CM Punk is probably my favourite wrestler of all time. Ever since I first saw him win the ECW championship from John Morrison, he’s been my No.1 guy. I was devastated when he left the WWE, so much so that it caused me to stop watching wrestling altogether. After several years, I started to see WWE pop up on my YouTube recommended videos, and I eventually started casually watching the shows again. Specifically, it was matches involving one Seth Rollins that always seemed to pique my interest. There was something about his vibe that I just kinda liked, and it was enough to get me somewhat interested in wrestling again.
And then the unthinkable happened, CM Punk returned, which had me overjoyed, but Rollins wasn’t as excited. What followed that unthinkable return has been one of, if not the best, feuds in all of modern wrestling, and after the events of this year's SummerSlam, I’m more confident in that opinion than ever before.
Both men had been throwing shade at each other in interviews for years, but it took until Survivor Series 2023 for it to take centre stage. The main event was a Men’s WarGames match, which involved the team of Cody Rhodes, Jey Uso, the returning Randy Orton, and Seth Rollins going up against The Judgement Day (Damian Priest, Finn Balor, Dominik Mysterio, and JD McDonagh) and Drew McIntyre. It was a gruelling match that lasted over 30 minutes, but in the end, Cody Rhodes pinned Damian Priest, securing the victory for his team. This was all well and good, with the fans happy the good guys won, and Randy Orton had his big return moment after being gone for months. It looked like the event was wrapping up until “Cult of Personality” began to play.
After a few moments, CM Punk walked out into a WWE arena for the first time in over a decade. I was in a state of shock watching this unfold, unable to believe that my favourite wrestler had returned. However, not all were as excited as I was. It was revealed by fan videos that Seth Rollins was voicing his displeasure at Punk’s return, cussing him out repeatedly. At the time, we could only speculate as to why Rollins despised Punk so much, but we didn’t have to wait long.
On subsequent episodes of RAW, Punk and Rollins would trade words/insults with each other, with Seth telling Punk to his face that he did not like him. The main reason is that Seth saw Punk as someone who left when the going got tough and believes it is unfair that Punk gets to come back and act like nothing happened. It’s this grudge Rollins holds against Punk that is the driving force behind his hatred, and Punk just loves fanning the flames. But Punk makes it clear to Rollins that he returned to main event Wrestlemania, essentially telling the then World Heavyweight Champion that he’s coming for his spot.
Leading up to Wrestlemania XL, it looked like the plan was for Punk to challenge Rollins for the title in one of the two main events, but Punk was taken out for several months with an injury he received during the 2024 Royal Rumble. This led to a feud with Drew McIntyre once he came back from injury, but all the while, Rollins was there. Even though he no longer had the title, he always found a way to insert himself into Punk’s business. Whether it was being the special guest referee or just coming out to talk shit, Rollins was there. This culminated at WrestleMania 41, where Rollins, with the help of Paul Heyman, defeated Punk and Roman Reigns in the main event of night 1.
Rollins then declared that for as long as he draws breath, Punk will never be world champion, and he meant it. Earlier this year at Money in the Bank, Seth Rollins won the Money in the Bank ladder match, securing his guaranteed title shot. He obviously rubbed this in Punk’s face, but it seemed like they were each doing their own thing for the time being. Rollins was creating his faction, and Punk was challenging Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam. Which brings us up to speed…
SummerSlam 2025 is coming up, and Punk is finally getting his world title shot. There’s always the threat of Rollins cashing in at some point, but it seems unlikely, as he injured his knee a few weeks before the event. Rollins comes out on crutches and gives a speech about how he’ll be out for a while, but that he is still Mr. Money in the Bank. With that, we all thought he was out for several months. Hell, the rest of the roster thought he was out for a while, with even his wife, Becky Lynch, seemingly confirming that Rollins was out of action.
SummerSlam rolls around, and CM Punk is able to defeat Gunther, finally becoming world champion for the first time in over a decade. But, as he is celebrating, Rollin’s music hits as he comes out on crutches with Heyman alongside him. Rollins shouted at Punk before turning around, and we all thought it was just a warning, a way for them to continue the storyline while Rollins is injured. But then, he dropped the crutches and removed his knee brace. Turns out, he wasn’t injured, and after beating Punk down with the briefcase, he cashes in his contract and pins Punk to become champion—the ruse of the century.
In subsequent weeks, Rollins has lauded his victory over Punk, but Punk has attacked him during promos and matches, and is now on the hunt for revenge and to reclaim the World Heavyweight Championship. This year's long-standing feud has been a constant aspect of WWE for the past few years, fuelled by the hatred between these two men. I don’t think I’ve been this invested in wrestling in a long time, and I can’t wait to see how this rivalry will continue and eventually end.
Did you watch the ruse of the century? What did you think? Are you enjoying the feud? Let us know in the comments where we can talk all things wrestling.
