Why did Roman Reigns claim former WWE Champion 'probably has to be slapped around a few times'?

With Roman Reigns being the face of WWE for the past good few years, he is seen as the locker room leader, a role he has not taken lightly. The Tribal Chief has often taken a stand for other stars in varied backstage capabilities.

AEW's CM Punk and the WWE Champion worked closely in 2012 and 2013 onwards following The Shield's main roster debut at Survivor Series. As part of the storyline, it was teased that the Second City Saint orchestrated the stable's interference in matches in a bid to turn them in his favor. He later proved them wrong and commenced a feud with the trio.

In real-life, Punk seemingly got under the skin of many talents and administration in the latter years of his WWE career. Additionally, with the infamous backstage brawl at AEW All Out last year, the wrestling fraternity remains divided on the former WWE Champion. A couple of years ago, Roman Reigns discussed working with the 44-year-old star, citing his dislike for him and that he 'probably needed to be slapped around a few times':

"I don't like the guy. I mean I don't know many people that do but I'm willing to put business first and make really good content if that's the case. But yeah, he probably has to be slapped around a few times in order to get his mind right," said Roman Reigns.

The undisputed WWE Universal Champion reportedly had a backstage altercation with Kevin Owens following their WarGames match in November. This was due to an unplanned spot in the bout where Owens slapped Reigns in the face, and the hit took him by surprise.

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One of Roman Reigns' backstage feuds caused a huge disagreement between Vince McMahon and Triple H

Along with Roman Reigns, his former "The Shield" stablemate Seth Rollins is considered one of the most prominent names in the industry. The two kickstarted their WWE careers in the then developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) with Jon Moxley (fka Dean Ambrose) and a plethora of other stars.

While The Tribal Chief and The Visionary maintained a good, close-knit friendship backstage, they did get into a disagreement on an occasion or two. However, in the aftermath of a botched move during a tag team match in 2013, the two stars reportedly got into a loud quarrel backstage. When news of their heated exchange of words reached Vince McMahon and Triple H, they had a difference of opinion on whether the stars should be punished or not.

The 37-year old has had an impressive run since his debut and took it up another notch with with his reign as Universal Champion spanning over nearly three years. He is set to put his titles on the line against 2023 Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 39.