Although Finn Balor might still be a popular character on Monday Night RAW right now, it’s clear that he deserves to be in the upper echelon of the show - a level he was familiar with for only a short stint.
Despite his immense popularity as a superstar that resonates with the WWE audience, he’s failed to reach the levels of being the Universal Champion again. Although, the blame can’t entirely be placed on his shoulders as the big mistake WWE has made is perhaps keeping the title on Brock Lesnar.
DIFFICULTIES
With The Beast at the helm, it’s increasingly difficult for anybody on the red brand to step up as a genuine contender to dethrone him. This is why we’ve only seen the likes of Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe and Kane try to wrangle the championship from his clutches - so a much smaller man in Balor, even with The Demon persona, might not be believable enough.
Still, he’s done an excellent job of staying relevant, and that’s helped by the fact that he’s been working alongside Seth Rollins, who could be considered the greatest performer on the planet today.
Although he’s been unable to capture the Intercontinental Championship himself, Balor is in a much better position now than he was when he returned from his injury and participated in some underwhelming feuds.
When WhatCulture caught up with The Irishman, he revealed that one match - which didn’t end up taking place - is what helped him turn his career around and put him in the position he’s in today.
Despite beating him at No Mercy and wanting to shift his focus to the Universal Championship, Balor was confronted, yet again, by Bray Wyatt - this time embodying the Sister Abigail gimmick to set up the match between The Demon and Sister Abigail at TLC.
Due to medical issues in what many would consider a cursed event that year, Wyatt pulled out and was instead replaced by AJ Styles, who lost to Balor in what was easily the match of the night and this is what Balor has cited as the turning point in his career.
SISTER ABIGAIL
According to Wrestling News Source, he said: “I don’t know [laughs]. It’ll always be that great unknown questions. I think that it could have really went either way.
“What were we going to see with Sister Abigail, I don’t even know what we were going to see, but I think it worked out well for me in the end. Obviously, Bray was struck down with illness, was it fate or not, I don’t know - maybe it was Sister Abigail that struck him down [laughs].
“But obviously, Bray had to step out, AJ [Styles] stepped in, and I believe that was definitely a turning point in the year for me and helped me get a little bit of steam to where I am now.
“So, thank God we didn’t see that Sister Abigail!”
WWE fans were breathing a sigh of relief when this fell through, especially since that horrific House of Horrors match at WrestleMania 33 was something they wanted to forget.
Had Wyatt picked up that win as Sister Abigail, perhaps nobody could have taken Balor as seriously as they do now. In the end, though, it’s looking like it worked out well for everyone.
What do you make of Finn Balor’s happiness at the match against Bray Wyatt falling through? Have YOUR say in the comments section below.