CM Punk and Roman Reigns traded verbal nukes on Raw, culminating in Reigns challenging Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 42. And like any war, there was collateral damage: Drew McIntyre’s standing took a direct hit, with SmackDown getting caught in the crossfire.
RIP, Drew McIntyre
Before Reigns could even pose the question of which champion he should face at WrestleMania, the crowd in Philadelphia was already chanting “CM Punk.”
When Reigns finally got around to asking about McIntyre, the Undisputed
WWE Champion, the crowd booed. When he inquired about option two, it wasn’t even close — Punk won in a landslide.
That brought out Punk, who again posed the question of who Reigns should face. Once more, Punk was the popular choice.
From there, Punk and Reigns had a pissing match over who had embarrassed McIntyre more during their careers. Reigns offered faint praise, noting McIntyre was much bigger than Punk and reminding everyone how Drew once had Punk crying over a bracelet.
Punk brushed it off, calling McIntyre “the easy way out.” Later, as Reigns narrowed down his choices, he said to Punk, “I could pick you because you’re the biggest star available.”
Although he was building up Punk, Reigns tore down McIntyre, the man who helped lead WWE at the start of the pandemic era and had earned a long-overdue return to the top — now framed as an afterthought.
SmackDown Catches a Bullet
As Reigns continued, he said what most people know, but respectfully don’t say out loud, “I could pick you because you’re on Netflix, and you’re on the best show.”
Since its launch in 1999, SmackDown has long carried the label of WWE’s B-show. From its early days on a now-defunct network — where taped spoilers often determined whether fans tuned in at all — Reigns’ flippant one-liner once again made the brand feel second-rate.
That perception cuts deeper, coming just months after a BodySlam.net report indicated WWE was making creative changes to strengthen the product, with SmackDown named a top priority.
It All Comes Down to This
Ultimately, star power and brand recognition didn’t matter. Instead, Reigns made his decision for a simpler reason: “I’m picking you because I hate you. I’ve always hated you.”
He then closed the segment by raising the stakes: “WrestleMania’s gonna be the best day of my life because in the main event, you will acknowledge me.”
Just two days after the Royal Rumble, WWE locked in a match for the ages: Roman Reigns, the company’s biggest attraction, versus CM Punk, a living legend, on the grandest stage of them all.
That leaves WWE figuring out how to restore SmackDown and its undermined, err, undisputed champion, McIntyre, who served as a convenient punching bag.
Good luck, blue brand.
Godspeed, McIntyre.
