Will Finn Balor break through again at WrestleMania 34? Is WWE ready to push the wrestling star back toward the main event after an injury crashed his party after his arrival from NXT?
Let me preface I am not a huge fan of Balor and his theatrics, but I am a fan of his in-ring ability and the latest angle with Seth Rollins and The Miz for the Intercontinental Title this coming Sunday in New Orleans. As Blake Oestriecher points out on Forbes.com, there is a lot of questions about the former NXT champion and first ever Universal Heavyweight Champion that still need answers.
“Balor was consistently overlooked on Raw, oftentimes being completely left off of its pay-per-views as was the case at both Payback and Great Balls of Fire. At other times, he was clearly only on the PPV to take the pin, which is exactly what happened at Extreme Rules,” Oestriecher wrote. “For every glimmer of hope, like Balor’s surprising victory over AJ Styles at WWE TLC, there was another instance of disappointment, such as his lopsided and downright baffling loss to Kane, which came immediately after his victory over Styles.”
Now, it would seem WWE has come up with a real program for Balor, which could mean he gets another shot to be the top performer on Monday nights. The only issue with that is first, does WWE put the Intercontinental Title around his waist and does Vince McMahon have the stones to put him over Roman Reigns, much to the fans’ delight?
“Through it all, Balor’s popularity has never waned. A look at Fightful.com’s Google Shopping Rankings for both 2016 and 2017 demonstrates that Balor is one of WWE’s best merchandise movers and most well-liked stars, something that is certainly evidenced by the frenzied crowd reactions he generates, which are some of the loudest in WWE. But despite Balor’s obvious popularity and likability, WWE has continuously waffled on his push or lack thereof,”Oestriecher wrote.
Finn Balor is a cruiserweight battling in a heavyweight division and making it work. The recent matches with Seth Rollins and his impending Triple Threat Match at WrestleMania 34 could be the gateway to a successful where there is no guessing where Balor stands.
Like Oestriecher, I think this is confrontation of three top superstars has the potential to be the best match of the night.
“The bout has the chance to be a potential show-stealer, and if Balor emerges with the victory over two of Raw’s biggest stars, that could be a sign of even bigger things to come for the former Universal Champion,” he added.