During Monday night’s episode of WWE RAW, a segment featured an interview with World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk, conducted by Michael Cole.
Before Punk could make his entrance, Finn Bálor interrupted, grabbing the microphone to discuss how he had laid out the champion and wasn’t willing to let Roman Reigns take advantage of the situation. Bálor expressed his frustration at being treated as an afterthought and demanded a shot at Punk’s title at the 2026 Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event.
RAW General Manager Adam Pearce instructed Bálor to leave the ring so the interview could proceed, but Punk entered and insisted Bálor stay. Punk declared that Bálor was his top priority and not an afterthought.
He expressed a desire to take Bálor down. Bálor then challenged Punk to put his championship on the line, with Punk agreeing to the match either on RAW or at Elimination Chamber. Pearce hesitated to risk the main event of WrestleMania but eventually conceded when Punk threatened to chase Bálor around and beat him if the match wasn’t made official.
The match was confirmed: Punk will defend his title against Bálor at this month’s pay-per-view.
WWE Elimination Chamber 2026 is scheduled for Saturday, February 28th, at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
The event will be broadcast live on the ESPN Unlimited App in the U.S. and on Netflix internationally.
