Last night on “WWE Raw,” World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk opened the show and dropped a shocking pipe bomb promo on Roman Reigns, Pat McAfee, The Rock, TKO, and most notably, commented on ticket prices for WrestleMania 42. Punk’s pipe bomb was in response to the now infamous segment of McAfee being revealed as Randy Orton’s mystery ally on “WWE SmackDown,” where the former NFL kicker criticized Cody Rhodes as world champion, expressed his disliking of the current product, and mentioned the lower-than-expected ticket prices for WrestleMania. On last night’s episode, Punk stated that a receipt is coming for McAfee and called for ticket prices to be lowered, which has now been met with a response from the color commentator on social media platform X.

“Good morning beautiful people,” McAfee began. “Last night a Punk ass b***h explained that he is not worth the price of admission to #WrestleMania42. WE CAN ALL AGREE WITH THAT.. it’s kind of the whole thing I been sayin BUT.. I have GREAT news. THE WRESTLING GODS have blessed us and @RandyOrton IS HERE TO SAVE YOU ALL.”

McAfee went on to list various reasons why Orton is the “GOAT,” including having the most career pay-per-view matches and most “WWE Raw” matches.

Since the segment transpired, it’s been reported that WWE CCO Triple H didn’t make the decision to involve McAfee in the storyline, but instead was a request from TKO CEO and Executive Chairman Ari Emanuel, who wanted more celebrity involvement in the WrestleMania 42 feud between Rhodes and Orton. Additionally, it was said McAfee originally turned down the pitch to be inserted into the storyline, but eventually both sides were able to reach an agreement as the sports analyst was Emanuel’s primary choice for the reveal.

Nearly one year ago, Steve “Mongo” McMichael died five years after being diagnosed with ALS. On Tuesday, the Associated Press (AP) reported that McMichael has been diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, more commonly known as CTE. CTE is a degenerative brain disease that can only be diagnosed after death.

The diagnosis was made by the Concussion & CTE Foundation. Through the foundation, McMichael’s wife, Misty, released a statement. “Too many NFL players are developing ALS during life and diagnosed with CTE after death. I donated Steve’s brain to inspire new research into the link between them.”

Former WWE wrestler and co-founder and CEO of the Concussion & CTE Foundation, Chris Nowinski also released a statement. “Steve McMichael was known for his strength, toughness, and larger-than-life presence, but his final act was to give a piece of himself back to the sports community so that we might have a chance to save ourselves. I appreciate all the former athletes, including many of Steve’s ’85 Bears teammates, who are raising funds and volunteering to participate in CTE research so we can create a brighter future for athletes everywhere.”

The AP cites a joint study from Harvard Medical School and Boston University in 2001 that found NFL players are four times more likely to develop CTE than other men. Boston University CTE Center director, Dr. Ann McKee has said that about 6% of people with CTE in the brain bank were also diagnosed with ALS.

McMichael spent 15 seasons in the NFL and was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2024. He also worked for WCW as a commentator, where his beloved dog, Pepe, would join him. McMichael would eventually join the Four Horseman. In 1997, he beat Jeff Jarrett to become the U.S. Heavyweight Champion. 

For over three years, Athena has had a strangle hold on the Ring of Honor Women’s Championship, setting records for longest reign and most title defenses of any Ring of Honor Championship, while also defeating a who’s who of challengers along the way. As such, it makes it difficult to see who Athena could defend the title against next month, when Supercard of Honor takes place on May 16 out of Salisbury, Maryland.

That might be why AEW/ROH owner Tony Khan has decided to stack the deck to some degree against the “Forever Champion.” During ROH’s TV tapings held in Jacksonville, Florida on Monday, Khan announced that Athena would be defending her championship in a Survival of the Fittest match at Supercard of Honor. A six way elimination match, this would be the first time the ROH Women’s Championship was defended in Survival of the Fittest, and the first match announced for Supercard of Honor thus far.

Scoop #13

Tony Khan has announced that Super Card Of Honor will feature the first ever women’s Survival of the Fittest match for the world title! We will see the lead in matches coming tonight. #RingOfHonor pic.twitter.com/NDAM4nI2QR

— Jaycob (@Jaycob) April 6, 2026

Later in the tapings, ROH determined who Athena would be defending against with five qualifying matches taking place. According to results, the other five women challenging Athena will be Maya World, Trish Adora, Yuka Sakazaki, Billie Starkz, and CMLL World Women’s Champion Persephone, who defeated Robyn Renegade, Hyan, Viva Van, Lacey Lane, and Isla Dawn to earn their spots.

Of the five challengers, Adora is the only one who hasn’t challenged Athena for the ROH Women’s Title during Athena’s reign, though she did face Athena in a Proving Ground match back in 2023. World and Persephone are among Athena’s most recent defenses, with Athena defeat World on the March 26 episode of “ROH on Honor Club,” and Persephone at Final Battle 2025. The match will also see Athena collide once again with long-time ally/frenemy Starkz, who has two unsuccessful challenges against Athena at Final Battle 2023 and 2024 respectfully.