Everybody has heard the news. Samoa Joe ended Finn Balor’s record-setting 292 day reign as NXT Champion. With this “changing of the guard”, if you will, there’s one burning question: Where will Finn Balor go now? Will he remain in NXT or will he join his former Bullet Club brethren, Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows? This article aims to look at what might happen in either scenario.
Scenario #1 – Finn Balor stays in NXT
NXT and Finn Balor go hand-in-hand like TNA and bad business decisions (don’t hate me for this, they’re moving their office to a bloody warehouse, but I digress.) Since Finn Balor’s debut in November 2014, he’s been a mainstay and one of NXT’s most prominent talents, and for good reason.
He can WRESTLE!
When Balor defeated Kevin Owens in July of last year, the internet collectively lost their shit. The man who had already made a name for himself prior to even joining WWE had won NXT’s richest prize.
Now that Finn Balor has lost his championship, I can see him hanging around in NXT at least until the next Takeover event where he challenges his 2015 Dusty Rhodes Tag-Team Classic tournament partner and co-winner, the new NXT Champion, Samoa Joe. (Much to the ire of the IWC who have been demanding a Balor call up.)
There is a way this could work out for all parties involved and there is a way it could all go horribly, horribly wrong, and knowing WWE’s past decisions (like having Balor RETAIN in Dallas, NICE JOB GUYS!)
The way this could go right, and in MY opinion, the ONLY way this (going on) 6-month feud should end is with a 2-out-of-3 falls match at the next Takeover event with Joe conceding the first fall, absolutely annihilating Finn for the second and the two fighting it out for the 3rd and final fall with Joe eventually gaining the victory by making Balor pass out to the Coquina Clutch.
After this, Joe leaves the arena and Balor regains consciousness, gets on the mic and thanks the NXT crowds for all that they have done for him and that Balor is now ready to move on from NXT just like every NXT Champion before him. Leaving NXT in the rear view mirror with fond memories.
-End Scenario-
So there you have it, a perfect way to write Finn Balor out of NXT and bump him up to the main roster. Now if you don’t want that, maybe scenario 2 will make you happy.
Scenario #2 comes from a comment that Finn Balor made in a video that is going absolutely VIRAL among circles in the IWC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsMxB07pGzk
“I’ll see you all on Monday!”
The brazen words of a great wrestler. Now this begs the question, will Finn Balor join his buddies in the Bullet Club on Monday after their match with The Usos? In my opinion, maybe. There is no real way of gauging what WWE creative is capable of. But I can guarantee that they would want Finn Balor on the main roster as soon as possible
Scenario #2 – Balor Club
Okay, so now that Balor has lost the championship, he can logically leave NXT because he’s done all that he needs to in the brand. Plus his buddies Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows are now on the main roster. Finn Balor’s history with the Bullet Club is long and documented among the internet communities and for good reason.
Finn Balor founded the Bullet Club with Anderson and a mountain of a man called Bad Luck Fale. As seen on current TV, AJ Styles also has an association with the “Bizz Clizz” being their former leader, much like Balor and Anderson. So imagine this:
Payback 2016: AJ Styles vs. Roman Reigns. AJ gets the shock win with the help of the Bullet Club. The next night on Raw, AJ Styles comes to the ring, says he didn’t ask Anderson and Gallows to interfere. Anderson and Gallows come out to the stage and try to say that they did it for the sake of the club and try to convince AJ to join them.
AJ refuses and says that he wants to be a fighting champion. Gallows and Anderson say they understand and that they anticipated this, which is why they brought another old friend. Finn Balor enters the ring through the crowd and attacks AJ from behind. Balor says that this is HIS club and goes on to rechristen the newly re-united trio as the “Balor Club” much like the shirts the WWE have been selling for months.
This kills four birds the IWC want dead with one stone. The Championship is off of Roman Reigns’ shoulder, Finn Balor debuts on the main roster, Bullet Club reunites and a Finn Balor heel turn. AJ Styles and Balor feud for the following 3 months, Styles feels overwhelmed so he decides to bring in an old rival of both men. Who is the rival? None other than “The King of Strong Style” Shinsuke Nakamura.
Killing a fifth bird in the process. Then it proceeds to break down into a 3-way feud over the WWE World Heavyweight Championship between the three for SummerSlam with Balor getting the championship, thanks in no small part from the Balor Club. Then begins Balor’s reign atop the WWE
-End Scenario-
So there you have it, two scenarios for where the 35 year-old Irishman could go now that he has win the NXT Championship. Where do I stand on this issue?
Personally, I would love to see scenario #2 happen in it’s entirety, but I’m a cynic who claims to be a realist. So I highly doubt that would happen in full, much less even a little bit. The likeliest thing to happen in this would be an alliance between Balor, Gallows and Anderson.
But hey, we never thought in a million years that a major championship would change hands at a house show again. (The last MAJOR championship change at a live event was Diesel FLOORING the absolute crap out of Bob Backlund in 1994.)
Feel free to comment on this article telling me I’m either: wrong, an idiot, a little bit right, an absolute visionary, say WHATEVER you want to, man! (Or woman! Or gender non-conforming person!).
Oh and follow me on twitter @Rydogg95. My name’s Ryan Duncan, thanks for reading!
