WWE is rolling into the World’s Most Famous Arena with a full head of steam toward WrestleMania.
Monday Night Raw returns to Madison Square Garden for the first time in three years on March 10 (8 p.m. ET). With less than a month to go before WrestleMania 41, CM Punk and Seth Rollins will go toe-to-toe in a steel cage match.
“Of course, we’re on the road!” joked Jalen Brunson, star point guard of the New York Knicks, in response to the match announcement.
The tension is palpable between these two. The pair of future Hall of Famers were pitted against each other from the moment Punk made his shocking return to the promotion after ten years at Survivor Series in November 2023. Both former WWE champions, Punk and Rollins, have regularly shared the ring for heated verbal exchanges, but finally squared off at Raw’s Netflix debut last January in Los Angeles. There, the “Best in the World” secured a three-count for the victory.
The rivalry never fully resolved, and it reached a new boiling point last Saturday at the Elimination Chamber in Toronto. During the men’s chamber match – a contest that determined who would challenge WWE Champion Cody Rhodes in the main event of WrestleMania 41 – Punk stood across from longtime rival John Cena as the final two participants in the contest.
But out of nowhere, Rollins broke into the chamber and hit Punk with his patented “Curb Stomp” finishing move. Cena, in a move that foreshadowed his industry-altering heel turn at the end of the night, took advantage of the situation and choked Punk out, punching his ticket to Mania for the chance to win his record-breaking 17th world championship.
“Does it feel like we’re on the road to WrestleMania now?” Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque asked reporters after the event.
A furious Punk opened up Raw this past Monday and hurled insults at Cena, The Rock, and the “man of the hour, little brother” Seth Rollins. He continued by addressing Becky Lynch, not only a former champion but Rollins’ wife.
“You better come get your man,” Punk remarked, “because if I do before you do, I’m putting him in a wheelchair.”
Rollins’ music hit, and Punk met him at the entrance ramp, immediately trading blows until security finally managed to separate them. They engaged in another brawl backstage during the event, which prompted Raw General Manager Adam Pierce to lock them in a cage for a grudge match at the Garden. And with Mania on the horizon, the match will undoubtedly have implications for the Showcase of the Immortals.
Also on the card: Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee will take on the New Day in a tornado tag match; 2024 Royal Rumble winner Jey Uso will go one-on-one with Grayson Waller; and AJ Styles will call out Logan Paul for a match, with the internet sensation scheduled to be in attendance.
And the following night, NXT Roadblock makes its way to The Theater at MSG. NXT Women’s champ Giulia will take on NXT North American champ Stephanie Vaquer in a “champion vs champion” match. Oba Femi will defend his NXT championship against TNA world champ Moose.
Plus, Jeff and Matt Hardy will compete in a WWE ring for the first time since 2019. The Hardy Boyz are set to put their TNA tag titles on the line against NXT tag champs Axiom and Nathan Frazer.
