Bully Ray Thinks Finn Balor Should Beat CM Punk at WWE Elimination Chamber

On Busted Open Radio, WWE Hall of Famer assessed the World Heavyweight Championship match with CM Punk defending his belt against Finn Balor at WWE Elimination Chamber 2026 later this month. Ray made the case for why WWE needs to stop playing it safe and have Finn Balor win. Below are some highlights (via WrestlingInc.com):

Bully Ray on Why Finn Balor Should Beat CM Punk at Elimination Chamber

“All of a sudden, the WrestleMania main event that everybody is talking about is no more, boom, after the 1-2-3. All of a sudden, the match becomes Finn Balor vs. Roman Reigns, until CM Punk gets a rematch before WrestleMania and gets his championship back. You want to talk about keeping people on their toes? You want to talk about doing some different s***? It goes completely against the 101 and playing it safe theory. But man, oh man, am I tired of playing it safe.”

On How WWE Could Book a Title Change and Still Make Punk vs. Roman Reigns Happen at WrestleMania 42

“Now, it’s not my gazillion dollars. I get it. But there’s calculated risk in this business. I think you would…I think people would be so interested, so intrigued by CM Punk losing in Chicago to Finn Balor, and now, all of a sudden, it’s Balor vs. Roman. And now, Punk talks his way back into the rematch, just like Finn talked his way into the match? And right before WrestleMania, the original main event of Punk vs. Roman is back on? I don’t know, man, but that sounds interesting to me.”

Ultimately, Punk will have to make it through Balor before going on to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 42. CM Punk vs. Finn Balor for the World Heavyweight Title takes place at WWE Elimination Chamber 2026.

The premium live event takes place on February 28 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. It will air live on the ESPN App in the U.S. and on Netflix internationally.