The Rock Proud of Reigns, CM Punk-AEW Rumors and Renee Young Responds to Critics

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe. 

Rock 'Proud' of Reigns

Roman Reigns will be making his major motion picture debut this week with the release of Hobbs & Shaw. The Rock, who stars in the movie, posted a video of Reigns' acting work and heaped praise on his cousin:

Hey, my cuz @romanreigns has great aim
Our A-camera operator Lukasz Bielan is one of the best in Hollywood - and now we know he can take a wooden club to the skull and keep on rockin! 
We love ya brother Lukasz - you’re our champion and tougher than a $2 dollar steak. 
This will always be one of the funniest f--king things I’ve ever seen
Despite the KO, Roman wrecks fools and completely DOMINATES in our movie. 
Very proud of him acting in his very first film. 
HOBBS & SHAW 
In theaters THIS FRIDAY

Reigns, 34, will be playing the character of Mateo Hobbs, one of Luke's (portrayed by The Rock) brothers. Hobbs & Shaw is a spin-off movie to the Fast & Furious franchise, and WWE has heavily promoted Reigns' involvement.

It's unlikely that Roman ever becomes the crossover star The Rock has become, but any mainstream attention will help raise his profile—and thus potentially WWE's ratings.

CM Punk Doesn't Want to Wrestle/Join AEW

CM Punk will be at Starrcast the weekend of AEW's All Out pay-per-view. The event has no relationship with the wrestling company, and it seems neither will Punk.

Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio said Punk has no interest in returning to wrestling despite speculation about him potentially appearing at the sold-out All Out event. 

“Everybody’s like, ‘Oh this is a work,’ and all that—this is not a work. He doesn’t want to wrestle, and he doesn’t have to wrestle," Meltzer said. "When he got signed to Starrcast, there was a lot of speculation, but he said stuff like, essentially the guys at AEW were using his name, fanning the flames and all this.”

Punk has not wrestled since leaving WWE in 2014, though he has made sporadic appearances at independent wrestling events. He's since had a failed MMA career while appearing in a number of reality television and small acting roles.

While it's clear Punk still keeps tabs on the business, it's also been abundantly clear he's jaded on the industry from the way he left WWE. It's hard to see him ever returning at this point—especially at the age of 40. With AEW starting up and needing to draw as much attention to itself as possible, Punk would be the perfect name to draw eyeballs who want to see if he can still work the way he did during his prime.

But there doesn't appear to be any relation here other than Punk grabbing a check at Starrcast. 

Renee Young Opens Up on Her Role in Commentary

Renee Young did not begin her WWE career looking for a role as a commentator. She began her career in traditional sports broadcasting for The Score before moving to WWE and excelling as a backstage interviewer and panel host, particularly shining when given the chance on Talking Smack.

Her transition to commentary has drawn mixed reviews. While there are times she brings a breath of fresh air to matches, it's very clear there are times when she's still learning on the job. She often fades to the background, deferring to the more experienced Corey Graves, and her commentary can come off as forced.

To be fair: This last point has been made about nearly every WWE commentator on the two major brands since the days of JR and King ended.

After initially clapping back at a negative comment on her Twitter, Young showed a bit of self-awareness and depreciation in a follow-up.

Young is in a difficult position. To most, she's the face of women's broadcasting in wrestling, and with that comes a strong sense of responsibility. She is also the brunt of unfair criticism and blowback from those uncomfortable with a woman being in her position.

But Young acknowledging her shortcomings will go a long way toward making her a better broadcaster in the long term.