WWE is quite clearly banking on CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns for the world heavyweight championship to carry the weight of WrestleMania 42. It’s the obvious main event of night two in Las Vegas come April 19, as it should be.
It just made it painfully obvious exactly how Punk’s title defense against Finn Balor at tonight’s (Sat., Feb. 28, 2026) Elimination Chamber premium live event at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois was going to go.
The tension was in the tease, and they tried their best to give us a few doubts. Punk sold the midsection like hell, and even got his mouth busted open. Fans even counted along for the pinfall attempt after the Coup de Grace.
One of the better spots in the match was Punk managing to turn a second Coup de Grace into a Sharpshooter. He didn’t win off it but it looked cool!
Anyway, it was a GTS that took Balor down, clean in the middle of the ring. The Judgment Day did indeed acquiesce to Balor’s request that he handle things on his own. It did not go well for him. He did shake Punk’s hand after the match, however.
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