WWE RAW Notes: LA Knight & Gunther Advances to Finals of The Last Time Is Now Tournament, CM Punk Not Cleared To Compete Following Men’s WarGames, WWE World Title Match Set for 1/5/26 Show, Penta Shoulder Injury Update, 12/8 Show Card

Dec 1, 2025

LA Knight & Gunther Advances to Finals of The Last Time Is Now Tournament

Monday’s WWE RAW show at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glenadale, Arizona featured two Semifinal Round matches for The Last Time Is Now Tournament.

This tournament will determine the official challenger for John Cena’s retirement match at the December 13th WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event show.

The first match was LA Knight defeating Jey Uso.

LA KNIGHT ADVANCES!!!!

Could we be looking at John Cena's FINAL opponent? 🤩 pic.twitter.com/OkPtqMoeZ2
— WWE (@WWE) December 2, 2025

The second match was Gunther defeating Solo Sikoa.

HERE WE GO! 🔥

JOHN CENA'S FINAL OPPONENT WILL EITHER BE LA KNIGHT or GUNTHER!

KNIGHT & GUNTHER go one-on-one THIS FRIDAY on SmackDown. Winne faces John Cena at Saturday Night's Main Event on December 13th! pic.twitter.com/wrSVBFj53M
— WWE (@WWE) December 2, 2025

As a result of their victories, Knight will be facing off against Gunther in the Finals of The Last Time Is Now tournament at this week’s WWE SmackDown show on Friday, December 5th in Austin, Texas.

CM Punk Not Cleared To Compete Following Men’s WarGames Match at WWE Survivor Series WarGames 2025

Monday’s WWE RAW show also featured the announcement of WWE World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk is currently not cleared to compete following the “injuries” he sustained from the Men’s WarGames match at WWE’s Survivor Series WarGames 2025 event.

Bron Breakker vs. CM Punk for WWE World Title Match Set for Jan. 5, 2026 WWE RAW Show

Monday’s WWE RAW show also featured one new match announced for the card of the January 5, 2026 show at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

This new match announced was a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match of Bron Breakker vs. CM Punk (c).

This match was setup following a backstage segment involving RAW GM Adam Pearce, Paul Heyman, and Breakker. In a follow-up segment, The Vision came out to the ring and Heyman announced that on the January 5, 2026 show, Punk will be defending his title and claimed he will be losing it against Breakker.

"CM Punk is nothing but a SOFT A** B****!" 🤬

Bron Breakker is GOING OFF RIGHT NOW! pic.twitter.com/bjCfhqjaRB
— WWE (@WWE) December 2, 2025

Breakker grabbed the microphone and gave a Scott Steiner inspired promo filled with insults directed at Punk and boasting about him becoming the new “Best In The World” after that night.

JUST ANNOUNCED BY PAUL HEYMAN:

CM PUNK vs. BRON BREAKKER
🏆 WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
MONDAY NIGHT RAW – JANUARY 5th pic.twitter.com/M1Pqdpgqsl
— WWE (@WWE) December 2, 2025

OMG BRON BREAKKER IS ON FIRE!!! 🔥

PUNK vs. BREAKKER
MONDAY NIGHT RAW
JAN. 5th

WE ARE READY. pic.twitter.com/feEqEqOYlA
— WWE (@WWE) December 2, 2025

Current card for January 5, 2026 WWE RAW show:

WWE World Heavyweight Championship – Bron Breakker vs. CM Punk (c)

Penta Shoulder Injury Update

As noted before, Penta suffered a shoulder injury at this past Monday’s WWE RAW show in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. As a result of his injury, Solo Sikoa was awarded the victory over Penta to advance to the Semifinal Round in WWE’s The Last Time Is Now Tournament.

Monday’s WWE RAW show also featured RAW commentator Wade Barrett providing an update stating that Penta is currently expected to be out of action for an “undetermined amount of time.”

Current Card for Next Week’s Show

Monday’s WWE RAW show also featured two new matches announced for the card of next week’s show on December 8th at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

Current card for December 8th WWE RAW show:

WWE World Tag Team Championship – War Raiders (Ivar & Erik) vs. Dragon Lee & AJ Styles (c)
Rey Mysterio vs. Finn Balor
Winner of The Last Time Is Now Tournament (LA Knight or Gunther) to appear