A major female WWE superstar would love to main event WrestleMania against none other than CM Punk.
Intergender wrestling is a rarity on modern-day Raw and SmackDown, but WWE 2K25 brought it back to the video game world this year, and there are still instances of men and women locking horns.
In 2025 alone, Roxanne Perez has hit both John Cena and Punk with her Pop Rox finishing move, and she exclusively told Metro she’d love a dream feud with the current World Heavyweight Champion.
‘Honestly probably CM Punk, because he was my favourite growing up,’ she said. ‘If I had the chance to wrestle someone, main event WrestleMania with a male wrestler, it would definitely 100% be CM Punk.’
There’s a lot of history there, as the 24-year-old admitted one of her ‘favourite promos she’s ever done’ was a segment with the champ when she was in NXT.
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Punk is also married to Roxanne’s childhood hero AJ Lee, which is dream match she’s desperate to achieve after the former Divas Champion returned to wrestling after over a decade around WrestlePalooza in September this year.
‘I’m constantly telling [AJ], “I can’t retire until I have a match with you. We both want to make it work, so you never know,’ she teased. ‘I really hope, and I’m manifesting, that it’ll happen, but I’m just excited to see her back.’
She quipped: ‘If I can’t get AJ, I’m gonna Pop Rox CM Punk as much as I can!’
Already a veteran in her mid-20s, it’s no surprise Roxanne has the respect of WWE’s most legendary names, with Cena himself pitching to work with her during his recent retirement tour.
Last month, he wrestled Dominik Mysterio at Survivor Series, with Roxanne and her Judgment Day ally Raquel Rodriguez getting involved and hitting their signature moves on the 17-time world champ.
It’s something she ‘never thought’ would be possible’, adding that it ‘actually was all [Cena’s] idea’, as he wanted the two stars ‘to be a part of it’.
‘I wasn’t entirely sure if he would want to take a finisher from me because of how small I am,’ she laughed. ‘And I wasn’t sure if he would want to take a Powerbomb from Raquel Rodriguez, but he was all for it!’
Despite her relatively young age, Roxanne started training when she was 13, and signed for Booker T’s Reality of Wrestling three years later, and she was just 20 years old when WWE came calling.
‘Being 16 years old, 17 years old on the indies, surrounded by all these older, more experienced people, was definitely a little… how can I put it?,’ she paused.
‘I guess it was hard to navigate at that age, just because I wasn’t sure if I was on the same level.’
Roxanne felt like she was put in plenty of ‘sink or swim situations’ in the ring, with NXT boss Shawn Michaels making her his brand’s champion before her 21st birthday.
‘I definitely feel like I’ve been holding it down as a young superstar for years,’ she smiled with pride, acknowledging the likes of Je’Von Evans, Leon Slater and Kendall Gray rising up the ranks in their early 20s.
She’s also ‘pretty inspired’ by Wednesday star Jenna Ortega, 23, who has also achieved great things at a relatively young age.
‘Just everything that she does, how young she is, she’s Latina. She’s killing it out there in the movie scene,’ she said. ‘I would love to tag with her!’
WWE clearly sees a lot in Roxanne, who made history by lasting one hour, seven minutes and 47 seconds in the 2025 Royal Rumble, finishing as runner-up to Charlotte Flair.
”My goal was always just to prove to everybody and to show younger people that it’s possible, regardless of age,’ she said. ‘It definitely felt like the company sees exactly what I always saw in myself!’
Next month, Roxanne will return to the UK for the first ever Road to Royal Rumble Tour before the iconic event itself on January 31, and she’s proud of where WWE sits a year on from a career-changing night.
‘It just shows that I’ve always been able to step in the ring with the best and hold my own in the ring,’ she said. ‘[And] I think it’s so cool to see the younger generation finally being on top.’
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