WWE must treat Finn Balor like the top talent he is upon his return

Some time away from television could be exactly what Finn Balor needs for WWE to realize what they’re missing out on with him.

Finn Balor reportedly requesting to take time off from WWE post-SummerSlam took many fans by surprise seeing as how he has been a regular on Raw and SmackDown Live for over three years. No matter the reason behind his hiatus, there can be no doubt that WWE’s booking of him has been less-than-stellar on the main roster.

To be fair, WWE strapped a rocket to his back the moment he debuted in July 2016. He defeated Roman Reigns in his first match as a member of the Raw roster before beating Seth Rollins to become the inaugural Universal champion at SummerSlam the following month.

Unfortunately, Balor was forced to relinquish the title one day later due to injury, and proceeded to sit out the remainder of 2016 as well as the entire road to WrestleMania 33.

Although we’ll never know for certain what he would have amounted to as champion had he stayed healthy, WWE is fully at fault for not making him a bigger star upon his return to the ring.

Balor resurfaced on Raw one night removed from WrestleMania 33, and received a raucous reaction from the fans in attendance. Despite his hot momentum, he spent the next few months spinning his wheels until finally starting a storyline with Bray Wyatt in time for SummerSlam.

Fans had high hopes for the feud, but the matches failed to deliver. Anything Balor gained from beating Wyatt on back-to-back victories, as well as AJ Styles at TLC 2017, was immediately diminished when he was squashed by Kane on an October episode of Raw.

Any chance he had of potentially facing Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship he technically never lost was thrown out the window at that point. He instead took part in the men’s Royal Rumble match, and had a strong showing before being eliminated by John Cena.

Even with two Intercontinental Championship victories (including one at WrestleMania 35) to his credit, Balor has largely flown under the radar for the last year. In fact, he was barely featured on SmackDown during his latest title reign and lost the belt in anticlimactic fashion to Shinsuke Nakamura at Extreme Rules.

Before he was obliterated by Bray Wyatt’s “Fiend” at SummerSlam, The O.C. confronted him backstage and told him to hit them up if he ever needed backup. Of course, nothing came of that line last week on WWE TV, but perhaps it was designed to plant the seeds for something more when Balor returns from his rumored hiatus.

Fans have been suggesting for weeks that Balor would be a perfect fourth member of The O.C. given his ties to AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Regardless of whether that actually comes to fruition or not, WWE must treat Balor like the top talent he is going forward, and not potentially risk losing him to another promotion a la Dean Ambrose.

It’s unknown when Balor’s current contract with WWE expires, though it’s worth noting that there haven’t been any rumblings that he is looking to leave any time soon.

Then again, that doesn’t necessarily mean he couldn’t be interested in exploring other endeavors outside of WWE or even wrestling elsewhere if his poor booking were to continue indefinitely.

Exiting WWE never seemed to be a realistic option for Ambrose a few years ago, but now that he has, the rechristened Jon Moxley has experienced a career resurgence.

Balor was a mainstay for many years in New Japan Pro-Wrestling before signing with WWE in 2014. Surely the white-hot Japanese wrestling scene would welcome him back with open arms if he ever decided to return home and be utilized properly again, a la Hideo Itami/KENTA.

Keep in mind that WWE’s roster is as star-studded as it has ever been, and that not everyone can be pushed at once. Balor has had his fair share of success in WWE as a former Universal and Intercontinental champion, but he undoubtedly should feel more special than he does at the moment.

Additionally, he was never given a second chance to compete at the main event level following his untimely injury in 2016. SmackDown could use a fresh face like him toward the top of the card right now, so hopefully there is still a spot for him in the WWE Championship picture whenever he’s ready to return.

For WWE to waste him any longer than they have would be criminal, but it’s possible this sabbatical will be enough for them to stop taking him for granted, and instead begin building him back up into the main event player he has always been destined to be.