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 coach and learn MMA to escalate their rivalry.
Rollins and Punk will form two-thirds of the essential event of WrestleMania 41’s night one this Saturday alongside Roman Reigns.
Nevertheless, the triple threat stipulation has done little to whet the appetite of fans hoping to see the 2 former stars go at it.
Rollins’ obvious dislike for Punk beyond any script has been threatening to boil over for the reason that latter returned to WWE in 2023.
Now, the 38-year-old has pitched the concept about fighting the person eight years his senior within the octagon, following the UFC’s £17billion merger with WWE.
“Sure, yeah, I’d [fight him],” Rollins said about Punk on Robert Griffin III’s podcast.
“I’m not going to only bust into his locker room backstage and just start lighting him up but when Dana White desired to book CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins, like first non-UFC fighter [versus] non-UFC fighter fight on one in every of his cards, I’d placed on the gloves and provides it a go.
“That may be the just one I do but you set me in there with any of the opposite guys in my weight class, I’m out.
“But Dana, you ought to make some money, book it, brother.”
“Give me just 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 may very well be the primary.”
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Rollins, who trained to be knowledgeable wrestler as a youngster, has never had any formal MMA training.
Yet it’s right down to Punk as to why UFC boss White will likely never sanction a bout, despite promoting the wrestler for 2 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, nevertheless it was one other 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 only two minutes by Mickey Gall at UFC 203 in 2016.
His second outing fared little higher two years later, by which he was outpointed by Mike Jackson, although that result was later overturned after his rival tested positive for Marijuana.
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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 probabilities of emulating Brock Lesnar’s crossover success in each corporations but was denied.
Talking 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 an amazing wrestler, not an amazing UFC fighter. I feel I can be a significantly better UFC fighter than I’d only a boxer. My skill is wrestling. I’m a wrestler. But I feel I’ve found a path, I’m a WWE Superstar now.
“It’s one in every of the one things I actually have done in my life where I feel so at home. I don’t know if I need to show away from that and dedicate time to something that may be a side quest at this point.”
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Rollins and Punk, meanwhile, could have to accept keeping their beef inside a wrestling ring ahead of their ‘Mania 41 matchup.
The pair have had similar pathways of 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 previous UFC star helped his profession so much in his early stages, but social media barbs after Punk’s first WWE exit have since developed right 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 exploit 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 duplicate by making it seem to be he’s helping out all of those 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 duplicate. He’s just attempting to put his ideas into other people’s minds to principally create a bit of army underneath him of people who buy into his bullcrap.
“At the tip of the day, it’s not for the betterment of the industry like he says it’s. It’s for the betterment of him. Because he said it himself, he’s not here to make friends, he’s here to earn money.”
