WWE Superstar Finn Bálor desires to make use of his upcoming match in opposition to CM Punk to “rewrite the narrative” of his profession – and take away the “stain” of a title abdication that has haunted him for nearly 10 years.
Nearly a decade since a shoulder damage pressured him to relinquish the WWE Universal Championship simply 24 hours after successful the title, Bálor will go up in opposition to Punk – the present World Heavyweight Champion – at Saturday’s Elimination Chamber occasion in Punk’s hometown of Chicago.
“I feel like it’s time to to rewrite the narrative,” Bálor informed Radio Times. “For 10 years, people have been saying, ‘What if? What if he didn’t get hurt? What if he remained champion? What if he didn’t have to relinquish the title? And I feel like, no matter what I’ve done over the last 10 years – be it win multiple Intercontinental Championships, go back to NXT to win the Championship, a United States Championship, multiple Tag Team Championships – no matter how hard I try to remove this little stain from my career, it’s like… what if I can’t do it?”
Continuing, he defined: “But I feel like this is the moment where I can finally right that wrong, rewrite my narrative and change everyone else’s perspective of my career, because people seem to perceive it as a failure, that I never recovered from that injury, where in fact I look at it as a success story, where I was this kid from a small town in Ireland with no wrestling industry, no wrestling schools, barely any wrestling on the TV, with a goal of having one match – and 16 years later, on my first night on Raw, I beat Roman Reigns. On my first Pay-per-view, I pinned Seth Rollins.
“So for me, that is a hit story, not this nice tragedy that everybody desires to speak about.”
Bálor previously faced Punk in in Belfast, Northern Ireland on 19 January – though he lost that match, Bálor (born in Bray, County Wicklow) described that edition of WWE Raw as “the most memorable evening of [his] profession”, adding: “To share the ring with somebody who I’d by no means wrestled earlier than, whose physique of labor I’ve admired over their complete profession, that was one half. The different half was [taking part in] a world title match in my house nation, with 18 of my relations watching. So that was an actual particular evening.”
The match in Belfast was also made extra special by the surprise return of Bálor’s old theme music, the popular Catch Your Breath – last heard on a regular basis in 2022. Dropping the theme was originally an attempt to “reinvigorate [his] character” and go “a little bit darker” as he switched to a “extra heel-ish” persona, he explained. “I personally love the different to Catch Your Breath – however there’s simply one thing about that track that’s simply so catchy, and folks can work together with it so nicely. It’s received such power. I really feel prefer it was the proper time [to bring it back].”
The old theme was only supposed to return for the Belfast match as a one-off, but the response from the crowd was so positive that Bálor now expects it to stick around. “Embarrassingly sufficient, the response of the crowd was so loud that I truly could not hear the music cue and I missed the first mild pop,” he laughed. “I used to be like, ‘It feels prefer it needs to be now, however I am unable to hear it…’ and then it was too late! But I feel that form of added to the magic.”
This nostalgia hit has fans wondering whether we could see another throwback, with Bálor reviving his otherworldly alter-ego The Demon, last seen in 2023 at WrestleMania 39 in a match against Edge.
Though he seemed to suggest that we wouldn’t see the character at Elimination Chamber, Bálor is open to the idea of revisiting The Demon in future. “I feel it may be used successfully, however solely sometimes, and it is one thing that requires much more from me than simply displaying up for a match, being ready…
“It’s really more than just paint, it’s a mental state. It really is an alter ego for me, and it’s something that I need to tap into.
“It’s one thing that I love to do, one thing that I definitely need to do once more. But like with the music, timing is all the things, and the timing must be proper. I’m positive we’ll get there in the future, however proper now, my focus is on the World Heavyweight Championship and CM Punk, and that looks like that is one thing Finn has to do.”
Bálor’s push for a singles title has also raised questions as to his future involvement with the Judgment Day stable – though he’s been a loyal member of the group since 2022, recent events have seen a schism amongst the team, with CM Punk advising Bálor to “ditch the Judgment Day” and separate himself from “rubbish” Dominik Mysterio.
Bálor though was keen to play down speculation surrounding a possible Judgment Day split. “Hopefully I can erase this stain from my profession, carry gold again to the clubhouse and get the Judgment Day again on prime,” he said.
“You know, clearly it has been a tough couple of months. We’ve form of been at one another’s throats, tensions are excessive, however that is enterprise, proper? This is WWE – and we’re all professionals, we’re all striving to be the greatest. People are gonna conflict, however I like Dominik, I like JD [McDonagh], I like the women. We’re a unit. We’re a household. And hopefully I can get this one over the line in Chicago… then smooth-sailing into WrestleMania.”
Alongside the Bálor/Punk rematch, the 16th Elimination Chamber event will see two Elimination Chamber matches pit six Superstars (men and women) against each other in a large steel structure, fighting in high-stakes matches where only one can emerge victorious to earn a shot at WWE’s biggest Championships.
The Men’s Elimination Chamber Match features Randy Orton, LA Knight, Cody Rhodes, Je’Von Evans and Trick Williams – all winners of recent Triple Threat qualifiers – with one final entrant still to be confirmed.
The Women’s Elimination Chamber Match sees Tiffany Stratton, Rhea Ripley, Alexa Bliss, Asuka and Kiana James qualify through similar contests, with one remaining spot similarly yet to be filled.
Elsewhere, Becky Lynch will defend the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship against AJ Lee, who returned after more than a decade away and reignited a bitter rivalry with Lynch.
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