What's Your Story? with Steph McMahon
Raw Recap - CM Punk and Finn Bálor deliver an instant CLASSIC: Raw Recap, Jan. 19, 2026
20 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What made the CM Punk vs. Finn Bálor match a classic?
An absolutely classic world heavyweight championship match between CM Punk and Finn Balor. Adam Pearce is at his wits end with The Vision. Becky Lynch has another intercontinental championship match and so much more. This is the Raw Recap of WWE and Fnatic's original production. Oh, Megan, what a Monday Night Raw.
How about it?
From Belfast, Ireland. First at the top, I want to say that we're all thinking about Javon Evans. Yes, we are. They had to stop his match with El Grande Americano earlier tonight.
Chapter 2: How is Adam Pearce's management style affecting Monday Night Raw?
Obviously, he's not going to be a part of the Raw recap tonight. I know he's being evaluated by the medical team at WWE, and hopefully by next week we find out more about what's going on with Javon Evans. But we're all... hoping for the best. All that said, Monday Night Raw, I would imagine behind the scenes, is a disorganized mess.
Yeah.
And the reason for that is because at some point, the general manager of Monday Night Raw became a highly emotional, some might say vindictive, human being who will stop at nothing thing. to get at the vision to the point where like, if I'm on that show and I'm not in the vision, can you imagine like knocking on Adam Pearce's office door and then realizing he's sitting at ringside for the match?
Chapter 3: What are the implications of Becky Lynch's championship defense?
I mean, he had a lot of people who are looking for him. The New Day included in that. You know, I was wondering if Adam Pearce was going to come out and we're going to get to this later with Natalia attacking Maxine Dupree. But no. AJ Styles.
We'll get to that later as well.
Yeah. Adam Pearce preoccupied with Paul Heyman and The Vision.
I mean, I've got to say, you know, I do think that when you look at this battle between Adam Pearce and the vision, it feels like Adam Pearce is being led astray by his emotions.
Because every time you see an interaction between Paul Heyman and Adam Pearce, who appears to be, by the end of the conversation, maybe you don't get it at the beginning of the conversation, but by the end of the conversation, who appears to be in complete control?
Paul Heyman. But here's the thing with Paul Heyman. He knows exactly which buttons to push. I mean, I loved... And which phone calls to arrange.
I want to know who was on the other end of the phone. That was really – and it's so funny. Like the world of professional wrestling is supposed to be an escape for a lot of us. You know, we plunk down in front of the TV and these stories play out in front of our eyes. But anybody that's ever been involved in any sort of corporate anything at work has seen like –
their boss getting yelled at by their boss above them in this corporate political like interplay happening and it's so stressful and that's what i get with all of this adam pierce stuff like adam pierce is trying to control things on monday night raw but he's so far out of control so you see like in the match right you had ray mysterio dragon lee and penta which is a nuts insane
trios tag team versus the vision. And I'm telling you, like in my mind, I'm wondering how far this goes with Paul Heyman, manipulating everything, because it seems like with the vision and we saw this play through, obviously Braun Breaker wasn't on raw tonight because he's suspended, I guess, but he was invited to raw next week. So how suspended could he possibly be?
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Chapter 4: How does the Vision manipulate situations in WWE?
Like all these people that were earmarked for success early Somehow they're completely falling in line. I mean, this is like, when you look at how in step the members of the vision are with whatever Paul Heyman says, it's like, it's the ECW roster.
Well, it's wild that you say that, that he has more power and more control over the vision than he ever did with the bloodline. Because when you think back to the bloodline, ultimately Paul Heyman still had to answer to Roman.
That's right. Yes. My tribal chief.
Who does Paul Heyman have to answer to now?
I don't think, nobody.
Not even Adam Pearce.
Nobody, especially since Seth...
left that's right like this has now become like no no no no this is paul heyman's vision that now matches the vision paul heyman's vision is wrapped around these four superstars being in control of the wwe and so for these four superstars they're like yeah that vision sounds really great to me and you know what let's take it right now and i'm watching right and and i'm seeing
Adam Pierce, it's one thing for Paul Heyman to be distracting a referee, but for Paul Heyman and Adam Pierce to be bickering on the apron, distracting the referee in the middle of the match, I'm like, Adam Pierce has totally lost the plot.
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Chapter 5: What role does Paul Heyman play in the current WWE landscape?
loses so braun breaker gets suspended fine i'm suspended i'm going home and then it's the it's adam pierce going hey would you like to come back all of a sudden braun breaker is in this position of power and i think when i'm looking at it i don't know how exactly it's going to end up but being in a position of power
on the road to the Royal Rumble, on the road to WrestleMania, is the absolute best time in the WWE to be in a position of power.
Yeah, I mean, this is the most important time of the year for WWE superstars. What better time is it to be in a position of power? What better time is it to have leverage heading into the Royal Rumble?
