First time ever World Heavyweight title match set for next WWE Raw
After surviving Bron Breakker last Monday, WWE World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk will be back in action on next week’s Raw in a first time ever match.
Punk will put the title on the line against former WWE Universal Champion Finn Balor from Belfast, Northern Ireland as WWE’s overseas tour continues. It will be their first time ever in a singles match.
The match came together on Monday’s Raw from Dusseldorf, Germany, when Punk was in the ring cutting a promo when Balor interrupted to put things into motion.
This was sparked by Liv Morgan and Roxanne Perez chiding Balor earlier in the show backstage as he was playing a video game for not being more aggressive and going after opportunities like they are. As they walked away, Balor muttered to “watch me” which led to the Punk interruption.
Balor hasn’t held one of the company’s biggest titles since his infamous one day reign in August 2016. He faced and defeated Seth Rollins for the then-inaugural WWE Universal title, but was injured during the match and was forced to relinquish the gold. Since then, he’s held the Intercontinental title twice, the NXT Championship, the United States title, and several Tag Team title runs on both brands.
His last opportunity at this title came in December 2024 in a three-way on Saturday Night’s Main Event that featured then-champion Gunther and Damian Priest.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.