Chad Gable’s Win Over CM Punk Could Set Up a New WWE RAW Championship Rivalry

Chad Gable’s victory over CM Punk could spark a new championship rivalry on WWE RAW.© Image via : WWE Network

Chad Gable pinned CM Punk clean at an October 29 live event in Youngstown, Ohio, and the result hands WWE a ready-made reason to point Punk at the Intercontinental Championship. The catch is that Punk works on SmackDown and Gable is a RAW champion, so a title chase only happens if Punk changes brands. Nothing about that has been announced. The match was untitled and away from television, so it carries no official weight. Still, Gable is the reigning champion, and Punk losing a clean pinfall to him is the kind of result a creative team can build a program around when it needs someone to go after the belt.

OMG Chad Gable gets the huge win over CM Punk!!! #WWE #WWEYoungstown https://t.co/CXM3lXJCwT

— John Clark (@johnrclark12) October 30, 2026

Chad Gable's Live Event Win Gives CM Punk a Reason to Chase the Title

The finish was a tight one. Both men kept countering each other's pin attempts late in the match, and Gable eventually caught Punk and got the three-count.

Because it was a house show, there is no promo or angle attached, just the pinfall. Gable is the one who can use it, since he doesn't need a reason to talk about a Punk match and Punk is the one with something to get back.

Gable's reign is only a few months old. He beat Penta on night two of SummerSlam in Minneapolis, his hometown, making Penta tap out for the first singles championship of his WWE career.

That match came after he dropped the Original El Grande Americano character and went back to wrestling as himself.

Since then he has defended the title on RAW against Rey Mysterio and then Dragon Lee in Mexico City, with Ethan Page and The Judgment Day also targeting him in the weeks before the Lee match. So the champion already has challengers lined up.

Punk, a multi-time WWE Champion, would be the most recognizable name added to that list.

A Move to RAW Would Have to Wait Until Punk Is Done With Kevin Owens

Punk is booked against Kevin Owens on the November 6 episode of SmackDown, one day before Crown Jewel on November 7 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. That match is his active storyline, so a Gable angle can't realistically start until it is over.

If WWE wanted Punk on RAW afterward, the Intercontinental Championship would give him a clear target, and Owens would stay behind on SmackDown instead of the same story being dragged across shows.

It would also change things for Gable. Mysterio and Lee were defenses against opponents already working on RAW, while Punk would arrive from the other brand with his own history and a fresh loss to explain.

Whether WWE sees it that way is a different question, and the company has not announced a rematch or a brand change for either man.