{"id":150631,"date":"2026-01-14T07:00:59","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T12:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=150631"},"modified":"2026-01-13T21:15:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T02:15:25","slug":"can-finn-balor-actually-become-wwe-world-heavyweight-champion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/01\/14\/can-finn-balor-actually-become-wwe-world-heavyweight-champion\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Finn B\u00e1lor Actually Become WWE World Heavyweight Champion?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/01\/12\/wwe-raw-results-and-live-updates-1-12-26-gunther-vs-styles-germany\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">January 5, 2026<\/a>, episode of Monday Night Raw ended with CM Punk successfully retaining the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Bron Breakker. He came out to an electric crowd on the January 12 Raw and talked about how he was a fighting champion. His next opponent would come walking out, and it was a surprise to many people. Out walked <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3KJ5QWt9RY0\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Finn B\u00e1lor<\/a>, wanting his chance at the title.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">He said Punk mentioned him as someone he would like to fight. Punk agreed, but wondered why, at that moment, he came to him. He said he was too busy babysitting Judgment Day to step up, and that he only wanted to fight him, not them. B\u00e1lor wanted a title match in Belfast, Ireland, the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/01\/13\/preview-wwe-raw-1-19-25-irish-stars-in-belfast-title-bouts\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">next week<\/a> with only him involved, and Punk agreed. Is this a mistake, or can B\u00e1lor actually <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2024\/12\/18\/why-finn-balor-needs-a-singles-wwe-championship\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">win gold<\/a> once again?<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Things are heating up! \ud83d\ude32<\/p>\n<p>Are we getting <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CMPunk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@CMPunk<\/a> vs <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FinnBalor?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@FinnBalor<\/a> in Belfast, Ireland NEXT WEEK for the World Heavyweight Championship? <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/c1sNm1263m\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/c1sNm1263m<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 WWE (@WWE) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWE\/status\/2010802014586810726?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">January 12, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span data-contrast=\"auto\">B\u00e1lor Has the Hometown Advantage This Time<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">During their tense exchange, B\u00e1lor mentioned something about Punk that is obviously true about his career. He said he always has an advantage in Chicago, where he was born and raised. That\u2019s something that has been true for years. Whether it\u2019s at the United Center or the Allstate Arena, or in WWE or in AEW, the fans have always shown up for him. They chant his name, wear his merchandise, and make him feel welcome. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">But next week, those same principles will apply to B\u00e1lor. He will be the hometown hero, the guy that gets the chants and the merch sales for that particular show. The fans will be his technical Judgment Day, as they\u2019ll help him through their cheerfulness. He won\u2019t need them because the fans will be all he needs. B\u00e1lor can definitely pull off the upset in his hometown with fans\u2019 encouragement.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>A Win Can Finally Produce a Payoff for Judgment Day Tension\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">For over a year now, the various members of the Judgment Day have been having disagreements with each other over many things. Fans have been begging for some change in the group and some payoff to their infighting in the form of one or more of them leaving. Many people think it\u2019s going to be Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan, but B\u00e1lor leaving makes sense if he wins the title.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">B\u00e1lor has grown frustrated with their antics in the past several months, but still sticks around. If he wins next week, there\u2019s a legitimate reason for him to leave the Judgment Day. He said it himself that he doesn\u2019t need them to win. Perhaps he meant that in the context of the match, but he could\u2019ve also meant that in general. If that statement is true, and if he wins, he could leave his friends behind for good.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Things Will Definitely Change if He Wins\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">B\u00e1lor becoming the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion will definitely shake things up on the Road to WrestleMania. A win would make Punk\u2019s reign as champion incredibly short, which is something that he probably doesn\u2019t want to actually happen. It would also be a tremendous moment in his career, as he would win the belt in his hometown and home country. That would be a celebratory occasion for all involved. