Did the summer of 2016 change the career trajectory of Finn Bálor? In 2016, three weeks after making his debut on Monday Night RAW and defeating Roman Reigns, Bálor found himself in a singles match against Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship. For the match, he brought his ‘Demon King’ gimmick to face ‘The Visionary.’
On the night of the PPV, midway through the match, when the action was at ringside, Rollins threw Bálor at the barricade, where he landed awkwardly and dislocated his shoulder. He did not let the injury stop him and overcame the odds to become the inaugural Universal Champion.
However, he had to relinquish the title the very next day on the segment of the Red Brand (via YouTube) because of the injury he picked up. Since then, he has never been the same, and some would even call him a shadow of his former self.
WWE Reduced Finn Bálor to a Mid-Card Role
Over the years in WWE, Finn Bálor has built himself a global fan following, who took over the company for being a star of tomorrow and having numerous iconic moments and championship wins under his name. Though he started his journey at NXT, his unmatched charisma, physique, his alter ego, ‘The Demon King,’ and in-ring skills made WWE believe that he is going to be the star of tomorrow.
However, he lost it all after the unfortunate injury. Though he returned looking the same, he seemed to have lost his in-ring finesse. The man who was destined to be the face of WWE, defeating Roman Reigns on his WWE RAW debut, was now struggling to make a strong impact on the fans and was gradually losing his face.
To make things even worse, under Triple H’s regime, his talent has been wasted, as he chose other superstars over him. ‘The Demon King,’ who was once shown as an unstoppable force of nature, was humiliated, taking loss after loss. This made him take the heavy decision of vaulting his mysterious persona, and he does not intend to return it anytime soon, either.
That was not all, because Bálor became a member of The Judgment Day, where he has not done anything significant like the other members, while Rhea Ripley won a couple of titles, and Damian Priest won the World Heavyweight Championship. Even Dominik Mysterio has become an IC Champion and an AAA Mega Champion at Worlds Collide, making him the most accomplished member of the faction.
Though he is a World Tag Team Champion with JD McDonagh, it is disappointing to see a wrestler of his caliber being limited to a tag team, where he is more of a goofy character, often making the fans laugh.
Finn Bálor Must Leave Judgment Day to Get His Deserved Push
While Finn Bálor has been having a great time with his friends at The Judgment Day, he must leave them behind to become the star he was once meant to be. Since the formation of the faction, he has been like a henchman, where he has been helping ‘Dirty Dom’ or other members in their matches.
The only time he was close to winning a title was at the IC Championship at WrestleMania 41. Now, it looks like ‘The Leader of the Bálor Club’ might be on his way to leave The Judgment Day as the most recent segment featured slight tension with ‘Dom-Dom.’ Finn Bálor could use this as an opportunity to leave the faction and challenge Mysterio for the IC title.
While it remains uncertain about what lies ahead for ‘The Demon’ and if he will use it as leverage to push himself on a solo run and perhaps feature him in a major storyline after ages.
With so much speculation going around about Finn Bálor’s future in The Judgment Day, do you think he should challenge Dominik Mysterio for the IC Championship? Let us know in the comments below!
Finn Bálor vs. Seth Rollins at the 2016 SummerSlam can be streamed on WWE’s official YouTube channel.
