd a little bit, asking them who he should choose to face at this year's 'Showcase of the Immortals'. The fans in Philly would boo whenever WWE Champion Drew McIntyre's name was mentioned, and cheer for CM Punk.

Naturally, the reigning World Heavyweight Champion wasn't going to sit in the back when an arena full of people were chanting his name. Punk came down to the ring and campaigned for Reigns to choose him, instead of taking the "easy way out" by selecting The Scottish Warrior.

What started off as a playful exchange of quips, quickly dissolved into a personal airing of grievances. Punk called Reigns a part-time performer who made it to the mountain top in WWE by running his playbook. Roman fired back by informing Punk that he wouldn't have been able to return to the company two years ago without his blessing.

He gave his blessing despite what happened over a decade ago when a disgruntled CM Punk ripped WWE on the Art of Wrestling podcast, and subsequently made Reigns' life in the company monumentally more difficult.

Roman said that he could have chosen Punk because he's the biggest star available, or because he's on the best show. Plain and simple, Roman Reigns chose to face CM Punk in the main event for WrestleMania 42, because he hates Phil Brooks. He's always hated Phil Brooks, and on the 'Grandest Stage of Them All', he will be forced to acknowledge him.

This is all assuming that CM Punk is still the World Heavyweight Champion come April 18 or 19. Finn Balor made it very clear Monday night that he's still coming for the title, and Punk let it be known that he's preparing for a fight with the PrinXe at some point down the line.

Current WrestleMania 42 Card (announced):

Roman Reigns & CM Punk
Roman Reigns & CM Punk | WWE
  • CM Punk (c) vs. Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship.
  • 2026 Women's Royal Rumble winner Liv Morgan to challenge either the WWE Women's Champion or Women's World Champion.

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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