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Finn Balor Addresses Crowd After Thrilling WWE Raw Main Event

By John Canton • Published Jan 19, 2026 20:06 EST
Finn Balor
Finn Balor - Image via WWE.com

Finn Balor was feeling the love from the crowd when he faced CM Punk on WWE Monday Night Raw.

A first-time ever match took place in the main event of WWE Monday Night Raw on January 19th in Belfast.

CM Punk defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Finn Balor, who hasn’t held a WWE World Title since the Universal Title for one day in 2016, which he was forced to vacate at the time due to a shoulder injury.

In this match against Punk, Balor came close to winning several times. Punk hit his Go To Sleep in the match, Balor kicked out of that, and then Balor hit the Coup de Grace double foot stomp off the top rope for a two count. Fans in Belfast thought that was it, but Punk was able to kick out just in time.

There were some pin attempts exchanged between the two men, but Punk then hit a GTS for a second time. This time, Balor wasn’t able to kick out, and Punk got the pinfall win to retain his World Title.

After the match, CM Punk walked over to Finn Balor, picked him up, and said something to him. Punk held Balor’s arm up for the fans. Punk and Balor hugged in the middle of the ring. After Balor left the ring, Punk posed with the World Title. Balor watched Punk celebrate to end the show.

Finn Balor Spoke To The Belfast Crowd After Raw

Since the 44-year-old Finn Balor is from Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland, a WWE event in Belfast is close to home since it’s on the same island.

When Balor made his entrance for the match, he used his original WWE theme song, and the fans were ready for it as they cheered him during the match.

After the match, Balor was in the ring, ready to talk, when the fans broke out into a song. Balor addressed the crowd:

“You know what, it’s true what they say…there is no place like home. Thank you very much, Belfast.”

Balor’s music played, and he saluted the crowd.