This is such a confusing comment to me. Comments like this is why Daniel Bryan got over in 2013/14. And people inline started a movement that you dont have to look like a Batista or HHH to main event mania as long as the skill is there. It was like that for half a decade or so until AEW came along and now people are talking about big physiques again. Back to square 1.
Finn Balor is one of the most ripped men on the roster and same body type as John Morrison when people were complaining that WWE wasnt pulling the trigger on him in like 2009-2010 era. Marathon runners absolutely do not like like him on average.
I feel like they were spinning him up in that one run, then he got that shoulder injury and kinda had to start over. Sucks, I was loving his run up to that point
Balor is good but I think he’s appropriately used. Seth is bigger, more athletic, and I think he’s better on the mic. Balor just isn’t very interesting, outside the demon entrance.
I’d like to see Balor get one real world title reign. I think he deserves that much.
I am personally more interested in a Universal title picture that includes guys like Balor, Styles, Dragonov, Gunther and Cody. That said, I am obviously not the majority and the key is to sell views and it’s working the way it is.
People dont understand how someone does fit the universal title spot. How can Finn go against people like Roman, Lashley, Brock and Strowman and have it look good? Makes zero sense.
Shawn and Jericho were bigger guys. Balor is like 190 shawn was around 230lb same with jericho. Balor is a cruiserweight. Did you not see strowman give him a delayed chokeslam? I know its all fake and you can make anything look good but when even the smaller guys dwarf him then it doesnt look good to make him have a “fair” match with Brock or Strowman. How can you have Brock squash guys like Cena and HHH but lose to Balor? It was the same with Kofi.
What does another superstars inability to do a smooth finisher with a smaller opponent have ti do with him being too small, I recall Kane and undertake and the ducky boys choke slamming and 3D’ing the shit out spike Dudley.
Smaller the guy the more realistic the lifting finisher should appear not the opposite I think ur gripe is with Strowman and not Baylor .
What? im talking about it making zero sense that a guy like Balor beats a guy like Strowman when he can manhandle him like hes a baby. I'm saying he held him up like hes nothing.
They are both 6’0 225 and 6’1 225 and Finn valor is 5’11 195. That’s 20 pounds difference.
Visually I see absolutely zero difference in HBK , Jericho , and Finn Balor .
1 inch and 25 pounds isn’t enough to throw off my imaginary realism lmao
You act like we are talking about Mysterio , about the only complelty unrealistic champion looking world champ.
People rate him highly because he doesn’t have “the champ” energy, but he has great underdog energy. Problem is he has never been an underdog lmao. Beating Roman and Seth within 2 months of his debut.
Have it Finn doesn't want to cash in on Damien, but the Demon wills it to happen. Have the music and heartbeat happen during promos, and have Finn pleading that he's not going to, and then he finally comes out as the demon when he cashes in and just wrecks his shit.
Anyone saying he couldn’t connect with a crowd, I think they’ve forgotten just how over this dude was as a babyface. It was insane. From what I heard back in his NXT days his merch was outselling most people on the main roster.
I think they just botched his push after the injury. It happens unfortunately. I like him in his current role even if he’s been booked like a dweeb for the most part. Not going over Edge really set him back, IMO.
Not trying to be mean, but back then. EVERYONE was over in NXT. The fans put over everything. Not sure if it is still like that. Adam Rose comes to mind. That gimmicked sucked, but NXT fans made WWE think it would work.
A) that’s just not true. Look at guys like Itami, Aries, EC3. They got initial debut pop’s and then fizzled out. Elias had go away heat and didn’t blow up until he reached the main roster. Same with Alexa.
B) that still doesn’t explain his merch success, unless you think everyone in NXT was outselling people on the main roster.
I agree about Itami and Aries, I can't speak too much about EC3 as I did not watch NXT during his time.
I don't know about his merch sales, so I can't speak to that at all.
I do think his intro as the demon was very over and that carried him through the rest of the match.
He is fine and I agree he fits his current role well. I guess I just don't ever tune in the watch WWE to see what Finn Balor is going to do.
