During the first Smackdown in over a year with fans live in the flesh, the Prince, Finn Balor made his grand return to the main roster as well. He returned after spending nearly a year and a half back in the brand and reminding the WWE Universe what a threat he was. It was clear that Vince McMahon and WWE creative weren’t as high on his NXT and Triple H were. After being presented as a top guy, he came back and immediately dropped Sami Zayn like a bad habit.
Balor came to NXT in 2014 and really helped turn the brand from developmental to a growing global third brand. With his run on the main roster being less than stellar, The Prince was able to reinvent himself. Not only was he relevant again, but he crashed through the current hierarchy of NXT to once again become the man. Before Karrion Kross smashed a hole through the NXT Mount Rushmore, Finn did it first. Back on the main roster, it will most likely be the end of Balor in the company and perhaps the return of Prince Devitt to Japan or debut in AEW.
Vince McMahon Never Believed In Finn Balor
Debuting on the main roster in 2016, it immediately seemed that WWE were actually going to go with Balor and push him to the moon. He defeated Roman Reigns to earn a chance to wrestle for the brand new Universal title and then defeated Seth Rollins at SummerSlam 2016 to win the title.
Unfortunately, thanks to an errant buckle bomb, The Demon King injured his shoulder and was out of action until the Raw after WrestleMania 33. Vince was apparently all out of confidence in one of his son-in-law’s favorites.
The Return To NXT Revitalized Balor
All of the goodwill Balor worked up during his first stint in NXT helped keep him afloat on the main roster. When the lifeline to come back was tossed, Balor was able to once again reinvent himself. After having amazing matches against the likes of Riddle, Johnny Gargano, Adam Cole, and Kyle O’Riley, The Prince was again in firm grasp of his destiny. He was presented as a resilient renegade and a badass who could overcome any obstacle. While he’s not going to immediately thrash Roman Reigns (let’s not get ahead of ourselves), he does need to keep doing the same things to have any success on the main roster.
How To Keep The Momentum Going
While he dropped Sami Zayn in a quick altercation, with the way WWE books, Zayn is going to come out looking strong in their eventual match and Balor will have to work way too hard to eke out a victory. For fans to not get turned off to Balor on the main roster (or lose faith in his booking), he needs to have a competitive and good match with Zayn, but still come out on top definitively.
Or perhaps not even face him. Instead, perhaps dropping Zayn was just a statement. Perhaps he comes right out on Smackdown and lays waste to a few other guys who just tread water before embarking on a program with Apollo Crews over the Intercontinental title.
Does WWE Creative Want To Push Finn Balor?
Balor on the main roster elicits a sense of unease and queasiness and not in a good way. He was not booked very strongly the first go around and if not handled properly, there won’t necessarily be an option for a third go-around on the black and gold brand. The Prince has a unique connection with the fans, and WWE can tap that vein, but not any time they choose, it would have to be sooner than later. Balor is similar and size and stature to other big names like Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston and he's also close to their age as his 40th birthday is coming up on July 25th. The kind of connection with the fans should be fostered into a Yes Movement or a KofiMania, but given WWE Creative's prior track record, no fan should hold their breath.
With Balor’s contract up in several years, that does give WWE some time to really see what they have in The Demon King. But it is hard not to panic just a little bit if you’re a Finn Balor fan. On one brand, he’s treated like a threat to anyone he steps in the ring with. But on the main roster thus far - call him the first-ever Universal Champion all you want to - he’s been nothing more than part of the roster, with nothing to make him stand out as something more.
If making him mint does not happen, once his contract is up or he gets released, The Prince would do well to head to AEW where he could showcase his skills to a broad American audience. But he could also return to the company that helped to make him - New Japan, where they also love gaijins and Balor is already a legend in the Rising Sun.