After capturing the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Saturday Night’s Main Event, CM Punk looks ahead to his next big challenge.
From matches that would be enjoyable one-off bouts to other full blown feuds that could be coming soon, there could be some very intriguing storylines on the horizon for CM Punk.
Here are eight potential future WWE World Heavyweight Title challengers for CM Punk.
8. Finn Balor
With CM Punk taking over the reigns as World Heavyweight Champion on WWE Raw, there could be a unique opportunity for some fascinating feuds.
One such option could be to see Punk’s first challenger of this reign end up being a former Universal Champion, Finn Balor.
Getting his first crack at a singles title in quite some time after holding the WWE World Tag Team Championship with JD McDonagh, perhaps the duo’s recent loss of the titles could be to make way for a singles push for Balor.
With both Balor and Punk’s veteran in-ring skills as well as storytelling abilities, a TV match between these two could be the perfect first fight for Punk.
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7. Jey Uso
While Jey Uso just lost a match against CM Punk for the WWE World Title that was vacated by Seth Rollins, it is unlikely he will let his dream of reclaiming the title go.
Possibly more motivate than ever to do whatever it takes to get the World Heavyweight Championship back, Uso could continue to target CM Punk.
Getting a rematch from CM Punk could end up becoming Uso’s singular goal as he looks to prove his worth to himself, and also to Roman Reigns.
Setting up a future showdown between Roman Reigns and Jey Uso, it could be an interesting turn of events to see a short reign from Punk if Uso resorts to dastardly means to win.
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6. Roman Reigns
The rumored direction before Seth Rollins’ injury was to see the long awaited singles showdown between Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 42.
However, now with Rollins out of action due to injury for the foreseeable future, one new direction could be to swap out Seth with CM Punk. While the story may not be about the same things, the same emotional elements of betrayal and mistrust could still apply to make for a heated rivalry.
With reports that WWE creative is still aiming to have a CM Punk and Roman Reigns-led Survivor Series WarGames team, this showdown might be waiting for a much bigger stage.
Possibly the new match for WrestleMania 42, the pair could start out in a shaky alliance falls apart fairly soon.
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5. Brock Lesnar
The movements of Brock Lesnar since his return to WWE have been rather curious. Initially attacking John Cena when he returned at SummerSlam 2025, he would go on to defeat Cena at Wrestlepalooza and then largely disappear again.
However, since the former Universal Champion has featured in the recent promotional images related to WrestleMania 42, it seems that The Beast will be headed for Las Vegas.
A lot of initial creative plans may have had to change in the wake of Seth Rollins’ injury.
Possibly ending up against CM Punk, there could be a massive showdown coming between the two over the World Heavyweight Championship that would continue to elevate the title.
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4. Chad Gable
Chad Gable picked up an injury that has taken him out of action since June, taking him out of action as both Gable and El Grande Americano.
After undergoing successful surgery over the summer, the most recent reports regarding Gable’s potential WWE return timeline have noted December 2025.
Possibly poised to make a surprise return in a major way, it could be that Chad Gable ends up answering a challenge from CM Punk for a new opponent.
While this showdown would be more of a one-off match than a title change or potential long feud, it could be an enjoyable way to see the return of Chad Gable – before a potential showdown between the two El Grande Americanos, Gable and Ludwig Kaiser.
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3. LA Knight
Left as the odd man out of the Saturday Night’s Main Event bout to determine who would win the World Heavyweight Championship, LA Knight could be headed for the first shot at CM Punk.
After Seth Rollins was forced to vacate the title, there was a renewed interest in potentially seeing LA Knight capture his first singles title since joining WWE Raw.
Now that Punk has cleared the hurdle of former titleholder Jey Uso, perhaps he will be poised to take on a new challenger in LA Knight.
A feud that would certainly be electric both on the mic and in the ring, the fresh feud could be a great first challenge for CM Punk’s latest reign.
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2. Bron Breakker
Bron Breakker has been on a remarkable run since joining the WWE main roster that shows no signs of slowing down.
After being able to claim storyline responsibility for sidelining Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker could certainly turn his attentions to targeting CM Punk.
Hoping to claim the World Heavyweight Championship to bring it back to The Vision, Breakker could certainly prove to be a challenging opponent for Punk.
Add in the emotional gravity of the presence of Paul Heyman, and CM Punk’s first hill to climb in this title reign could be a steep one.
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1. GUNTHER
GUNTHER has been out of action since he lost the World Heavyweight Championship, and plenty has changed on WWE Raw since then.
While he missed the entire reign of Seth Rollins as world champ, GUNTHER could be coming back to haunt CM Punk.
Setting up a rematch from their previous battle at SummerSlam 2025 where GUNTHER lost to Punk – before Rollins executed his ‘Ruse of the Century’ – there could be an entirely different outcome planned this time.
With rumors still persisting that it will be GUNTHER who wins the upcoming The Last Time Is Now Tournament to determine who will face John Cena in his final WWE match on December 13, the Ring General could be doing so as World Heavyweight Champion.
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