World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk defended his title against AJ Styles in the main event of WWE Raw.

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Punk laid out the challenge in the opening segment of Raw Monday, after Styles suggested that he knew he could defeat the champ.

Styles is heading into the Royal Rumble on Saturday in a high-stakes match against Gunther. If Styles loses to Gunther, he must retire from WWE. Punk offered the championship match to make sure he got to face Styles before his Hall of Fame career is possibly ended.

Punk and Styles had a hard-hitting and competitive match. Punk was able to land his signature GTS, but it happened outside the ring. Both Punk and Styles were then able to re-enter the ring before the referee reached the 10 count.

The championship bout was unceremoniously ended by the Judgement Day's Finn Balor, who had challenged and lost to Punk last week for the world title.

Balor viciously assaulted Punk, forcing the referee to ring the bell. Balor then dropkicked Punk into the side barricade outside the ring before he later delivered the Coup de Grace from the top rope as Raw concluded.

The 2026 Royal Rumble takes place Saturday and will feature the men's and women's Royal Rumble matches to determine who gets a championship match at WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas. The Royal Rumble is airing live from Saudi Arabia at 2 p.m. EST and streams on ESPN in the United States and on Netflix internationally.