The Demon King Finn Balor has made a big impact on Monday Night Raw since debuting in 2016, but his big impact has seen ups and downs at the same time.
Following a shocking win over Seth Rollins at Summerslam 2016 to become the first ever Universal Champion, Balor had to relinquish the championship the next night on Raw after getting injured during his match with Rollins.
The WWE had the confidence in Balor to operate as the world champion on Raw, but it was seemingly taken away from him due to his injury. And since returning to Raw the night after WrestleMania 33, Balor has not seen the same level of success he saw last summer.
He had little to no direction over the past few months until recently when he began to feud with Bray Wyatt. The feud between two of the most underutilized superstars in the WWE has seen its good moments, however, and will continue into the Raw-exclusive pay per view No Mercy on Sept. 24.
But following the feud with Wyatt, what does the future have in store for the leader of the Balor Club? Will he be back to the main event level he saw in the summer of 2016, or will he be back to floating around with no clear direction?
Let’s take a look at three possible feuds for Balor after his current feud with Wyatt.
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3. Brock Lesnar
Finn Balor has yet to get a real chance at the main event picture he was in last summer since returning from injury in April. And what better opponent to get back to that level against than the beast incarnate Brock Lesnar?
It’s a long shot, but a Balor feud with Lesnar for the Universal Championship would be something different. It would be the ultimate David vs. Goliath battle and while it seems unrealistic a man the size of Balor could defeat a man the size of Lesnar, that could create great intrigue.
It would be particularly intriguing if Balor’s demon king persona would make an appearance. That would be a storyline that Lesnar has never been part of and would create a different dimension to both Balor and Lesnar.
It wouldn’t necessarily even have to go beyond one pay per view, but if Balor would impress and hold his own against Lesnar, it would legitimize him as a true main eventer and could create many opportunities of the main event status in the future.
This feud wouldn’t even necessarily have to be against Lesnar, but a possible return to the Universal Championship picture, regardless of the opponent, would do wonders for the career of one of WWE’s most captivating young talents.
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2. Samoa Joe
Sometimes sports entertainment is as easy as putting two great superstars against each other and letting them run with it. And a possible Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe feud could do just that.
Joe had a huge wave of momentum in his one-off feud with Brock Lesnar which resulted in a hard-hitting match at Great Balls of Fire and even impressed in the Fatal 4 Way main event at Summerslam. But recently, Joe went down with an injury that will keep him out until at least after No Mercy.
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His return date is still unknown, but Balor vs. Joe would be a marquee match between two superstars that need some future direction. Although both have shown in the past they are worthy main eventers, the Raw main event picture is crowded and both could get lost in the shuffle.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a WWE fan that wouldn’t like to see a feud between Balor and Joe because not only are they two of the best in-ring performers in the company today, they are two of the strongest characters as well.
Balor and Joe would tear the house down if given enough time on a pay per view and this possible feud could do wonders for both individuals.
RAW. Photo by WWE.com
1. The Miz
The Intercontinental Championship picture is basically non-existent right now and is in need of serious direction. The Miz has been on fire recently delivering some great promos, but it’s seemingly all for nothing with no clear direction in terms of his next opponent.
Finn Balor would be a logical choice to feud with the future father for the Intercontinental strap for a few different reasons. Outside of simply just giving Miz a credible opponent, Balor could return to a championship level while he still waits his turn to creep back in the Universal Championship picture.
Balor being involved in the Intercontinental Championship picture is just what the championship and The Miz needs in general. Much like what A.J. Styles and Kevin Owens have done for the United States Championship on Smackdown, Balor could do similarly on Raw.
The Miz has had arguably the best year of his career since last summer’s initial brand split, and he deserves a marquee Intercontinental Championship feud. Superstars like Jason Jordan and Enzo Amore have been teased as possible candidates to challenge Miz lately. But Jordan is still in the infancy stages of his Raw career, and Enzo is the newest member of 205 Live and is challenging for the Cruiserweight Championship at No Mercy.
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Regardless of who the Intercontinental Champion is, the Demon King could help provide stability to one of the WWE’s longest-running championships.