CM Punk reclaimed the throne atop Monday Night Raw as he defeated Jey Uso at Saturday Night’s Main Event in Salt Lake City to claim the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for the second time in as many months. And this time around, the tale would have a bitter ending.
When the Second City Saint defeated Gunther in a classic at SummerSlam back in August, their certainty was a sting in the tale. Seth Rollins emerged at MetLife Stadium, revealing that his seemingly legitimate injury was a ruse all along, and cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase to steal the title just minutes after Punk had claimed it. As luck would have it, Rollins would indeed go on to suffer a legitimate injury in his victory against Cody Rhodes at Crown Jewel in Perth, Australia. The injury meant that the Visionary would have to vacate his title, and Punk was only too willing to take the opportunity handed to him on a silver platter.
CM Punk Beats Jey Uso
Heading into SNME, rumors were rife with possibilities regarding good guys going bad. Would Jey Uso complete his Roman Reigns 2.0 turn to claim the title in nefarious circumstances? Would Punk’s bitterness, having been bested by Seth Rollins and Paul Heyman in recent months, ultimately come to a head? In the end, Punk would simply win a good old-fashioned wrestling match, with no swerves in sight, to become an eight-time world champion.
Now with the title safely tucked up in Chicago, the question lingers as to who will step up first as the number one contender to Punk’s world heavyweight title? Well, the race currently seems wide open.
WarGames and the Royal Rumble Currently Dominate the Headlines
On the most recent edition of Monday Night Raw, Logan Paul emerged mid Punk victory speech. However, rather than setting up a feud between the two, the story centered around an angle in which Punk and the Maverick were standing side by side against the fearsome Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed. Then, in true heel style, Paul clocked the champion with a brass knuckles-infused right hand, before aligning himself with Paul Heyman’s two heavyweight cronies.
That move has seemingly set the stage for the upcoming Survivor Series: WarGames Premium Live Event, due to take place at the end of November. Paul, Breakker, and Reed now seem locked in to form three-quarters of one of the teams, with Punk and Jey Uso standing opposite them. Once that concludes, all roads will point toward the Royal Rumble season.
Online sports betting outlets already have a rough idea of their favorites to leave Saudi Arabia next January, having purchased their tickets to the main event of WrestleMania. One can bet on sports at Bovada, with WWE betting readily available for huge events such as the Rumble or Mania itself. While the American betting giant hasn’t yet published their odds, they are expected to install Sami Zayn as a 5/2 favourite, with a potentially returning Seth Rollins also expected to contend.
But War Games and the Rumble are pencilled in for the end of the month and January. Where does all of that leave CM Punk right now? With the number one contender situation up in the air, let’s try to sieve through the narrative and predict two potential opponents for the newly minted World Heavyweight Champion and his maiden title defence.
Bron Breakker
Bron Breakker has spent the majority of 2025 running roughshod over WWE. After joining forces with Seth Rollins and Paul Heyman after their alignment at WrestleMania, the Vision dominated WWE programming. However, Rollins’ recent injury forced WWE brass to change course, with Breakker shockingly turning on Rollins post-Crown Jewel, taking Heyman and Bronson Reed with him while his former leader rehabs alone.
With Rollins out of the picture, the path towards the world heavyweight championship was seemingly clear, or so we thought. Neither Breakker nor his heavyweight cohort, Reed, even competed in the battle royal to determine the man who would face off with CM Punk at SNME. That ultimately ended up being Jey Uso, with Punk coming out on top and winning the title. Now, surely Breakker is next in line.
The Badass is already locked in a feud with Punk, though that seems set to be resolved at Survivor Series War Games in a four vs four matchup. Should Breakker’s team win inside the cage, then surely there is no other choice but to instate him as the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship.
LA Knight
Another man who has been a staple of WWE programming all year long is LA Knight. The popular superstar has been featured in plenty of high-profile feuds both in 2025 and 2024, potentially putting him in a position for another title shot. However, if there is one thing that Knight desperately needs, it’s a victory.
The Megastar has lost countless high-profile feuds over the last couple of years. In late 2023, his momentum was extinguished by then Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. At last year’s Royal Rumble, Reigns once again defeated Knight, this time in a fatal 4-way also against Randy Orton and AJ Styles. In 2025, he had also had two cracks at the world heavyweight title, coming out on the losing side on both occasions as Seth Rollins left with the gold.
Now that gold is around the waist of CM Punk, a feud between the two would, without question, be a blockbuster. But can Knight afford yet another defeat? Or, will WWE do the unthinkable and finally strap the title to the Megastar at long last?