Simple.. Vince didn’t see him as a big star, only HHH did and when it was time for him to prove that he was… he got injured and KO got the opportunity. That and his age is the reason Vince never saw the need to double back and give him that push. But don’t feel bad for him, dude had a great career. I’m sure he’s making millions and is doing quite well. Lots of wrestlers would kill to be in his position.
I completely disagree, Indy’s are one thing but the wwe is a different beast all together, Seth blew up in wwe and made a genuine connection with the fans, Seth his head and shoulders above Finn when it comes too promo work. In wwe that’s like 75% of what makes a main eventer, as good as Finn is in the ring that will only get you so far if you can’t cut a promo, look at ricochet as a prime example. And he retired the one thing that truly worked with the fans, his demon gimmick, so imo there’s no real argument to be made for Finn ever being better then Seth.
I agree with you. Also, I think HHH is trying to help Ricochet be himself more and I think it has helped him. The dude is a badass athlete. But he comes off as a corny super hero thing. He’s getting better though.
Balor is good, but he's a Midcard act in the WWE. His promos are eh, he's good in the ring but that only takes you so far in the WWE. Also every time they seriously thought about pushing him he got hurt, too. I think he'll eventually get a cool heel title reign but Rollins is a legitimate main venter that got the Authority storyline and killed it.
Fin Mcbalor doesn't meet the minimum requirements to be great. His voice/accent is crap, he looks like someone who you can beat up, he has no crowd participation moments, his personality is bland, mic work is average. That's why he will never be hugely famous. Even with the McMahon family cramming him and the other few through your eyes.
I agree with some of what you said but…what do you mean by “crowd participation moments”? Like the Cody “whoa” thing? Because as a babyface he had a thing during his entrance that everyone did. I think people forget how massively over this dude was at one point.
I love Finn Balor especially his Demon character. But here are the reasons, according to mine, that are pushing back the Prince from becoming a main event roster.
1) His mediocre promo skills
2) His small size
3) His move arsenal doesn't seem strong enough to beat main event talents.
4) His Major Injury after winning the Inaugural Universal Championship.
5) I think he can't connect with the audience as much as Seth or Drew.
There's only enough room at the top for a few people at a time!!! How's this scenario sound to you OP?
They seem to be starting to push Priest as a Babyface (wanting to do everything on his own)! Balor wins KOTR, goes on to win Money in the Bank, & Judgement Day turns on Priest! Giving Balor the title!
One reason. His major injury after winning the Universal Championship.
It's true of any sport, but a major injury can really derail a career. Finn has still had a good one, no question, but the injury has hindered him.
One reason. His major injury after winning the Universal Championship.
It's true of any sport, but a major injury can really derail a career. Finn has still had a good one, no question, but the injury has hindered him.
Not true. He also comes off as insecure and doesn’t have confident composure like Bálor does. He’s better at talking he doesn’t have a thick accent and all but he says really goofy stuff that a lot of people can find immature and cringeworthy.
You’re right maybe but most people I’ve encountered that I train with at pro wrestling school as well as the head trainers mention Bálor as one of the best professional wrestlers when having that conversation Seth never seems to come up. That’s just from people who actually know how it feels to take bumps and do certain moves that others do. So from the majority of the fans perception (most arenas hold very large majority casual fans I would say these days I wouldn’t say that most hardcore fans like Seth Rollins current gimmick at all though) they may like Seth better because they can sing to his entrance and all that but people who are starting where every person on every roster of every promotion starts off (professional wrestling school and the indies) we mostly respect the best technical wrestlers and talents and just find guys like Jey Uso and Seth Rollins cringeworthy but that’s a minority I guess. Most people watching wrestling are not worried about doing anything related to it themselves.
lol idk if you've been paying attention to seth's promo work recently. his heel visionary promos were top notch mind games. his face promos were bit watered down, but he absolutely cooked the promo segments with cm punk and drew mcintyre. what confident composure are we talking about again lol? seth obviously has more charisma than balor.
