Finn Bálor came up short in his WWE World Heavyweight Championship challenge against CM Punk, but the result almost felt secondary once the show went off the air in Belfast. Competing in front of his home-country crowd on the January 19 episode of Monday Night Raw on Netflix, Bálor turned the moment into one of the most personal nights of his career.
After the match, Bálor embraced Punk before addressing the sold-out SSE Arena crowd. “First of all, ladies and gentlemen, let’s give it up for CM Punk. I just want to say that I feel very privileged to be here tonight. I’ve done a lot in my 25-year career in this business, and tonight is without question, the most memorable night of my career so far,” Bálor said. He went on to explain how rare it is for him to wrestle at home, revealing that the week held even deeper meaning. “You know, I don’t get to come home very often, and this week was very special because yesterday, for the first time in almost 15 years, I got to celebrate my mother’s birthday with her. So maybe we can all sing her a belated happy birthday…” The crowd immediately obliged, turning the arena into a chorus.
Bálor closed his remarks by soaking in the moment with his family and countrymen surrounding him. “To get to do this on home turf, on our island, in front of my family, in front of my people, I wanna say from the bottom of my heart, (Irish Gaelic word)… You know what? It’s true what they say, there is no place like home. Thank you very much, Belfast.” The segment mattered because it showed WWE allowing a rare unscripted, emotional connection between performer and audience, something that resonates far beyond wins and losses. Even without championship gold, Bálor left Raw reaffirmed as one of Ireland’s most celebrated wrestling exports, and moments like this only strengthen his bond with fans whenever WWE returns home.
Transcript: Fightful
