Original Plans for CM Punk and Roman Reigns Segment Made Much More Sense

The closing segment of Monday Night Raw, featuring CM Punk and Roman Reigns, left many WWE fans feeling underwhelmed.

Heading into last night's episode, fans were excited by the prospect of what Roman Reigns would say in response to CM Punk's comments two weeks ago when he promised to bury Reigns beside his dead father at WrestleMania 42. Unfortunately, fans didn't get the fiery response from the OTC that many were expecting.

Punk and Reigns went back and forth on the microphone, hitting each other with a lot of the same barbs they've already said before. But things quickly took an unexpected turn when the champion laid out the challenger after being called old. If the segment's layout confused you, you're not alone. And now a new report has shed some light on the original plan for last night's segment.

Things are FAR from over between @CMPunk and @WWERomanReigns! 🍿 pic.twitter.com/o6NpKTsG8U
— WWE (@WWE) March 17, 2026

Roman Reigns was set to bring up CM Punk's dog Larry

According to the team over at BodySlam+, what fans saw last night wasn't the original creative direction for the segment. The original plan for last night's show would have seen Roman Reigns respond to CM Punk's comments about his father with a "darker response" about Punk's recently deceased dog, Larry.

While the comments might have been in poor taste, it would have made way more sense for the direction of the story, and Punk's actions in striking Reigns would have been justified.

Instead, we heard Punk tell Reigns multiple times that he was in his head, only to prove the opposite was true when he decided to punch his WrestleMania opponent for calling him old. An almost laughable insult, given that the two men are only seven years apart and both are currently in their 40s.

Why did last night's segment get changed?

With a creative direction that made sense already in place for last night's closing segment, why did things end up changing?

CM Punk has spoken about having thick skin multiple times in recent interviews. However, there have been plenty of instances in his career that seem to prove the opposite.

In fact, a comment from Hangman Adam Page in a promo about "workers' rights" was seemingly the catalyst that led to all of CM Punk's issues in AEW, which ultimately led to his departure back in 2023. If Punk had anything to do with last night's promo being changed, that should tell you everything you need to know about his current demeanor heading into WrestleMania 42.