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Finn Balor is OVER

December 1, 2017 | Posted by Jeremy Lambert
Finn Balor

Finn Balor is OVER. If you don’t believe me, check his Twitter timeline.

Balor has taken aim at a report that claimed WWE had soured on him and that he was no longer being considered to face Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble. Just about every tweet features the word OVER. His Twitter handle has been changed Finn fOreVER.

It’s nearly impossible to know whether or not Vince McMahon has actually lost interest in Balor or whether he was going to face Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble in the first place. As we all know in WWE, “plans change” on a week-to-week basis. Saying that Balor vs. Lesnar was in the cards for late January, assumes that they had plans in place a good two months prior to the event.

All we really know for certain is what we’ve seen on television.

Based on what we watch on Monday night, Balor’s stock has fallen.

After winning the WWE Universal title, Balor’s reign didn’t even last 24 hours. He had to vacate the title on the Raw after SummerSlam due to injury. He spent the next eight months rehabbing his shoulder injury, returning the night after WrestleMania.

Since then…he’s been, just a guy.

He’s either not had a clear direction or he’s been feuding with Bray Wyatt OVER…things and words or something. Even that feud was cut short and dropped due to Wyatt becoming ill. Balor has brought out his Demon persona on two occasions, but there appears to be no reason as to why he does or does not use the character. There’s also no discernible difference between regular Balor and Demon Balor, excessive body paint not withstanding.

Following his win OVER AJ Styles, Balor lost to Kane. That loss immediately killed any momentum he may have gained from the victory against Styles. He’s once again just hung around and done nothing meaningful in the past month.

His lack of direction and extended feud with Wyatt more or less tells you where he stands in the company.

On television, there’s nothing wrong with Balor. He’s not a great promo, but he’s not embarrassing by any standard. He also hasn’t had much opportunity on the mic. And when your only real feud is against Wyatt, it’s tough to make the most of your mic time. He carries himself like a star and has an entrance that the crowd gets into. His matches are fine. Maybe they are underwhelming, but most WWE television matches are. The fact that he was able to have passable matches with Wyatt tells you that he has the ability to step up his game and perform at a high-level against the right guys.

The report that Balor has fallen out of favor with McMahon holds merit based on one historical narrative: injuries.

Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins are the best examples here. Bryan won the WWE World Heavyweight title at WrestleMania 30, but had to vacate it due to injuries. Seth Rollins suffered the same fate after winning the title at WrestleMania 31.

When both men returned, they were immediately repositioned as upper midcard guys. Bryan never got a chance to recapture the belt he never lost. Rollins actually won the title back, only to lose it seconds later. He did enter in extended programs OVER the World Heavyweight and Universal titles, but always came up short. Since beating Triple H at this years WrestleMania, he’s been a tag team player.

Rollins, Bryan, and Balor are all similar in the eyes of McMahon. Average size guys with a perceived lack of charisma who were built on the Independent scene and not through WWE. He gave them all an opportunity. They all lost their title due to injury. None of them have been tasked with carrying the belt since.

A bout with Lesnar may have never been in the cards for Balor. It could still be in the cards for Balor. Who knows.

One thing we do know is that Balor is OVER.

I’m on Twitter @jeremylambert88

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