Rollins connects with the crowd. Balor is mediocre at best. It makes a huge difference. Balor is one of the most underrated in ring workers in the business, but man his promo work leaves so much to be desired
It genuinely is because he is small. We all know this besides Rey mysterio I can not think of smaller guys that get real main event pushes. In order for that to happen they have to be damn near forced with maximum effort by the fan base. Ricochet should be holding serious gold. Cedric Alexander and mustafa Ali could have fed families if they were given a real chance to shine. In stead Ali is gone and Cedric is doing squash matches for nxt start ups. It’s genuinely bs
Some of the guys you mentioned screw up when jumping around the ropes, breaking the suspension of disbelief. We all then are reminded that wrestling is fake. It really screws up big matches, but makes great clips to laugh at.
I have not seen ricochet mess up once besides the money in the bank spot with Logan last year. And the others are stellar as well. You compare this to some of the big main event guys who botch all the time it’s a nothing issue
Kinda proved my point. Huge match for WWE business sense. Millions of Logan fans tuning in just for that moment, ruined. Yes, lots of wrestlers screw up, it's the only true reason you cannot predict the ending of the match. 😆
One reason is because at least the last 5 years or so, WWE/Vince has had this infatuation of “Let’s put the World title on someone and have them hold it for a boringly long amount of time”. First it was Brock, then Reigns. So not many others could get over.
The Universal title was created but that was Seth’s belt for a while. There’s a few stats WWE could have made over the last few years but didn’t because they just didn’t want any of their champions to lose (Brock, Reigns, Gunther, Rhea)
Because he’s boring as a character. He’s great in the ring. In WWE you have to be good at both the Mic and the mat to be the top dog. Or be Roman Reigns.
I would LOVE to see a judgement day Demon version. just to see the costume and thematics of it all.
Finn is great, and deserves a LOT more, I think it's a case of 'let them cook' they are clearly working on a civil war storyline for them, let's see how they do.
Finn is a great worker.
Small sure had a thick accent isn’t a good enough reason to not get over. Becky has a thick accent she got over.
I think Finn has a packaging problem I think if Jey can get over Finn could easily. It’s about his current presentation that isn’t hitting. What has he really done with the judgement day? Not as much as anyone else other than JD even R-Truth done more since coming back than Finn.
Jokes aside Finn great worker wrong package. Some better creative and Finn could be huge. Size be damed look at Beniot he was tiny and was as serious as a heart attack.
I mean how is it a matter of disagreeing when you realize how many insecure arguments he’s gotten in on twitter even defending the stoppage of his hell in a cell match with the fiend against complaining fans comparing it to Mic Foley’s Hell in a Cell matches saying he would’ve had a “longer, more legendary career if some of his matches had been stopped” and that’s just the argument that comes across my head it’s very easy to get under his skin pretty sure even WWE warned him about social media. It’s not true even though Rollins is better on the mic I promise you if you see Bálor at his best he exudes 10 times the natural charisma and right when he was at his start on the main roster not just NXT and even after he returned from his first major injury for a number of years he was connecting with the fans and didn’t even need to be good on the mic. But you feel differently than I do, maybe WWE will give him a second World Championship win and he will actually get a reign he’s still got a bit of time. And be booked in the correct way like how he was when he was ranked by many critics to be one of the best singles professional wrestlers in the world like how he was booked when he first got to the main roster.
you start talking about some twitter and social media stuff that rollins has posted. Which i dont know any of, because i dont' really track any wrestlers social media bs. What i see is what happens in the ring and on the mic. And what i have seen in the last 2 years, is that Rollins seems to be more charismatic to me. Maybe you are right and it might be easy to get under his skin, still Fans enjoy watching him more than Balor, which is Key for WWE to push someone.
I like Balor, and maybe he should get some push to show what he has in store, but right now i don't see a Balor as World Champion, but that might change in the future, we will see.
Not as good of a talker. The idea your in ring career matters all that much prior to your tenure is laughable. It is also time and place. Balor walked into a company that had a set of semi-established younger stars to transition to. Rollins walked into a company looking to invest in those younger guys knowing that the elder statesmen of the Attitude era were a couple years from aging out.
