Why Finn Balor Should Be the First WWE Universal Champion

Finn Balor’s Raw debut saw him win two matches to become a top contender for the new WWE Universal Championship. With Seth Rollins as his SummerSlam opponent, Balor needs to make history by becoming the first ever WWE Universal Champion.

During the WWE Draft on July 19, Raw’s Commissioner Stephanie McMahon and General Manager Mick Foley shocked the wrestling world by picking Balor, the longest reigning NXT Champion in WWE history, fifth overall and third on the Raw brand. A lot of fans thought it was too high for a guy that was yet to debut on WWE’s main roster, but this week’s Raw showed that management knows they have something special in him.

Balor was spectacular in Raw’s opening match as he battled against Kevin Owens, Cesaro, and the United States Champion Rusev. If any of the other three guys won the match it wouldn’t have been a surprise because they’re credible performers that would have done well in the main event spot. As the match went on, it was obvious that WWE was going to have Balor win, which made sense because he was the No. 5 overall draft pick.

More wwe: WrestleMania 33 Match Card Projections

When Balor faced off with Roman Reigns in the main event, Balor was in the underdog role. Since Reigns has a long rivalry with Rollins, it would have made sense to have Reigns win the match to face his former Shield “brother” at a major show like SummerSlam. The thought of Balor winning was pretty ridiculous at that point. Reigns came close to winning several times and when he failed to do so, “The Guy” looked very frustrated. Then Balor came back and finished him off with the Coup de Grace double foot stomp for the win. The crowd reacted to it as a major victory because it was.

More from Raw

• WWE Raw Predictions: Seth Rollins Will BURY Jey Uso
• Three feuds for CM Punk on WWE Monday Night Raw
• Three candidates to take the Women’s World Championship from Rhea Ripley
• WWE Raw Predictions: LA Knight Will Return The Favor To Cody Rhodes
• Why Drew McIntyre turned heel during WWE Monday Night Raw

If there was a complaint from Monday’s Raw it’s that WWE did a poor job of introducing Balor’s character to the fans out there that may not watch NXT regularly. Throwing him out there in the opening match and main event is great, but can we at least hear from him for a two-minute promo or get a video package that lasts two or three minutes to explain why it took him so long to get to WWE?

Balor could have talked about how he wrestled all over Europe, then he went to Japan, conquered things over there and was content with staying there, but then the opportunity came to go to WWE. He could have talked about being a little boy that dreamed of one day winning a major championship and now that he’s finally there after 15 years of wrestling he can finally achieve that dream. They might air that on Raw next week although it would have fit in better on this show.

Before even getting to the SummerSlam match, can you imagine what Balor’s entrance is going to be like at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn? During his big matches in NXT in the last two years (usually title matches), he wore that full “Demon” body paint that gave him a unique look unlike anybody else. Seeing that entrance on a major stage like SummerSlam will be incredible.

Looking ahead to SummerSlam, it would be easy for WWE to point at Rollins, say he’s an established star that is the future of the company and put the Universal Title on him as a way to give it credibility right off the bat. However, if WWE wants to put over the idea that this new championship is important and fresh then they should have Balor beat Rollins in a long match that will likely be one of the best matches this year.

More from Daily DDT

• It’s time for Adam Cole and MJF to drop the ROH tag team titles
• Tom Lawlor talks MLW return, AEW opportunity, CM Punk’s WWE return and more
• Eddie Kingston stands to gain the most from the AEW Continental Classic
• Trish Stratus on WWE NXT would help elevate that women’s division
• Randy Orton signs with SmackDown to go after The Bloodline

If the Balor/Rollins match is as outstanding as most of us expect it to be then the WWE Universal Championship is going to have credibility right away.

Assuming that the Universal Title is presented as the most important championship on the Raw brand, which it likely will be, fans are going to buy into the idea that it’s on the same level as the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. It would be smart if the match actually headlined SummerSlam too.

As for the WWE Universal Championship name, most people don’t seem to like it so far. It’s likely that most people didn’t like “Intercontinental Championship” when that debuted as well. It’s really not a big deal, but people will get used to it. Remember, a lot of fans thought “NXT” was stupid name for developmental since it’s not even a real word yet they chant those three letters at NXT shows all the time.

It’s an encouraging sign that WWE is behind Balor so much considering he’s under six feet tall and weighs just 190 pounds. Perhaps he can thank Roman Reigns for his recent Wellness Policy violation because if that didn’t happen, maybe Balor would have been slotted somewhere else at SummerSlam like in a non-title match with Chris Jericho or Kevin Owens.

The fall of Reigns (or whatever you want to call it) is not only going to benefit Balor more than anybody else in WWE, but it could lead to an intriguing story down the road. After the loss on Monday’s Raw, Reigns talked about how he wanted Balor to win the Universal Title so he can beat him for it. A sign of a heel turn for Reigns? Perhaps. That would be the best thing for him and it would be great for Balor too. That’s a major program WWE can do for the rest of this year.

The WWE Universe has been clamoring for change for years. The brand split is a representation of that change and so is the WWE Universal Championship, which Mick Foley claimed was for the WWE Universe.

Related Story: Finn Balor's Rising in WWE Too Quickly?

In Finn Balor, change is exactly what WWE fans are getting. Lucky for them, Balor is more than ready for it.