Seth Rollins will finish his WWE storyline with CM Punk at WrestleMania – but needs Dana White to settle their real-life feud.
The Architect’s dislike for 0-1-0 (1 NC) UFC fighter Punk is so strong that he’s prepared to train and learn MMA to escalate their rivalry.
Rollins and Punk will form two-thirds of the main event of WrestleMania 41’s night one this Saturday alongside Roman Reigns.
However, the triple threat stipulation has done little to whet the appetite of fans hoping to see the two former stars go at it.
Rollins’ obvious dislike for Punk beyond any script has been threatening to boil over since the latter returned to WWE in 2023.
Now, the 38-year-old has pitched the idea about fighting the man eight years his senior in the octagon, following the UFC’s £17billion merger with WWE.
“Sure, yeah, I would [fight him],” Rollins said about Punk on Robert Griffin III’s podcast.
“I’m not going to just bust into his locker room backstage and just start lighting him up but if Dana White wanted to book CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins, like first non-UFC fighter [versus] non-UFC fighter fight on one of his cards, I’d put on the gloves and give it a go.
“That might be the only one I do but you put me in there with any of the other guys in my weight class, I’m out.
“But Dana, you want to make some money, book it, brother.”
“Give me a few months [to get ready],” Rollins added.
“Give me a training camp, but I feel like I could handle myself. TKO, we’re all under one umbrella now, so could be the first.”
Rollins, who trained to be a professional wrestler as a teenager, has never had any formal MMA training.
Yet it is down to Punk as to why UFC boss White will likely never sanction a bout, despite promoting the wrestler for two fights.
Punk sent shockwaves across combat sports when he signed for the UFC in 2014 following an acrimonious split from WWE months earlier.
He was 36 when he inked his deal, but it was another two years before his infamous first outing in White’s MMA promotion.
Punk cemented his name in UFC’s unwanted history after being submitted in just two minutes by Mickey Gall at UFC 203 in 2016.
His second outing fared little better two years later, in which he was outpointed by Mike Jackson, although that result was later overturned after his rival tested positive for Marijuana.
Punk was widely panned for his performances, and his ill-fated UFC run even put White off ever experimenting with WWE stars again.
Logan Paul revealed that he fancied his chances of emulating Brock Lesnar’s crossover success in both companies but was denied.
Speaking to Tom Aspinall on his Impaulsive podcast about Punk’s UFC run, The Maverick replied: “I did [follow it]. He f***** it up.”
“After that, Dana was like ‘I’m never doing this again.’ But dude, I’m not CM Punk.
“He’s a great wrestler, not a great UFC fighter. I think I would be a much better UFC fighter than I would just a boxer. My skill is wrestling. I am a wrestler. But I think I’ve found a path, I’m a WWE Superstar now.
“It’s one of the only things I have done in my life where I feel so at home. I don’t know if I want to turn away from that and dedicate time to something that would be a side quest at this point.”
Rollins and Punk, meanwhile, may have to settle for keeping their beef inside a wrestling ring ahead of their ‘Mania 41 matchup.
The pair have had similar pathways in their careers, having found success on the independent scene before switching to WWE.
Punk was once seen as a mentor to Rollins, having claimed to have been the brains behind the latter’s group, The Shield.
Rollins himself has since admitted that the former UFC star helped his career a lot in his early stages, but social media barbs after Punk’s first WWE exit have since developed into a full-blown feud.
Rollins publicly called him a ‘cancer’ and on the night of Punk’s return was captured by fan-footage giving him an unscripted middle finger.
“When I use the word cancer it’s very strong but cancer is a parasite,” Rollins continued when addressing Punk.
“It takes. It don’t give nothing. It only cares about itself. It replicates and it only cares about itself. I feel he’s that way because he infiltrates and he tries to replicate by making it seem like he’s helping out all of these people and getting all these younger guys and girls to be like ‘oh yeah, CM Punk is great, CM Punk he helps me out’ but he’s just trying to replicate. He’s just trying to put his ideas into other people’s minds to basically create a little army underneath him of people that buy into his bullcrap.
“At the end of the day, it’s not for the betterment of the industry like he says it is. It’s for the betterment of him. Because he said it himself, he’s not here to make friends, he’s here to make money.”
