Finn Balor’s Loss to Samoa Joe was Brilliantly Booked

Pulling off Finn Balor losing the NXT Championship was tough, but the booking couldn’t have been any better.

Title changes at WWE live events never happen. They are typically saved for TV when millions are watching despite the belts constantly being put on the line at house shows. This is to make the matches feel more important because basic singles bouts may get repetitive.

All of that was thrown out the window on Thursday night, as Samoa Joe defeated Finn Balor to win the NXT Championship at a live event. This was a shocking move that nobody saw coming.

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While the opinions are split, when it comes down to it, the booking of Finn Balor to lose the title was done to perfection.

Balor coming up to the main roster has been the worst-kept secret in WWE. Everyone has expected this since the Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows rumors started in January. The Demon has a long history with both guys and teased the reforming of their popular Bullet Club stable from New Japan Pro Wrestling.

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So if he’s coming up to Raw and SmackDown, wouldn’t it make sense to keep him strong in his final moments in NXT? Fans may not be used to this since recent call-ups have looked weak in their last bouts in developmental, but the right thing to do is book properly instead of recklessly. Poor booking before a call-up has been an issue for NXT, although that may just be nitpicking.

This was first done by not having the title change air on TV. Maybe this match will get aired in a week or two down the line. If not, only a few thousand people witnessed this live. This will keep Balor’s television presence strong heading into the main roster, despite fans seeing video of the title change online. It will make a difference.

The big thing being protected here is Balor’s Demon character. The only times we have seen him break this out is at the NXT TakeOver show. Each of his title defenses at the live specials has seen him with the body paint on as well. During this time, he has not lost.

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At the NXT live event, Balor obviously didn’t break out the body paint and was defeated. It keeps the aura of this persona intact heading to the main roster, which will be another story once he officially gets called up.

This also sets up a heel turn on the main roster. Balor could move up and present an evil side to his regular character, saying he’s frustrated with what happened in NXT and wants to unleash on everyone on Raw and SmackDown. He could then say he decided to team back up with a few friends (Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows) to make sure what happened to him against Samoa Joe doesn’t occur again.

To top it off, NXT live events have become must-see. They’ve established that anything can happen at the shows with the top belt changing hands. Fans will surely be saying “take my money,” if they weren’t already.

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Things have become very interesting for Finn Balor. Speculation around him going to the main roster will run rampant, and it could come as soon as Monday on Raw or at WWE Payback six days later.