Should Finn Balor Be Called Up After NXT TakeOver: Dallas?

The rumors keep flying, so let’s keep speculating about Finn Balor’s status after NXT TakeOver: Dallas.

While NXT TakeOver: Dallas is notable simply for the promise of in-ring action that will likely make WrestleMania Star look like Superclash III, the show is also widely assumed to be the sendoff for up to half of the competitors in the top half of the card. The smart money seems to be on a Bayley callup to the main roster after dropping the NXT Women’s Title to Asuka, and since Sami Zayn has already become a permanent fixture on Raw and Smackdown, he’s likely to exit NXT on his back after taking a Bomaye Knee from the debuting Shinsuke Nakamura.

But that main event–there’s a head-scratcher, no? Arguably the top two men in NXT are squaring off for the men’s title–two men who have arguably done everything they need to in WWE’s “developmental” promotion. It’s practically assured that either Finn Balor or Samoa Joe will be moving on to the company’s main stage, leaving the title around the waist of the other guy. But which makes more sense for the current champ? Will Balor continue his impressive–if a bit vanilla–run with the NXT strap while Samoa Joe gets a well-deserved kick upstairs, or is it finally time to cash in all the fan trolling and coy merchandising and unleash Bulletproof BC on Monday Night Raw?

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Most of this speculation, as we already know, hinges on the fate of the soon-to-debut Karl “Machine Gun” Anderson and Doc “Luke” Gallows, the former of whom has been spotted at the Performance Center doing a little prep work. Every morsel of information doled out to the Internet like kibble to a caged rat has pointed toward a main roster debut for the three-time IWGP Tag Champs. If that’s the case–and that their debut is planned for “sometime around WrestleMania,” per current scuttlebutt–well, it sure as heck wouldn’t make sense to keep their new team’s namesake down in NXT, would it?

So we’re sold on Finn Balor making his main roster debut, like, in the next week, right? Or is all the main roster talk a misdirection leading toward a surprise debut for Anderson & Gallows during the Takeover main event?

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Let’s try this on for size: Balor and Joe are tearing the house down at Takeover, but Joe’s slowly wearing down the champ, getting closer and closer to an elusive three-count, until NXT completely flips their normal script and books some uncharacteristic outside interference in a main event title match. The new Balor Club tear ass down to ringside, beat down Joe after a ref bump or something, and Balor actually retains, baffling the crowd into not knowing who to cheer for as the curtain falls on NXT’s biggest show ever. A big gamble, perhaps, and maybe a bit of a stretch to have Balor turn heel against another heel, but NXT has pulled off trickier booking. Plus! With the red-hot debut of Balor’s new faction on NXT, absolutely no one would expect them to also show up on the main roster, right?

No one would predict Balor Club interfering in the Hell in a Cell match between Shane-O-Mac and the Undertaker the very next night! Whether they align with their mentor, Triple H, and help the Undertaker save Raw for Papa Vince, or spite the D-Generation X member by helping his brother-in-law instead, Bulletproof BC would immediately make a splash by putting their stamp on the marquee matches of both major WWE weekend events. That’s how you make an impact, am I right?

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Granted, it would make more sense for Shane to need the assist, but then again, Triple H is the man who brought Balor to WWE and is a member of one of the Attitude Era factions that inspired Bullet Club in the first place. Either way, it makes sense for Balor and his soon-to-be cronies to float around the top of the card immediately. (And there’s no reason why Balor can’t pull double-duty for a spell, using the NXT title to help get over on the main roster ala Kevin Owens.) Whether it happens with a more traditional main roster debut at next Monday’s “Smarkamania” Raw, or by grabbing the spotlight on the grandest stage WWE can provide, we’ll likely need to wait mere days to find out. Let’s do this!