During the WWE Monday night Raw, the World Heavyweight Championship scene changed sides when Finn Balor came into the crowd and publicly gave a challenge to the current champion CM Punk to take on the title at the WWE Elimination Chamber in Chicago, later this month.
CM Punk vs Finn Balor?
Balor did not take long before entering the ring and directly confronting Punk about what he wanted, which was another crack at the coveted gold. Although Raw General Manager Adam Pearce had tried to calm the fight down, Punk finally found his way to the ring to retaliate and the title match was formally announced to take place during the Elimination Chamber.
IT IS OFFICIAL ✅@CMPunk vs @FinnBalor for the World Heavyweight Championship at Elimination Chamber! pic.twitter.com/bF2SF46AwZ
— WWE (@WWE) February 10, 2026
The arrangements of this match have been in progress as the competition between Balor and Punk went on increasing in Raw. The two had previously fought in a highly competitive World Heavyweight Championship on Raw in Belfast at the beginning of January where Punk still defended his title but Balor demonstrated to the world his durability and capability to match with the champion at that level. Such a dustup and other run ins have created the desire to re-match with more at stake, particularly with the two men seeking to leave a big mark on the road to WrestleMania.
Since Elimination Chamber was going to be based in Chicago CM Punk home town the pressure is particularly on the champion since he will be defending his title in front of a highly fanatic crowd. This World Heavyweight Championship match has now become one of the signature matches on the entire card and it only serves to add more interest to what is otherwise already proving to be a landmark event on the WWE road to WrestleMania.
