Since returning to the NXT scene back on October 2nd, 2019 after a lacklustre run on WWE’s main roster, a revitalized Finn Balor has taken the world by storm, reclaiming the NXT Championship and feuding with many of NXT’s top prospects.
Balor has reinvented himself and seemingly found his love for pro-wrestling once more, after floundering on Raw and going through the motions in one pointless feud after another. The time to come back up is inevitable, and now might be as good a time as any, however, Balor’s second call-up should instead be onto WWE’s blue brand, SmackDown.
Dubbed as the land of opportunity, SmackDown has been the A show in terms of storylines and in-ring work recently, as Roman Reigns and company have been holding it down as Universal Champion, a recently returned Edge has found a new edge, and Daniel Bryan is once again WWE’s top babyface.
Balor, who seems to be a balancing act more suited towards the dark side would have a plethora of foes to go one-on-one with on Friday nights, not to mention a few possible names that he could also possibly lock horns with as well over on Raw as well. Here, we’ll be taking a look at a few of the WWE Superstars in which Finn Balor could find mild success within the ring upon returning to the main roster.
Finn Balor vs Edge
In January of this year when Edge won the Royal Rumble for the second time in his illustrious career, Edge made his presence felt on each one of WWE’s brands.
Most notably, Edge made his NXT debut, stating the very real possibility of him challenging for the NXT Championship at WrestleMania in front of both Pete Dunne and Finn Balor ahead of their championship bout at NXT TakeOver: Vengeance. Finn Balor would emerge victorious on the night of Valentine’s Day 2021 after an absolute show-stealer of a match against the Bruiserweight, however, Edge would go on to challenge Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania, which is now scheduled to be a triple threat match involving Daniel Bryan.
Despite all of that though, imagine the story that could be told between two veterans in the form of Balor and Edge. Both men technically sound in their own regards, with Edge seemingly rejuvenated as well since returning from retirement and a renewed focus on the storytelling aspect of wrestling, this has the potential of being the ultimate passing of the torch moments in WWE history. The seeds were already planted, and the set-up wouldn’t take that much effort to pull off, especially if free reign were to be given to both men.
Finn Balor vs Roman Reigns
This wouldn’t be the first time that Finn Balor and Roman Reigns locked horns, as they both faced each other dating back to Balor’s original main roster debut on Raw, as Balor emerged victorious on the July 25th, 2016 edition of WWE’s flagship show (which also happens to be his birthday.)
That victory earned Balor the right to face Seth Rollins at SummerSlam for the newly unveiled WWE Universal Championship, which Balor would go on to win but vacated the following night due to an injury suffered during the match.
Since his return after being sidelined, Balor struggled to regain the momentum he had at that time, thus starting his floundering status on the roster, with his highlights being his matches against AJ Styles, winning the Intercontinental Championship from Bobby Lashley at WrestleMania, and facing Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble.
Fast forward to present day, and it can be argued that both Roman Reigns and Finn Balor are in their prime, perhaps more so the former as opposed to the latter, but I digress. Both men are on an absolute tear in their own right on their respective brands, with Reigns doing the best work in-ring wise and promo wise of his career, really standing out as the dastardly heel.
The two face off against each other for the Universal Championship on Raw in August 2018, yet a heel vs. heel dynamic would make things far more compelling, with Balor possibly leaning more into a tweener role against a game and villainous “Tribal Chief,” setting up a much different dynamic than the previous times these two competed, setting up a litany of the possible match of the year contenders.
Finn Balor vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt
Perhaps I’m breaking my own rule by pitting Finn Balor against a Raw competitor, and perhaps some rules are meant to be broken, but the thought of a tonally and characteristically different Bray Wyatt against a fired up and inspired Finn Balor piques my interest.
It has been stated by Finn Balor himself that he doesn’t plan on bringing “The Demon King” back, and that supposedly he’s forgotten how to portray the character because he rarely uses it, but as they say, never say never in the WWE.
Originally slated to wrestle at the TLC pay-per-view in 2017, the match was changed due to Wyatt falling ill, which may have been for the best as Balor was supposed to face Sister Abigail, who knows what that would’ve enticed.
Their paths would cross yet again though two years later at SummerSlam 2019, as “The Fiend” made his debut, shocking the WWE Universe and absolutely decimating Finn Balor, picking up a quick victory in the process. Wyatt however since the inception of this new gimmick has been on a roll himself as of late, more so now than ever as the character has gone in the direction of a horror movie monster, with its current incarnation returning looking like Freddy Krueger after Randy Orton set him ablaze at last years installment of Tables, Ladders & Chairs.
With mind games aplenty with the Firefly Funhouse, Alexa Bliss at his side, and “The Fiend” running rampant, what better way to fight a monster than with a demon as Finn Balor could use a revamped feud with Bray Wyatt to hopefully thwart away “The Fiend” by resurrecting “The Demon King” onto WWE programming once again.