Finn Balor Needs To Be a Permanent Headliner in WWE

After the pomp surrounding his debut and a rather anticlimactic return to the ring in April 2017 following a severe injury, Finn Balor seems to simply be used as a dependable worker each week on Raw.  WWE is missing out on someone who should be one of the headlining acts in the company.

The date in which the “new era” truly began is debatable.  To this ever-humble, informed observer, it began when Finn Balor defeated Seth Rollins at Summerslam 2016.  The championship reigns of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan lit the torch of the WWE’s acknowledgment that professional wrestling existed outside of the their billion dollar bubble.

That torch exploded when Finn Balor, the founder of the Bullet Club, the hottest and coolest original entity in professional wrestling then and now, put the WWE Universal Championship around his waist (…or was it over his shoulder?  I don’t remember…).

It seems to me that reign lived its life like a candle in the wind….and so would his push.

Rollins would turnbuckle bomb Balor onto the outer barricade, thus tearing his labrum.  The inaugural WWE Universal Champion was sidelined for months.  He would return months later and was briefly placed in contention for the belt he lost.  However, he would following up a losing effort in that pursuit with programs with Bray Wyatt and Elias.

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

Balor, the spearhead of the new era, who conquered the last notable wrestling company he had yet to conquer, was being used as an enhancement talent, shining him as if Balor had been on the redemptive road to a main event title a million times making pit stops with Elias and Bray collateral damage.

Shawn Michaels was able to do this late in his career because we had seen him on that redemptive road so many times that he became a permanent fixture.  As incendiary as he is, Balor is not close to reaching that status.

Now, we are left with a Finn Balor who juxtaposes his unique, somewhat bewitching entrance and persona with a smile that belongs to Generic Whitemeat Babyface.

One can only hope that it is the smile of a man who is attempting to harness spontaneous combustion due to being kept from the the belt he never lost.  This may explain why he is now accompanied by Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson (who are equally as underutilized, if not more so).  Memories of dominating New Japan Pro Wrestling with the Bullet Club may be the only thing keeping him from crying.

Next: If Daniel Bryan Leaves WWE, Others Will Follow

The tears would be justified.  Even in the lukewarm, 50/50 booking that his currently being used in the WWE, it is near-impossible to fathom how there is not a permanent headlining spot for an “extraordinary man who can do extraordinary things”.  The only thing extraordinary at the moment is what WWE is missing out on.

As his rematch with Seth Rollins proved on Monday night, Balor stands toe-to-toes with the finest in-ring workers in the business.  With Raw’s only major feud involving a part-time champion and a veteran approaching his expiration date, Balor – and all that he can provide – needs to be a headlining fixture.