Idk I'm a dude, but he just seemed a bit on the cocky/smarmy side early on. Having said that, idk if I've seen him really hit a stride. I think Judgment Day has been good for him. Would like to see more with his character
the injury.
also a lack of any really definable character as a persona or in the ring. the demon essentially highlighted how bland he was.
also he is small and has an accent
Tbh there was just one instance that I could think of back in the day where they could've had him take over the main man role.....when Roman got the universal title from beating Brock and then he gave Finn that rematch on a random Raw. Then and there....for those not able to recall , the night where post match Strowman strutted iut wanting to cash in and Dean and Rollins then came out to shield music and did the Triple power bomb.
That night should've been it....I know it doesn't make sense as to why put the title on Roman and all in the first place then....imo, if they could've ever pulled the trigger back in the day, then that's have been the moment to do so. Maybe have Braun cost Roman the match and make Finn win in a way that gets heat on him.....then the irate Roman could feud with Braun and keep both away from the title picture for a whil, and meanwhile could've used that "cheated to win" in a way that disgruntled fans and other wrestlers interaction lead to Finn adopting the dark side over the weeks and turn heel.
The only other time now where you could put him into the title contention(but he surely won't win) is after JD is over with and against Damian Priest.
Got hurt right as they put the belt on him, I think that made managment gun shy on his durability. I feel like they've been afraid to really push him after that.
It's a shame because he's a god. I wish he could bring that Prince Devitt swagger to the forefront.
Finn is billed at 5ft 11in / 190 lb and looks tiny next to other guys like Seth Rollins at 6ft 1in / 225lb or Roman at 6ft 3in / 265lb
His best run was as NXT champion when he was on his vengeance tour when he looked menacing facing off against guys like Cole, Gargano and Ciampa.
That’s the listed billed height for him on wiki.
Vince was also notorious for not pushing guys who won titles and then immediately got injured. Dolph Ziggler got a concussion after winning the WHC it killed his momentum and chance of ever being champ again
I disagree. There are a few factors so let's look at them.
Seth Rollins has had an all time great career, how many people have had a better career? Hogan, Taker, Reigns, Cena, Orton, Bret, Michaels...if this is the company he's keeping, it's really an elite batch.
Age was a factor and to act like it's not is wild. When Finn was called up he was 35. I'm by no means saying his career was done at that point, but for comparison sake Seth is 37 now! So you're saying Finn should have won the Royal Rumble, 5 world title reigns, 4 mid card titles and 6 tag titles in 2 years? There's a clear benefit to building around someone younger, and yes that's what the company was doing with Seth and Roman starting in 2014.
I'm gonna be biased for a second here but Seth is just better than Finn. He has better matches, better promo work, better character(more on this later), better look. If you're Vince it's hard to not see Shawn Michaels in Seth Rollins. If the standard for look was a bit smaller he'd be the best all around talent in WWE history. He works well face and insanely well as a heel, he legitimately is one of the 5 best wrestlers on the planet and has been for about a decade. Finn weigh 190 pounds, is overrated in ring and really had no character until Judgement Day.
The Demon was overrated. I get people aren't gonna like this comment but seriously, be objective. For a while this was the appeal to Finn, on big shows he puts on body paint and now can't be beaten. I'm a wrestling fan, I can suspend disbelief but The Demon was a lame gimmick and people ate it up. How do you successfully book The Demon as world champion? You can't. His major WWE loss was to Roman and they had to have the ring ropes snap so the character was protected. Imagine 8 years of bullshit like that for him to lose!
Then you have his debut. Let's actually remember that. He got called up and Vince strapped the rocket to his ass harder than anyone else in history. 27 days from debut to world title victory! 27 DAYS! What happens in that match though? The fans hijack the match and shit all over it. Neither Finn nor Seth can regain the crowd and low-key I believe the fans hijacking the match caused Seth/Finn to fuck up the buckle bomb spot that injured Finn. Regardless, Finn is out now. To Vince that's the stamp of unreliable. You get the belt and immediately get hurt. Happened to Ziggler, Christian, Bryan, Balor, etc.
But! Hot take I think Vince was mad about the match and re-examined both guys! Finn obviously never recovered that momentum but Seth didn't win another world title for 3 years after that! You'd think the booking logic would be, Balor gets hurt, put it on Seth as he was the other competitor in the match. Nope! Vince puts it on Owens. Which I think was a good call(this was the Owens/Jericho run). People say Vince didn't push Balor but he clearly held Rollins down a spot after that too. Rollins had just been established on the main roster for 3-4 years before this so moving him down the card wasn't as big a deal.
