Royal Rumble 2026 winner Roman Reigns will challenge World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk for his title in the main event of night two of WrestleMania 42 on Sunday, their first singles match in over a decade. Punk and Reigns fought in the main event of night one last year, in a triple threat involving Seth Rollins, but this year, it’s more than personal, something fans have seen in the ring with their scathing promos and pull-apart brawls, and even more recently, on Reigns’ social media.

The “Tribal Chief” sat down with Michael Cole for an interview on WWE’s YouTube channel ahead of the “Showcase of the Immortals” and spoke about his future ahead of his record 11th main event WrestleMania match. Reigns did not mince words in the serious interview, especially in his answers to Cole’s final question, what happens if he doesn’t win the World Heavyweight Championship?

“If I lose to CM Punk at WrestleMania, I don’t belong in the WWE anymore,” Reigns said after thinking for a moment. “I think if I were to lose on Sunday, I’d say my work is done.”

While it’s been speculated that the nearly 41-year-old Reigns could be hanging up his boots to fully commit to his Hollywood career, in another interview this week, he said he’s not fully ready to be done in the ring. Reigns said that despite doing everything there is to do in WWE, there was “still a little more juice to squeeze.”

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If one ESPN star wasn’t enough for WrestleMania 42 in Pat McAfee, WWE continues to tease the appearance of another highly opinionated personality. As WWE stars have been promoting WrestleMania on ESPN this week, Stephen A. Smith’s involvement has been repeatedly teased.

When COO Paul “Triple H” Levesque was featured on Smith’s show, he discussed some of the best in the business. When naming names like Paul Heyman, CM Punk, and Rhea Ripley, he said he’d be remiss if he didn’t mention the “fighting shape” Smith was in.

“I’m thinking to myself when we’re talking spectacle events, the run in right now would be epic,” Levesque said.

“I would aspire to usurp the great Paul Heyman,” Smith said. “He is the creme de la creme, but I think he has been on the throne of trash talking too long and I think somebody has to take him down. I think that I have a chance to be that person, but I don’t know yet.”

During an appearance by Roman Reigns on “First Take,” Pete Rosenberg brought up that Smith has said he’d love to be a WWE manager. The veteran ESPN host offered his services to the “Tribal Chief,” and Reigns joked that they needed to book a meeting.

“If the Tribal Chief requested my services, I must concede,” Smith said. “I would have to answer that call.”

It may not be easy for Smith, however, as during another WWE star appearance, he was cursed by Danhausen. Smith and his co-hosts were baffled when the star said he was there to take over “ESPNhausen.” Smith called him a “bad luck charm” and asked why he was there. Danhausen said that while he could curse the enemies of Smith’s beloved New York Knicks, Smith had been rude to Danhausen, so the curse was placed on him.

AJ Lee said she wanted to see Paige (otherwise known as Saraya) return to WWE like she and the Bellas have done. 

Lee returned after a decade away from WWE last year, teaming with her husband CM Punk to face Becky Lynch and her husband Seth Rollins. She will now enter WrestleMania 42 this weekend as the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion against Lynch, and touched on the idea of a “Divas Era” renaissance in 2026 during an interview with “The Takedown on SI.” 

“Divas are built different and we can stand the test of time,” she said. “Our fan base from back then were so passionate about fighting for us to get more, and have very much changed the world with us because they were so passionate.” 

She said it made her miss Saraya, and called on her and fellow former Divas Champion Kaitlyn (Celeste Bonin) to return. 

“I loved Paige. I think she’s to talented. If I could bring somebody back [it would be] her and Kaitlyn. Let’s get them back.”

Expanding on her relationship with Saraya she said, “She’s so talented and I knew it from day one, and we’d always joke that I was her fairy godmother. I took her under my wing and tried to protect her. Just to see now would be just kind of heartwarming and healing. She would be a great addition to the locker room. I think [WWE] has really come a long way and the women work together so beautifully, they’re so supportive, and I would love for her experience how fun it is now.”

It just so happens that reports have emerged to say Saraya has re-signed and is due to return as Paige alongside Brie Bella, replacing the injured Nikki Bella in challenging for the Women’s Tag Team Championship. 

World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk is set to defend his title against Roman Reigns in the main event of night two of WrestleMania 42, and for weeks, the pair have been trading verbal barbs both in the ring and on social media. Longtime fans of WWE are well aware of the real-life animosity between them, ever since Punk’s 2014 comments on the “Art of Wrestling” podcast. Paul “Triple H” Levesque commented on it further in an interview with Joe Tessitore. He said the intensity between them doesn’t stop when the cameras aren’t on.

“There is a palpable, you can cut it with a knife feeling of intensity,” Levesque said. “That intensity does not stop backstage. When they have to be in the vicinity of each other in backstage environments, it is on epic levels of tension. Where at any point in time, you feel like this will go incredibly unprofessionally at any moment… You can smell the gas in the air and there are sparks everywhere and you’re trying to get through it and get it in the ring at WrestleMania before it blows up.”

Levesque mentioned WWE’s reality series, “WWE Unreal,” and said that Punk and Reigns’ feud is very real in a way that many fans cannot fathom how much “f*** you” energy there is between them. He said that both men aren’t trying to wow the crowd with some of the scathing lines in their promos.

“There’s a moment where it ceases to be ‘watch what the crowd does when I say this,'” Levesque explained. “I don’t know that when they’re out there they give a damn. If there’s 20,000 people watching them live in that moment, I don’t think they give a damn.”

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