Leverage is the word. Like, think about all the doors that'll open. And with everybody declaring for the Rumble, does the Vision get to just sit there and go like, yeah, all four of us?
Because, you know, they say every man for himself, but I don't recall, at least in the short period of time that they've been around, like even when we had Austin Theory on the show, it's a complete, and a lot of factions will say this, but it's clearly not true, but it's a complete all-for-one, one-for-all mentality where there is a mission. Truly.
I think of all four of those guys, and none of them have declared for the Rumble. But if all four of them were to be in the Rumble, there'd be one mission that all four of them were working on achieving.
Yes.
And I think that if anybody can pull it off, it's them.
And based on their actions, I have no doubt in that. Now, a couple of weeks ago, right, I would say I'm not so sure I can see Logan Paul as a team player. I'm not so sure I can see all of these people coexisting. In fact, I even said that right here on this show. I can't see them.
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Chapter 6: What are the stakes for AJ Styles against Gunther at Royal Rumble?
I mean, it is interesting when you go back, because it's like, Logan Paul had that thing with CM Punk, where for a second it looked like he and Punk may be on the same side.
Yes.
And then he turned on Punk, and then he sided with Division, and that was like November, I want to say, because it was starting to lead up to elimination, I'm sorry, War Games. And then... The thought was that he'd be on the team for war games, and then all of a sudden, no, he's a part of the vision.
I know. I thought he'd come for war games, go away, come back for Royal Rumble, and then be around for the build to WrestleMania. Yeah. But Logan Paul's around every week.
That might have been wishful thinking on your part. I don't know if we need it.
For Adam Pearce, definitely.
Absolutely. I can't wait to see what happens there. But speaking of CM Punk, we got an absolute classic.
So good.
To main event this thing. Finn Balor.
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Chapter 7: How did Maxine Dupri's match with Becky Lynch unfold?
OK, let me get out of the ring and go to the top rope. It's like this fluid, poetic motion where he kicks you, you hit the turnbuckles, as you're falling down on your back, he's already leaving the ring to get to the top rope.
And I'm watching it going, it's happening, it's happening, it's happening. Finn Balor's going to be the new World Heavyweight Champion.
And the reason is because the speed that it's all happening, you're like, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. And then he hits that coup de grace perfectly. And it really was this like, what if... But what if is where it ends.
Those what if moments are my favorite thing about professional wrestling. My favorite part.
Well, that's yeah. And the best is that like all you need is one to actually happen. And then that will take you for the next several months of seeing it everywhere. Like the minute Drew McIntyre beat Cody Rhodes in three stages of hell. Now everything is like.
It could happen.
It would never happen. But it could happen. No, they would never. But they did this. You know what I mean? And it completely changes the dynamic. And I think it changed the dynamic of tonight. You know, I think there were also like, there were a lot of ways that you could go in terms of, you know, you could bring out the judgment day here.
You could have a foreign object or a DQ or chicanery or tomfoolery or whatever it was. But the fact that it was like, Once again, CM Punk just catches that one moment. And on that night, for that one moment, he got the three and that's what he needed. And CM Punk retains the title. Kind of the same way he did with Braun Breaker.
I was just going to say that. Now, there were outside interference with the Braun Breaker match. The Vision got involved and... But that almost canceled. Yeah, that canceled out. And then it was that one moment that CM Punk bested Braun Breaker and CM Punk still your world heavyweight champion.
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Chapter 8: What can we expect from the upcoming Royal Rumble event?
And I think that that is how you have to define this title reign for CM Punk, that he finds that one opening, that one thing that he needs. It's not about this formulaic, systematic beat down and ripping apart. It's about, oh, there was the opening.
And finding a way to capitalize on it.
That's right.
Because the opening can come at any point for a match, and most superstars can't capitalize on the moment. And once the moment is gone, it's gone. You don't get that moment back. But CM Punk, throughout his title reign, capitalizes on all those moments, and that leads to him retaining his title.
Yeah, and it's also about his ability to survive, just to keep fighting and keep fighting. There's very few wrestlers that have that reputation as much as Punk, where you can just throw anything at them, and they're gonna find a way, they're just scrappy.
They're gonna keep fighting and fighting and survive long enough, where to your point, they're still alive when that opening comes, because you're right, when's it gonna come? If it's gonna come later in the match, guess what? I'm going to have to survive long enough. I'm going to have to kick out of this coup de grace. I'm going to have to do this. I'm going to have to do that.
And sometimes that opening comes because people are like, what do I have to do to this guy? And just as you're thinking that, that's the one moment you let your guard down. I got my knee up. I got my forearm in. Whatever it is, you're on my shoulders now. And it's night-night.
And really for Punk, his whole career has been about surviving.
That's right.
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