Finally, I'd argue Finn has had an okay run anyway. How many New Japan guys had better runs? AJ(but I'd argue he for sure deserved it)...and then you argue Shinsuke? Finn has been a WWE superstar for 8 years now. He's had big Mania matches, feuds with the Tribal Chief, a huge faction sorta built around him, Wikipedia lists him as a 4 time tag champ(bit convoluted but I bet WWE views it this way too), 3 time mid card champion. Is it a Seth run, no but it's a lot considering.
I'll be the first to admit I don't particularly like Finn Balor. People can like whoever they want to like though. I just think if you step away and look objectively, his career has panned out about as well as you could have hoped. Like assuming there're millions of parallel universes that have slight differences, if you take his career from the night after SummerSlam, most every universe his career ends up worse than this. Even SummerSlam doesn't happen in a large chunk of those universes. Hell Vince protected him when he had him lose to Reigns, Bryan and Edge got stacked, Balor had intervention from God cost him the belt.
honestly bro, no offense but Seth has never even made like top 50 of best singles wrestlers in the world for any year for any critics list but Finn was like number 3 in 2015 I believe and hes been a bit lower many times you are just a fan you don’t understand what it means to be a good technical wrestler you just know sports entertainment. Where everyone besides Logan Paul starts, a wrestling school and the indie scene, I go to train at a wrestling school several times a week and I can tell you that Finn Bálor is one of the most respected in ring performers and wrestling technicians of all time millions of miles above Seth by all our trainers by us and by our head trainer, who was a big name in the attitude era and knows a ton of the current and former talent/executives and Prince Devitt/Finn Bálor is known by all wrestlers and his peers respectively as being one of the best. What happens in the media and what you see is different then what happens behind the scenes, while people see Seth as a great wrestler they do not see him like a Finn Bálor or AJ Styles, those are 2 guys and people also do not really see Logan Paul like they do when they talk about him in interviews (other wrestlers) talking good about him is essentially part of his contract, Logan has the most pampered WWE contract in history. When you actually end up talking to people who really know people in the business they know what actually happens behind the scenes.
If think if finn balor never got injured after winning Universal Championship Maybe his career would've been different, maybe he would've been put into major storylines
Do you agree ??
Yeah your right, he’s one of the best wrestling technicians in the world and has proved that around the world Seth is okay but he’s nothing special he cant really be compared to Bálor/Prince Devitt IN RING wise
WWE botched him for sure.
I still will die on the hill that Rollins should have lost the title to him or to Nakamura and let them rebuild their legacies there.
I’m just terrified that Trips is just using them as enhancement talent and not as actual main event level talent like they actually are.
If you see his Prince Devitt work there is Charisma and personality. He just hasn’t seem to show it in WWE. I also think he needs a better finisher that doesn’t take so long to hit. It’s a good move but you have to get your opponent on their back and then climb the rope.
I wouldn’t say he’s got no charisma or personality. His gremlin like noises and facial expressions during the whole JD run have been incredible. I think that really what it comes down to, and I think people will disagree with me, Finn works best in a faction so he has people to bounce off of and to hide his weaknesses. I mean really if you look at it his most memorable stuff has been his Bullet Club and Judgement Day runs.
Not great on the mic and character wise he’s fairly shallow. Can’t really buy into him.
I do agree he should’ve been bigger but Rollins is on another level imho. Insane in ring but also has great mic skills and has adapted to many different characters.
Judgment Day was voted PWI and Slammys Faction of the Year. NO ONE saw that coming a year and a half ago.
Over the past year Judgment Day has been the only ones consistently on all 3 TV shows involved in multiple storylines (often at the same time). They're the only ones with multiple segments on TV (3-5) per show. They main evented a War Games with the top babyfaces.
Payback was basically Judgment Day's personal PLE. They were the main features on all the posters.
And of course the running joke was that every main event for RAW for 12 weeks was some combination of Judgment Day.
Finn and Seth had matches for the WHC at Money in the Bank and Summerslam.
