One of the biggest reasons why CM Punk left WWE in 2014 was because he never had the opportunity to main event WrestleMania, with his match against Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins last year being the first time that he headlined at the “Grandest Stage Of Them All.” However, looking back on his career, Punk is somewhat grateful that he didn’t get to main event WrestleMania during his first stint with the company, as he recently told Sam Roberts on “WWE Now” that never being able to headline the “Show of Shows” is a key reason he returned to the promotion in 2023.

“If I main evented WrestleMania before I left, I don’t think I would have come back, cause I would have done it, what am I coming back for? … I mean, it’s a little weird that everything happens for a reason. It’s just one of those things, I did it last year,” he explained. “I didn’t win, and it’s far beyond being about that and I was just standing in the ring by myself … if this was the last time I’m ever going to be in a ring, I did it.”

Punk continued by sharing his thoughts on the personal back-and-forth promo battles he’s had with Roman Reigns on the lead up to their WrestleMania 42 main event match for the World Heavyweight Championship, claiming the “OTC” has no one to blame but himself for his frustrations.

“There’s a line and what I do is I blur it. And he kind of threw it back at CM Punk and I think that’s fascinating. For everything he says he’s mad about and he hates me, well then, why did you let me back in man? You did it to your damn self, and I think WrestleMania is going to be a lot of fun.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “WWE” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.