There is a popular parental saying meant to discourage children from blindly following a crowd: If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you jump too?
Finn Bálor seemingly ignored that advice or was perhaps
unaware of it, based on his actions on Monday’s Raw. Following the lead of several peers, Bálor made a late declaration for the 2026 Royal Rumble, but received bad news from Raw General Manager Adam Pearce.
“Now?” Pearce asked in disbelief, noting the Rumble was less than a week away and all spots were already filled. Pearce also cited Bálor’s World Heavyweight Championship opportunity last week — where he lost to CM Punk — as another reason a Rumble slot had already been accounted for.
Under mounting pressure from Judgment Day teammate Liv Morgan following both the loss and his Rumble exclusion, Bálor snapped later in the night, attacking Punk during Raw’s main event — an act that all but guarantees another match with the champion.
The former Universal Champion’s rejection comes days after Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa were announced for the Rumble match on SmackDown, with Jacob Fatu confirmed over the weekend, and former NXT Champion Oba Femi revealed as an entrant on Raw.
Bálor’s Rumble omission also serves as a reminder to superstars and fans alike of a more familiar adage: Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.
