CM Punk wants to distance himself from two 'mainstream' WWE stars, claims 41-year-old

CM Punk cut a scathing promo last week on WWE RAW. He was enraged after Seth Rollins cost him a WrestleMania main-event opportunity at Elimination Chamber. However, Punk's promo was not about Rollins. At least, not at first.

Right out of the gate, The Best in the World kicked off the show by addressing John Cena's heel turn and took several digs at Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. He called them "bald frauds." Sam Roberts believes Punk is establishing his persona as different from his peers, as they are no longer full-time wrestlers.

On his Notsam Wrestling podcast, Roberts pointed to Cena and Rock's approach in WWE as they only step into the ring when they need a kick out of it. Punk is just as big a star as they are in the wrestling industry, but he earns every opportunity that comes his way.

"[CM Punk] says The Rock is in a mid-life crisis. He calls himself middle-aged and crazy. Now, this to me is so important, [because it is a] subtext of everything that Punk is doing to differentiate himself from a legend—John Cena and The Rock as legends. All three of them are legends," Roberts said.

The 41-year-old WWE analyst called CM Punk the 'Terry Funk' of his era, as the former AEW World Champion was paying homage to the late ECW legend with his 'middle-aged and crazy' line.

"He's laying the foundation for categorizing himself as the Terry Funk type of legend while John Cena and The Rock as the sort of mainstream Hulk Hogan type of legends. This sort of mainstream, I'm-bigger-than-the-current-roster type legend," he added. [From 12:26 to 14:14]

CM Punk is scheduled for tonight's RAW emanating from the Madison Square Garden in New York. His opponent, Seth Rollins, emphatically states their Steel Cage Match will culminate the story.

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Is WWE testing CM Punk before the prodigal son's first WrestleMania since his return?

Much of Seth Rollins' hate for CM Punk stems from The Best in the World's decision to walk away from WWE in 2014 and its aftermath. Rollins blames Punk for not returning his calls and, more importantly, for badmouthing the company.

Wrestling veteran Paul Roma noted WWE's decision not to give The Straight Edge Superstar a WrestleMania main event in 2025 despite teasing it several times. Roma feels the company wants to know if he will stick around.

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