We are firmly on the road to WWE WrestleMania 42, and while the full card is still yet to take shape, both on camera and behind the scenes, one match is locked in to be one of the main events for this year's show. CM Punk will defend the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against the man who won the 2026 Royal Rumble match, "The Tribal Chief" Roman Reigns.The two men might have only had one segment together since Reigns won the Rumble match at the end of January 2026, but it's safe to say that one segment has got fans around the world foaming at the mouth at the thought of two of the biggest stars in the industry fighting it out on the grandest stage of them all. The shared history between the two men adds even more layers to things as Reigns was, in kayfabe, brought into WWE by Punk back in 2012 as part of The Shield alongside Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. "The Hounds of Justice" were employed to keep Punk as the WWE Champion for as long as possible, but The Shield would eventually be corrupted and join forces with The Authority, while Punk would once again become a fan favorite and end up fighting against The Authority until his WWE exit in 2014.With Punk and Reigns set to headline WrestleMania 42, it brought up an interesting topic here at Wrestling Inc. as to what the first pay-per-view/Premium Live Event meeting between the two men was, and it was this. A three-on-one handicap match from WWE TLC 2013 that pitted Punk against all three members of The Shield.This was supposed to be one of the first steps in a story that would culminate with Punk facing Triple H at WrestleMania 30 but that would obviously never happen, with Punk's exit inadvertently becoming one of the reasons for Daniel Bryan's eventual glory at WrestleMania. Punk and Bryan were allies at this time fighting against both The Shield and The Wyatt Family, with Bryan being in a three-on-one handicap match of his own later in the night against Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, and Erick Rowan, matches booked by The Authority to keep the status quo in WWE.So in celebration of Punk and Reigns fighting over one of the richest prizes in all of professional wrestling this April, let's shine a spotlight on their first-ever meeting on pay-per-view and watch CM Punk vs. The Shield from WWE TLC 2013.
One of the biggest selling points of The Shield was that they were unstoppable as a trio. Yes, you could get a victory over one of them in singles competition, and with the right teamwork you could get the better of them in a two-on-two setting, but when they all working as a three-man team, there was simply no stopping them.This is what made Punk's story in this match so interesting as he was always mindful to not let all three men gang up on him at any point. He starts by frustrating Ambrose, the wildest member of the group, by constantly getting out of his holds. He attempts to do the same with Rollins by playing cat and mouse with him, always making sure that his offense takes place in the opposite corner to where The Shield are placed. Distance is his friend in this match and that will become key later on. It's when Reigns tags in after Punk gets the better of Rollins where the mood in the match changes. Punk can't really outmuscle Reigns due to his size so he tries to be smart, a little too smart, and gets caught in The Shield's corner.Once Punk is in the wrong side of the ring, Reigns, Ambrose, and Rollins all take their turn in wearing down the "Straight Edge Superstar." Punk is always trying to fight out of things but he simply can't compete with the numbers game, especially against Rollins and Ambrose who are the more experienced members of The Shield. However, allowing Reigns to get his licks in ultimately becomes the turning point in the match as he tries to spear Punk through the announce table but misses, injuring his eye in the process. Reigns does get some control back for his team but has to tag out to be checked by the doctors, and just by using Reigns' momentum against him, this match is now a two-on-one handicap match.Rollins tries to make up for Reigns not being in the match but is too frantic with his attacks, allowing Punk to use his experience to mount a comeback and eventually lock in the Anaconda Vice which is broken up by Ambrose. Rollins was in the hold just long enough for him to be taken out of the bout and all of sudden, we have a singles match on our hands between Punk and Ambrose. This time, Ambrose is more methodical and looks to have finally swung the momentum of the match back in The Shield's favor, but Punk keeps fighting long enough to get ready for the Go To Sleep. Rollins tries to interfere but gets hit with the GTS, Ambrose fights out of a GTS, but just as he looks to finish things, Reigns, blurry vision and all, tries to hit a spear on Punk but hits Ambrose with a Spear which puts his own partner down long enough for Punk to get the win.
Against all of the odds, CM Punk overcame The Shield and managed to get the win in what was a very fun opener to WWE TLC 2013. It wasn't the best match in the world by any stretch, but it has a legitimate case to being the best match on the show in some people's opinions. As for what happens next, everyone knows about Punk's famous walkout the night after the 2014 Royal Rumble, but the work between Punk and The Shield towards the end of his WWE run at the time was some of Punk's best work in the company for a while. It really is a shame that Punk wasn't around during the mid 2010s when Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns really came into their own because singles feuds between them in this era would have likely been great.While Punk would leave the company, creating a gaping hole in the main event scene in the process, this would actually be a blessing disguise for The Shield as they were quickly turned babyface in early 2014 and had a number of great matches with The Wyatt Family. "The Hounds of Justice" even pulled some good matches out of Evolution which was seen as a borderline miracle at the time. It was that eventual face run that made The Shield one of the most popular factions of all time, which provided the springboard for all three men to become Hall of Fame level talents in the years to come, and that might not have happened without Punk leaving WWE.Since Punk has returned to wrestling, now that he's having a proper singles feud with Reigns, he has had rivalries with all three members of the faction he introduced to WWE. Punk feuded over the AEW World Championship with Ambrose, now more commonly known as Jon Moxley, which may have only been brief but it was certainly memorable, and Moxley is now seen as one of the faces of AEW and one of the company's greatest wrestlers ever. Once he returned to WWE and dealt with the thorn in his side that was Drew McIntyre, Punk would have a lengthy feud with Seth Rollins that lasted basically all of 2025, and you get the sense that it might pick up steam again when Rollins returns from his most recent injury.As for the story with Reigns, the man Punk brought into WWE is wildly different to the man that exists now. As "The TribalChief," Reigns has reached an unparalleled level of success in WWE and is one of the reasons for the company's boom period that may or may not still be going on depending on who you ask. They were both involved in the WrestleMania 41 night one main event, but that was more of a Punk/Rollins story match that it was Punk/Reigns. What might the future hold Punk and Reigns on the road to WrestleMania 42?We'll just have to tune in and see.
