Seth Rollins opened "WWE SmackDown" to address the main event of WrestleMania 41 on Saturday.
Rollins will be facing two of his arch-nemeses in a triple threat against Roman Reigns and CM Punk, a convergence of historic issues from all sides with the added caveat that Paul Heyman will be in the corner of Punk rather than Reigns, as a "Best Friend" rather than a "Wise Man." And Rollins had the chance to address that history in a promo to open the show, sitting cross-legged in the middle of the ring and removing the sleeve from the microphone as Punk did during his infamous "Pipebomb" promo.
He alluded to Punk's ill-fated stint with AEW, having made his return to wrestling nine years after walking out of WWE with Tony Khan's promotion in 2021, questioning whether Punk came back because the fans chanted his name or because someone had written him a "fat check." To be clear he doubled down, alluding to Punk's firing after "Brawl In" by saying he had burned that bridge just like he had burned every other one.
He shifted gears to Reigns, conceding to his credit that he is openly selfish and dubbing him "Mister Private Jet, Limited Schedule, Hand-Picked Opponent," before bringing everything full circle; he said that 12 years ago Heyman brought him, Dean Ambrose (AEW World Champion Jon Moxley) and Reigns into WWE to be Punk's shield, and he spent night after night sacrificing only for the spotlight to be handed to Punk and Reigns. But on Saturday he is entering the "most important triple threat in the history of the industry," and he will do everything in his power to ensure the industry continues to move in the right direction.
