WWE 2K26: WrestleMania main eventer CM Punk is ready for clobberin' time as cover star

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CM Punk is ready for clobberin' time as the new cover star for WWE 2K26.

The former WrestleMania main eventer and UFC fighter was announced Friday as the headliner for the standard edition of the video game that will be released March 13.

The WWE world heavyweight champion, Punk is just one of a record 400 playable characters on a roster that included everyone from John Cena and Cody Rhodes to Andre the Giant and "Rowdy” Roddy Piper.

Punk won't have to look far to find fans of the video game franchise developed by Visual Concepts.

“There is a video game console set up in every single locker room I walk into now,” Punk said. “I'm one of those old guys that looks at that and I'm like, this is crazy. This would never happen back in my day. But I also don't care. I'd much rather have them hooting and hollering and playing Xbox than smoking crack or doing drugs or something wild. They play a lot of Madden, they play a lot of 2K and they play a lot of Tekken."

The 47-year-old Punk is soaring in his second stop with WWE after he left the company following a bitter split in 2014. Punk returned in 2023 — after two winless fights in UFC — and last year was in the triple threat main event at WrestleMania against Seth Rollin and Roman Reigns.

Punk also headlines WWE’s 2K26’s 2K Showcase.

“It not only highlights some of my better matches and moments, there's a big ‘what if?’ aspect to it,” Punk said. “We delve into kind of what would have happened if I didn't leave in 2014. I think that's super interesting.”

Punk previously appeared on the cover of WWE ’13.

“It's widely recognized as the absolute coldest, hardest, video game cover of all time,” Punk said.

There are versions of the game that include the King of Kings Edition, Attitude Era Edition, and Monday Night War Edition which are scheduled for release on March 6.

The King of Kings edition is centered around the career of WWE Hall of Famer and current WWE chief content officer, Paul “Triple H” Levesque; the Attitude Era and Monday Night Wars Edition celebrate wrestlers from one of wrestling's more popular periods and includes stars such as “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and ”Hollywood" Hulk Hogan.

The Standard Edition will be available for $69.99; while the price points go as high as $149.99 for the Monday Night War Edition.

While wrestling fans and gamers will likely make the popular Punk a top selection when they play 2K26, Punk won't necessarily be one of them.

“If I was going to play 2K, I'd probably try to be Terry Funk,” Punk said. “I know what it's like to play as me. I don't need to do it in a video game.”

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