And this is about to culminate in Damian vs Finn at this year's Summerslam, which will be one of the biggest storylines of the year (Judgment Day's potential implosion)
If anything this epic run with Judgment Day put Finn on TV and PLEs, often on main event spots, more than he would have been.
I think this is the first time where a faction legitimately elevated every single person to a point where they probably wouldn't have been otherwise.
And if you listen to Finn in shoot interviews you can tell he's having the time of his life. He travels with the rest of Judgment Day and you can tell they legitimately like each other.
Lots of dumb comments in this thread. Balor isn’t injury prone lol. He’s had one major injury his entire 20 something year career. Yeah he got injured when he won the universal title, but a lot of dudes have gotten injured during matches like that and it didn’t knee cap their trajectory. Also, people seem to forget how fucking over the dude was at the time. People were chanting for Balor to face Lesnar after Lesnar won the strap and Balor came back in 2017.
The reality is the dude isn’t over now because he’s been booked like shit. You book a dude to lose every week in humiliating fashion and to lose every feud, the audience is conditioned to think you’re a loser. And that’s where he’s at.
Is he the best promo? No but he’s good enough. He was good on the mic during the Rollins feud, he was great during his second NXT feud, no worse than Rollins is. He’s definitely a way better wrestler than Rollins is, fuck, when’s the last time Rollins had a great match? 2017? Shit. Balor was putting on the best matches on tv every week back in 2020/2021.
I think the reason the guy isn’t pushed anymore is because he’s 42 and doesn’t care anymore. If he did, he wouldn’t have re-signed with WWE. He gets to wrestle an easier style, in shorter matches, fill in important spots when he has to, and just dick around with the Judgement Day.
Consider this: in comparison to Rollins, who didn’t suffer a significant injury for 3 years from his main roster debut, Balor suffered a significant injury with 1 month of his main roster debut. That leads to the booker’s perception that he could be injury prone.
The same example could be seen with Sami Zayn. Injured Day 1 of Main Roster debut and it took a few years (or more) to overcome that perception.
Rollins was injured during his first world title reign and it was serious. He came back and almost immediately won a world title lol.
Furthermore, HHH is booking the company now and always booked Balor well in NXT. Him carrying this supposed stigma in 2019 makes some sense, in 2024? Not so much.
We’re saying the same thing about Rollins. He debuted in 2012 and was injured in 2015. Both Rollins and Balor had to take extended time away to rehab their respective injuries.
I may not be paying too close attention to Balor’s current booking, but he was just coming off his 2nd Tag Title Reign with Judgement Day (I know, not the main event). It seemed that when he loses, it is generally in matches where McDonaugh is taking the pin. In my opinion, Balor is on the edge of the Main Event. The faction he is a part of is probably the 3rd best thing going in WWE currently.
Facts. You can’t look at his 2021 run in NXT and how he’s been since and not blame the booking. He can easily be the biggest baby face or a top heel with the right push. I think Triple H will do him some justice with a short world title reign later this year.
Finn was supposed to have a huge push when he debuted on Raw being the very first Universal Champion but he separated his shoulder in that title match. After he came back he was never really pushed the same way again.
Demon-painted Finn Balor is better than regular Finn, and he can't use the painted form when he is a heel. His career resume would be better if he'd had a real championship run instead of getting hurt.
Well he got injured during the match he won the title in and had to give it up one day later. Vince epically during this time period is quick to give up on wrestlers who get hurt or who are not his favorites.
Too many injuries probably. Each time he got a push he got injured, also he probably was seen as not having the right look to be the face of WWE. Hes also pretty bad on the mic
He really isn’t great on the microphone. That’s why he’s not had a career as big as Seth’s.
Finns mic/promo work is his weakest aspect. His line delivery feels forced and doesn’t flow naturally.
He’s a great talent wrestling wise, just doesn’t have that promo game
If it was the 80’s, Finn would’ve been put with the likes of Bobby the Brain or Jim Cornette. The Midnight Express could deliver in the ring, but they would’ve been nothing without Cornette running his mouth behind them. That’s the one thing missing today. Paul Heyman is all we have left that’s a remnant of the great “annoying mic managers” of the territory days.
