I can't stop thinking about the juxtaposition of Roman's and Punk's entrances.
Roman has a montage of his wrestling Bloodline featured in the background to an operatic Head of the Table theme before we see him appear on stage with his Tribal Chief necklace. Ancestral legacy rather than a depiction of personal accomplishments is what defines his entrance.
Roman has a dominating presence, for sure, but it's also distant. This becomes more apparent with Punk's entrance presentation. He has a montage of his career through the years play to Miseria Cantare's lyrics "Nothing from nowhere, no one at all". It references his humble beginnings and that in contrast to Roman, he is self-made.
Between the montage, we keep intercutting to a tracking shot of Punk walking from the Gorilla (backstage) onto stage. That makes it more personal, like a walk down memory lane. Furthermore, as he enters the stage the camera chooses to shoot behind and around him.
Basically, this sets up a kind of POV character framing as opposed to a more neutral third-person, that Roman's is closer to. This is all while Punk has symbols and names on his jacket alluding to his family in his wife AJ and their deceased dog Larry, his home city and people (unrelated to him) who inspired him or those (unrelated to him) he is honoring after deaths. Even before Punk enters the ring, we get so much personal context from that shows how much bigger a deal this match is to him than Roman. Of course, both of them bring back their older theme songs showing how seriously they take it. But the importance it holds for Punk is so much more. He has waited years as his hair has turned grey to main event WM, while Roman has done this numerous times before and has more years on his side.
So much of the feud was around them both slinging at each other about nepotism and children (or the lack of) as legacy. That's driven further home when after the match Roman walks down the crowd and greets his wife and children. Punk goes crawling down the crowd to meet the family who adopted him at 15 after his biological family's abuse and neglect. Where blood means everything to Roman and his family, Punk has built his relationships on found family. He even has a Puerto Rican flag on his jacket for AJ alongside a Chicago flag on his other arm. He (and AJ) calls younger wrestlers their sons and daughters. Found family defines this man. His legacy isn't built on loyalty to blood.
While the crux of the storytelling behind the match is Roman's "You're too old" about Punk, the weight of it stands on their contrasting backgrounds. Sure, Punk is not the underdog he was once. But set up against Roman and his wrestling family business, his humble beginnings really come to the forefront. It's insider vs. outsider. Punk is the David in this situation against the Goliath, whether in terms of blood or time. This is his first “real” Wrestlemania main event (as the 2nd day counts more) and it has taken him turning 47 to get there. There is also the claustrophobic reminder that he has lost out so many chances in the decade he stepped away from wrestling due to his fallout with WWE. He loses, but even in that loss he is the centre of the story. Him giving it his all at 47 pushes Roman to do more and that is what makes the match memorable. He goes down but not without wearing Roman down and reminding the world he burns bright.