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">But a win could also help the Judgment Day break from multiple months of stagnation. They have been having issues with each other for over a year. Sooner or later, things will probably get worse for them. The catalyst, being B\u00e1lor winning the World Heavyweight title, would make sense. He told Punk that he doesn\u2019t need them to win. If he pulls off the upset next week, there\u2019s a good chance he\u2019ll break away from the faction.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:480}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&#8220;Some weeks I swear you&#8217;re just shining Liv Morgan&#8217;s shoes&#8221; \ud83d\udc40<a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CMPunk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@CMPunk<\/a> is not holding back on <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FinnBalor?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@FinnBalor<\/a>! <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/BG2Somdeee\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/BG2Somdeee<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 WWE (@WWE) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWE\/status\/2010800732295844136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">January 12, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>More from LWOS Pro Wrestling<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><em><i>Header photo \u2013 WWE\u00a0\u2013 Stay tuned to the <\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/\" target=\"_self\"><em><u><i>Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i> for more on WWE Royal Rumble and other stories from around the world of wrestling as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the significant news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.<\/i><\/em><amp-fx-flying-carpet height=\"600px\"><amp-ad data-block-on-consent=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"600\" layout=\"fixed\" type=\"doubleclick\" data-slot=\"\/15188745,22512265771\/FS-lastwordonsports-AMP\/AMP-FlyingCarpet\" data-lazy-fetch=\"true\" data-loading-strategy=\"1.25\" rtc-config=\"{ &quot;vendors&quot;: { &quot;t13&quot;: { &quot;TAG_ID&quot;: &quot;f502adbd-5c9b-4d6f-9ec5-b0cdc0f4827c&quot;, &quot;ACCOUNT_ID&quot;: &quot;9a3c6c23-453a-4cba-b419-30b908f39a50&quot; }, &quot;aps&quot;: { &quot;PUB_ID&quot;: &quot;600&quot;, &quot;PUB_UUID&quot;: &quot;16268e26-dabe-4bf4-a28f-b8f4ee192ed3&quot;, &quot;PARAMS&quot;: { &quot;amp&quot;: &quot;1&quot; } }, &quot;criteo&quot;: { &quot;NETWORK_ID&quot;: &quot;4905&quot;, &quot;ZONE_ID&quot;: &quot;1382491&quot;, &quot;PUBLISHER_SUB_ID&quot;: &quot;FS-lastwordonsports-AMP-FlyingCarpet&quot; }, &quot;medianet&quot;: { &quot;CID&quot;: &quot;8CU8ZT2C4&quot; } } }\"><\/amp-ad><\/amp-fx-flying-carpet><\/p>\n<p><em><i>You can check out WWE programming on\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/title\/81788927\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>Netflix<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(Raw),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usanetwork.com\/wwe-friday-night-smackdown\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>USA Network<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(SmackDown),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cwtv.com\/shows\/wwe-nxt\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>The CW<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(NXT),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/tubitv.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>Tubi<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(WWE Evolve),\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aetv.com\/wwe\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>A&amp;E<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(WWE Superstar Sunday \u2013 Rivals, WWE LFG, and Greatest Moments), and\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peacocktv.com\/watch\/home\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>Peacock<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>\u00a0(WWE Main Event, as well as archives and premium live event streaming). Follow WWE on social media to relive top moments and matches on\u00a0<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/wwe\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>YouTube<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>, and catch fast-paced action on X (<\/i><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/i\/events\/1773457579022155776?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em><u><i>WWE Speed<\/i><\/u><\/em><\/a><em><i>).<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The January 5, 2026, episode of Monday Night Raw ended with CM Punk successfully retaining the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Bron Breakker. He came out to an electric crowd on the January 12 Raw and talked about how he was a fighting champion. His next opponent would come walking out, and it was a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5338,"featured_media":150584,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25,4,3],"tags":[140,111,8591],"class_list":["post-150631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-raw","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","tag-cm-punk","tag-finn-balor","tag-the-judgement-day"],"modified_by":"Laci Schlatz","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5338"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150631"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150631\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":150664,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150631\/revisions\/150664"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}