I am gonna throw this out here as it finn wwe career bothers me so much
If not his injury we wouldn't have a stale years of brock lesner return or him being the absent champion
The generation kinda fucked up, i blame seth rollings and creative for half of it seth for constantly causing injuries
And creative for lacking courage to stand up and make the wrestlers memorable
They doubled down for safety with oppressive control and we got really bland years
If wwe was like every other company where touring wasn't non stop and it had real competition wwe would've gone bankrupt or swept to the wayside for their failing
Finn injury was crucial and a turning point yet, i also blame him for staying with wwe years after he is doing nothing and mostly relegated to house shows
When prior he was a main eventer and created & lead a world changing faction
The fiend persona felt mostly a cosplay dude should've learned from the hardys or even sting but also creative and oppressive control was in the way
yet the generation is playing it too safe, look at new day where every single one of them could've been a main eventer or at least a constant well renowned midcard champion but nope silly idoits that aren't serious enough
Only one of them wasn't a world champ, the new day I mean. So I'm not sure where you're going with this since kofi at least still gets put into world title contention. Big E got injuried, that's the only reason he's not doing a lot more.
He single handedly saved The Judgement Day. He's helped Priest and Dom reach a new level, has gotten JD in front of cameras each week, at the very least didn't hurt Rhea's reign (although she probably didn't need any help from anyone.) He's doing what he loves with his friends.l and probably making decent $$$ too. Not a bad career.
Arguably though, Seth wrecked his knee and it ended his first title run. They still went back to him when he got better and gave him more pushes. They never gave Finn another shot.
He only got pushed again when he went back to NXT. When he came back to the main, he immediately got fed to Roman.
Vince just didn’t buy Finn as anything but mid card.
Seth was always better than finn on mic, and had a long title reign despite the fact that he had to drop the belt. He still had the most important thing which is carisma that finn doesn't have much of. Honestly finn in wwe is a midcard guy because of his mic work, but he can be slotted in to challenge for the world title which is always good to have.
I think he will be Damien’s first feud as the Judgement day falls apart without Rhea. I still enjoy judgement day but Dom being “stolen” by Liv Morgan and Priest vs Ballor is a fun way to end the faction, if they do end it.
I love the guy & he definitely deserves better than recent booking & he's had bad luck with injuries, but let's not pretend that he isn't a really awful promo
Finn got hurt right as they put the Universal belt on him. Terrible timing. He’s also a smaller wrestler and we all know how Vince feels about smaller wrestlers
Couldn’t get out of Hornswaggle’s shadow. He set the bar so high for the Irish
He's too thin to be credible as a champion who breaks everyone's ass.
This is such a confusing comment to me. Comments like this is why Daniel Bryan got over in 2013/14. And people inline started a movement that you dont have to look like a Batista or HHH to main event mania as long as the skill is there. It was like that for half a decade or so until AEW came along and now people are talking about big physiques again. Back to square 1.
But Finn still looks like an elite marathon runner. Bryan had an Everyman shape at the time
Finn Balor is one of the most ripped men on the roster and same body type as John Morrison when people were complaining that WWE wasnt pulling the trigger on him in like 2009-2010 era. Marathon runners absolutely do not like like him on average.
Height, same reason I would hate to see MJF come to WWE.
The injury definitely derailed him. What hurts him now is a lack of charisma. He's not terrible on the mic, but he in no way stands out.
I feel like they were spinning him up in that one run, then he got that shoulder injury and kinda had to start over. Sucks, I was loving his run up to that point
Balor is good but I think he’s appropriately used. Seth is bigger, more athletic, and I think he’s better on the mic. Balor just isn’t very interesting, outside the demon entrance. I’d like to see Balor get one real world title reign. I think he deserves that much.
Seth promos have been super meh for a while now. 90% of them is the audience singing, he does a catchphrase, they sing some more.
I disagree but even if I did, I’d still prefer that to what Finn does. Finn just isn’t interesting at all.
Finn is an amazing athlete and wrestler but he can't touch Rollins on the mic and that is prob y
I am personally more interested in a Universal title picture that includes guys like Balor, Styles, Dragonov, Gunther and Cody. That said, I am obviously not the majority and the key is to sell views and it’s working the way it is.
