Roman Reigns and CM Punk are set to go head-to-head very soon at WWE WrestleMania 42 after “The Tribal Chief” emerged victorious from the Royal Rumble. Many fans already have their predictions for who will walk away with the title, but Reigns is pretty confident in his own ability.

During an outdoors interview with TMZ, Reigns pointed out that this WrestleMania will be his 11th match at the massive annual event, and his matches seem to only become bigger. “Punk is – he’s not the athlete that I am. He’s a hell of a competitor, he’s a veteran, he’s savvy,” Reigns said about his opponent. “But I’m looking to go out there and just crush him, smash him, man.” 

Reigns further admitted that he has the tendency to be overcome by his emotions, and if he doesn’t compose himself, there’s a legitimate chance that Punk could beat him. “He’s good at making people make mistakes, and if I somehow slip up, or – you know – take a left when I should have made that right? He could capitalize so it’s a very serious matter,” the former champion explained.

Interestingly, neither Reigns nor Punk has taken a definite role as a heel nor babyface – a sentiment that WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash shares. According to the veteran, there’s been no reason to hate Reigns if he was supposed to be the heel in this storyline, since he’s been far more relatable as a husband and family man, especially to men who largely grew up without their dads, since Reigns father – Afa Anoa’i – was always on the road.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “TMZ” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.