Roman Reigns Makes His WrestleMania 42 Choice on RAW—And It’s the Rival Fans Expected
Roman Reigns has officially locked in his WrestleMania 42 opponent, and the announcement came in dramatic fashion on this week’s episode of WWE RAW.
Fresh off his historic victory at the 2026 Royal Rumble—his second Rumble win—Reigns returned to Monday nights with momentum firmly on his side. After Triple H remained non-committal about Reigns’ next appearance during the Royal Rumble post-show press conference, his presence on RAW came as a major surprise and instantly elevated the night’s main event.
Standing in the ring, Roman Reigns addressed the WWE Universe and teased his long-awaited WrestleMania decision. The Philadelphia crowd made their preference clear, loudly calling for CM Punk—and moments later, the World Heavyweight Champion answered that call.
CM Punk interrupted Reigns and first addressed Finn Balor’s recent attack before shifting his focus to the bigger picture: WrestleMania. Punk accused Reigns of taking the “easy way out” by potentially choosing Drew McIntyre, a claim Reigns quickly shut down by reminding everyone he has already beaten McIntyre multiple times.
The exchange grew more personal when Punk took shots at Reigns’ part-time status, questioning his commitment to WWE. That was the moment Roman stopped teasing and made his choice clear.
Reigns admitted he had plenty of reasons to select CM Punk—but ultimately said he chose him for one simple reason: because he hates him. Roman then delivered the final message, promising that at WrestleMania 42, CM Punk would be forced to acknowledge him.
With the match now official, WrestleMania 42 has its marquee showdown, and one of WWE’s most personal rivalries is set to explode on the biggest stage of them all.
