WWE delivered a series of heavy hitting moments throughout the Netflix premiere of Monday Night Raw, but the beginning of WWE’s second week on Netflix was not looking to be outshined. The opening of this week’s Monday Night Raw would get things started with CM Punk, following the Best in the World with Seth Rollins and then Drew McIntyre, and the all-star segment saw some major developments for the Royal Rumble as well. Not only did Punk declare for the Rumble, but so did Rollins, and so did McIntyre, complicating the Rumble picture even more thanks to John Cena and Roman Reigns also being involved.
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Punk started things off by saying, “CM Punk has a lot on his plate, but something no longer on my plate is Seth Rollins.” Then Punk said, “To win the Rumble is one of my dreams, and that caused me to see in the distance what I thought was my career fading away. My dreams that were so scary and couldn’t see.” Then Punk added the Cena trademark while saying “I couldn’t see.”
Punk then addressed Cena directly, saying, “John Cena, I see you, and I always have my friend. And I see that John Cena has declared himself for the Royal Rumble, and I’m here to tell you so have I. CM Punk in 2025 is going to throw 29 other people over the top rope. And you’re going to hear my music, cult of personality, play my song!”
That’s when Rollins came out, much to Punk’s chagrin. Rollins was sporting an injured eye and then told Punk that he was showing up just as he said he was going to before they had their match. “A man of my word, if I wasn’t a man of my word, if I didn’t show up when times got hard, it wouldn’t be me. it would in fact be you,” Rollins said, to which Punk responded, “But I’d be the winner still right?”
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Rollins said, “I would rather be the worst version of myself than be any version of you. I’ve lost a lot of matches man. I’ve lost main events, title matches, I’ve lost at WrestleMania, but last week was the worst loss of my career.” Punk said, “Good” before Rollins continued, saying “I’ve never been more disappointed in myself. I underestimated you on the biggest stage of my life, and there’s only one way I can seek redemption, and that’s take your WrestleMania dreams and flush them down the toilet. You’re not going to win the Royal Rumble, because I am going to win the Rumble.”
Drew McIntyre then came out and took a shot at Rollins, though Punk thought it was directed at him. Rollins challenged him to a match and Punk was down for one too, but McIntyre wasn’t going to do that on just any show. What McIntyre did say was that he was also going to be in the Rumble, and now there are five main event level superstars already involved, including McIntyre, Rollins, Punk, Reigns, and Cena.
That makes a winner difficult to nail down, as it could be any of them or none of them if they take each other out. McIntyre could take out Punk or Rollins, and Rollins could do the same to Punk or McIntyre. Reigns could cost Cena and Cena could cost Reigns, but more than likely Solo Sikoa’s Bloodline will be the cause of a Reigns loss. That leaves Cena as someone who could end up the winner, but this is only 5 out of a 30-man field, so it will only get more complicated from here.
What did you think of the segment, and who do you think will win the men’s Rumble match? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Bluesky @KnightofOA!
