Bronson Reed Returns, Attacks CM Punk At WWE Saturday Night's Main Event

Forbes

25-05-2025

CM Punk suffered a rare defeat at WWE Saturday Night's Main Event 2025, thanks to a shocking return from Bronson Reed inside the Yuengling Center in Tampa.
At WWE's latest NBC special, Punk and Zayn fell to Monday Night Raw's top duo, Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker, when Reed returned after several months out of action and attacked Punk, allowing Breakker to hit Zayn with a massive spear and pin him for the victory.
Punk's loss on Saturday was the latest step in the seemingly never-ending saga between Rollins and Punk, who have been at each other's throats since Punk returned to WWE in November 2023. Only, WWE has somehow managed to keep their rivalry fresh and exciting, with Rollins' heel turn and alignment with Paul Heyman at WrestleMania 41 completely flipping the script.
Entering WWE Saturday Night's Main Event, it was important that Rollins and Breakker, both new heels, start off on the right foot as Raw's powerhouse duo. They are, after all, attempting to fill a gap as WWE's top staple, a spot that isn't easy to step into after the success their predecessors have had over the past couple of years.
WWE has relied heavily on two stables on both Raw and SmackDown for nearly half a decade: The Bloodline and The Judgment Day. However, The Bloodline as WWE fans have come to know it all but gone while The Judgment Day isn't what it was at its peak with Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley.
Enter Reed, who appears to be the latest addition to a star-studded stable featuring Rollins and Breakker, who's long been in line to be a focal point of Raw on Netflix. Now, Breakker is getting the biggest spotlight of his career, and at WWE Saturday Night's Main Event, he peaked up one of the most significant wins he's ever had, too.
Breakker has become a human highlight reel since joining the main roster, and that was evident in Tampa. Now, he has a fellow human highlight reel in Reed by his side.
In a way, Rollins is becoming the means to an end for Breakker, serving as a launching pad for Breakker in much the same way that The Shield elevated him to full-blown super stardom. Of course, there are no guarantees that Breakker will be as successful as WWE is positioning him to be, but up until this point? So far, so good.
Up until WrestleMania 41, Breakker had spent his entire main roster career toward the upper midcard, but now, he's involved in WWE's most significant angle alongside its most important stars, like Punk, Zayn and Roman Reigns. Just a month after his alignment with Heyman and Rollins, Breakker is significantly better off because it and on the right trajectory to further success in the months ahead.
Now, Reed, much like Breakker, figures to benefit greatly from his association with Rollins and Heyman. That's a win-win situation for the wildly talented Reed, who was a huge hit on Raw in late 2024 before a devastating ankle injury suffered at Survivor Series sidelined him for half a year.
What's more, Raw's top storyline has intertwined many of the red brand's most important stars, and at Saturday Night's Main Event, we saw a perfect example of that when Reed joined the mix.
With Raw's Netflix viewership consistently declining, WWE's next step is to find its next money-making storyline. For years, that was The Bloodline, and under Triple H's creative regime, it's factions that have carried its programming to so much success over the past few years.
Thus, the pressure is on Breakker, Punk and company to make this storyline as captivating as possible at a time when Raw viewership is down and the post-WrestleMania lull often results in a downturn in quality.
But with Reed's big return at WWE Saturday Night's Main Event adding yet another later to this already intriguing storyline, things are looking up for the red brand.