WWE's Roman Reigns Says CM Punk Wasn't As Good as The Rock, John Cena

Roman Reigns waded into the long-running debate about WWE's reliance on older part-time stars to carry major cards, and CM Punk was an unfortunate bystander in the conversation.

Reigns told BT Sport he understood different opinions but ultimately believes having established legends enter the fold can benefit everybody. He also took aim at Punk, saying he "was not as good or as over as a John Cena, wasn't as good or over and moved the needle like The Rock."

Few fans would probably put Punk in the same category as The Rock or Cena because they're the biggest names of their respective eras. There aren't many in the history of wrestling who can match the overall contributions of those two.

Reigns' argument also downplays Punk's popularity during his WWE run, especially during the 2011 "Summer of Punk" after his attention-grabbing promo that June. Nobody in the company was hotter at the time, and for some, it was evidence of a talent WWE had been failing to capitalize upon for years.

Independent of his thoughts on Punk, Reigns' comments illustrate how the part-timer discussion will probably never go away and continue to create partisans on both sides of the aisle.