Roman Reigns is once again the face of WWE's world-title scene. The 'Original Tribal Chief' defeated CM Punk in a 33-minute main event at WrestleMania 42 Night 2 on Sunday to capture the World Heavyweight Championship, closing out a rivalry that has stretched over three separate WrestleMania cards.
The match itself was built around kick-out spots and slow, deliberate storytelling rather than the big-weapon chaos of their previous encounter in 2025. Reigns kicked out of a late GTS. Punk countered the Superman Punch into an Anaconda Vise. The closing sequence, a standing spear into a pinfall, came without any interference from the Usos, Paul Heyman or anyone else, a deliberate creative choice to give Reigns a clean win that can be sold as his own rather than as a Bloodline result.
ESPN's review noted that Punk 'just ran out of gas' after a frenetic third act, which is consistent with the injuries he has been carrying through the spring. Punk had been working through a tricep tendinitis issue since the Royal Rumble and had pushed back both his Raw return and his Elimination Chamber match to manage the workload.
The finish positions Reigns as a likely long-reign world champion again. WWE creative has penciled him in for a programme with Solo Sikoa heading into SummerSlam, with a possible Tribal Combat stipulation to resolve the family arc that has been quietly running since December. Reigns has held a version of the WWE top title for 1,316 days between 2020 and 2024, and the new reign is expected to stretch into late 2026.
Punk, for his part, appears to be heading towards a well-earned break. Sources inside the promotion suggested a three-month absence from television is being planned, with a return aimed at Survivor Series in November. His post-match appearance at the ringside barrier, where he was filmed by TMZ appearing to knock a fan's phone away, pointed to the emotional weight of the loss.
The main event was the biggest draw of the two-night card, with Allegiant Stadium reporting a sellout crowd of just over 72,000 and a peak viewership on Peacock of 2.1 million streams during the final sequence. The Reigns-Punk trilogy is now unofficially complete, with the score at two wins for Reigns and one for Punk, and both men likely to avoid each other for the rest of 2026 as each settles into their next arc.