Finn Balor has moved from Raw to SmackDown during the WWE Superstar Shakeup this year, so let’s take a look at five possible feuds for him on the Blue Brand.
It seems like Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor and United States Champion Samoa Joe will be switching brands during the Superstar Shakeup, as Finn appeared on SmackDown Live tonight.
His first match on Tuesday nights? A win over Ali, and the two could have quite the rivalry for the Intercontinental Championship this summer, with Ali potentially going over in his first championship win in WWE.
But there are so many other great rivals for Balor on SmackDown, and fans have been waiting for him to make the move to the two-hour, FOX-bound show. Balor can mix it up with the likes of Cesaro and Xavier Woods despite them being in tag teams, as SmackDown can make use of all of its talented singles competitors currently in tag teams – Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev stand out as two other examples.
So let’s take a look at five possible feuds for Balor now that he’s on SmackDown Live, where he will hopefully flourish as the Intercontinental Champion before moving onto the world title/main event scene as we approach WrestleMania 36 season in 2020.
Daniel Bryan
Though Daniel Bryan lost the WWE Championship to the incomparable Kofi Kingston at WrestleMania 35, Bryan remains The Planet’s Champion and SmackDown Live’s resident intellectual. He and Erick Rowan will be gunning for another title in no time, and it would be fun to see Bryan putting on killer matches in the SmackDown upper mid-card, perhaps eventually holding the Intercontinental Championship again.
That said, it’s more likely WWE continues to manage how often Bryan wrestles and keeps him in the main event picture (though that delineation is more blurred on SmackDown), since he’s such a huge star for them right now. As such, a future WWE Title match between Bryan and Balor can’t be ruled out, and a No. 1 Contender’s match between them on an episode of SmackDown Live could also be incredible.
The point is, we’d love to see Balor and Bryan face off against each other. There are so many potential dream matches for Bryan, who is one of the greatest technical wrestlers ever, and Bryan could really bring out some more fire from Balor’s character. These two could have quite the rivalry, with Balor bringing out The Demon at, say, SummerSlam or Hell in a Cell to teach Bryan a lesson and further establish himself as one of WWE’s top stars.
Cesaro
A six-time tag team champion in WWE, Cesaro is also a former United States Champion and “Paul Heyman Guy”. He has not, however, won the Intercontinental Championship in his career, despite putting on some incredible matches for that championship, including a show-stealing TV bout with Dolph Ziggler and Tyson Kidd years ago.
Cesaro could have more singles matches in 2019, even if he’s still partnered up with Sheamus. There are signs, such as him helping Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev out during the Superstar Shakeup, that he could do more stuff on his own, and that should include competing for a singles title.
While Cesaro vs. Kofi Kingston would be a dream WWE Championship match, wrestling fans know more than to get their hopes up for something like that. But a Balor vs. Cesaro “Open Challenge” match for the Intercontinental Championship is certainly within the realm of possibilities.
These two are exceptional athletes, and Cesaro’s creativity would add so much to a match between these two. The technical exchanges, suicide dives, and hard-hitting uppercuts would send WWE fans to heaven. It wouldn’t be impossible for Cesaro to win the IC Title either, but Balor is the heavy favorite here, even if Cesaro can match him in the agility department.
Shinsuke Nakamura
Finn Balor vs. Shinsuke Nakamura could be one of the best Intercontinental Championship matches of the year, and they could kill it on any given Tuesday night. When at his best, Nakamura is untouchable, and he’s put on some awesome matches with the likes of Randy Orton and Seth Rollins in WWE.
Though there’s some “bust” potential with this matchup depending on timing and pacing, Nakamura vs. Balor could be a clinic. The strikes and selling in this match could be next-level, and both are masters of in-ring psychology; Nakamura is arguably the best man in WWE in this aspect.
Nakamura has won the United States Championship but has yet to win any other titles in WWE. The promotion didn’t seem to be fully behind him as US Champion either, but perhaps they could book him more seriously as an Intercontinental Champion.
That said, Nakamura, although the heel, would be the underdog in this match against Finn, who will likely run through a few opponents before eventually dropping the IC Championship in his second reign.
Regardless of the end result, Nakamura vs. Balor is a feud worth looking forward to over the coming months of SmackDown programming. They might not end up having a Pay Per View match, but they could have a few stellar television outings.
Kevin Owens
Like Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens is a former Intercontinental Champion who has gone on to establish himself as a regular main event player; he was the Universal Champion after Finn Balor was that title’s first holder. Owens competed for the WWE Championship at Fastlane, but he could have a few big-time IC Title matches before moving back into the world title picture.
In real life, Owens and Balor are close friends, and they have exceptional chemistry in the ring together. They once had a great ladder match for the NXT Championship, and there’s no doubt they could put together a similarly great match on the main roster, whether that’s on an episode of SmackDown Live or on a Pay Per View.
Both Owens and Balor are currently babyfaces, but that shouldn’t preclude them from having a match or two against each other. As Seth Rollins learned in 2018, Owens is always game to respond to an open challenge for a title, and he tore the house down with The Architect multiple times last year.
Balor vs. Owens could have matches approaching that level of quality, perhaps even exceeding it. Finn should be hungry to prove to wrestling fans that he’s the best possible man for the Intercontinental Championship, and being pushed to the limit by “Big O” would certainly help him in that regard.
Ali
After losing to Andrade, who made his Raw debut, Finn Balor picked up a big victory over Ali to mark his SmackDown Live debut. Balor and Ali had a great match, but they left plenty in the tank in case they have a bigger rivalry this summer or later.
Hopefully, WWE gives wrestling fans what they want by having a full Balor/Ali program that builds off of this match. Ali does such a great job against any type of opponent, but he’s at his best when he’s getting sympathy from the crowd. Maybe a feud with Ali can give Balor a chance to turn heel for the first time in his career.
I mean, it’s probably not happening, because wrestling fans have been asking for it so long that it seems impossible. But maybe, just maybe, we slowly get to see a more vicious side of Balor on the Blue Brand, to the point where he snaps on Ali.
Honestly, Ali is a perfect Intercontinental Champion, and he’d be the perfect guy to eventually beat Balor in a huge, feel-good moment. Since joining SmackDown Live in December after impressing in a match against then-WWE Champion Daniel Bryan, Ali has showed off his huge potential on the main roster, and a feud with Balor could help further vault Ali’s star status.