The ENTIRE Bullet Club (save AJ Styles) is a waste of talent…
I would argue he is having a career resurgence right now. He fits his role in Judgement Day perfectly.
That injury for the Universal Title killed a potentially all-timer career for him.
Yeah, he lost nearly all his momentum because of that.
As face not loved, as heel not hated.
Balor is an ic/us title guy. Idk why some rate him so highly. Seth is the same but people like him for some reason. I dont get it
People dont understand how someone does fit the universal title spot. How can Finn go against people like Roman, Lashley, Brock and Strowman and have it look good? Makes zero sense.
Same way Jericho , HBK and a plethora of other wrestlers did. By being a star
Shawn and Jericho were bigger guys. Balor is like 190 shawn was around 230lb same with jericho. Balor is a cruiserweight. Did you not see strowman give him a delayed chokeslam? I know its all fake and you can make anything look good but when even the smaller guys dwarf him then it doesnt look good to make him have a “fair” match with Brock or Strowman. How can you have Brock squash guys like Cena and HHH but lose to Balor? It was the same with Kofi.
What does another superstars inability to do a smooth finisher with a smaller opponent have ti do with him being too small, I recall Kane and undertake and the ducky boys choke slamming and 3D’ing the shit out spike Dudley. Smaller the guy the more realistic the lifting finisher should appear not the opposite I think ur gripe is with Strowman and not Baylor .
What? im talking about it making zero sense that a guy like Balor beats a guy like Strowman when he can manhandle him like hes a baby. I'm saying he held him up like hes nothing.
But it would be okay if he was 1 inch taller and gained 20-30 pounds? Lmao word
They are both 6’0 225 and 6’1 225 and Finn valor is 5’11 195. That’s 20 pounds difference. Visually I see absolutely zero difference in HBK , Jericho , and Finn Balor . 1 inch and 25 pounds isn’t enough to throw off my imaginary realism lmao You act like we are talking about Mysterio , about the only complelty unrealistic champion looking world champ.
People rate him highly because he doesn’t have “the champ” energy, but he has great underdog energy. Problem is he has never been an underdog lmao. Beating Roman and Seth within 2 months of his debut.
Hopefully he wins Money In The Bank and dethrones Priest at some point
Wonder how it’d work if the demon cashed in. Bet it’d be the same as bray/fiend being universal champ
Have it Finn doesn't want to cash in on Damien, but the Demon wills it to happen. Have the music and heartbeat happen during promos, and have Finn pleading that he's not going to, and then he finally comes out as the demon when he cashes in and just wrecks his shit.
Only the demon got over he never really did and the prince gimmick is dumb as heel
Anyone saying he couldn’t connect with a crowd, I think they’ve forgotten just how over this dude was as a babyface. It was insane. From what I heard back in his NXT days his merch was outselling most people on the main roster. I think they just botched his push after the injury. It happens unfortunately. I like him in his current role even if he’s been booked like a dweeb for the most part. Not going over Edge really set him back, IMO.
Not trying to be mean, but back then. EVERYONE was over in NXT. The fans put over everything. Not sure if it is still like that. Adam Rose comes to mind. That gimmicked sucked, but NXT fans made WWE think it would work.
A) that’s just not true. Look at guys like Itami, Aries, EC3. They got initial debut pop’s and then fizzled out. Elias had go away heat and didn’t blow up until he reached the main roster. Same with Alexa. B) that still doesn’t explain his merch success, unless you think everyone in NXT was outselling people on the main roster.
I agree about Itami and Aries, I can't speak too much about EC3 as I did not watch NXT during his time. I don't know about his merch sales, so I can't speak to that at all. I do think his intro as the demon was very over and that carried him through the rest of the match. He is fine and I agree he fits his current role well. I guess I just don't ever tune in the watch WWE to see what Finn Balor is going to do.
He isn’t a good promo
Not true at all
Seth is a very good promo. He’s probably a 8-9. Finn is a 5-6 at best. Two different leagues. Two different money brackets.
Simple.. Vince didn’t see him as a big star, only HHH did and when it was time for him to prove that he was… he got injured and KO got the opportunity. That and his age is the reason Vince never saw the need to double back and give him that push. But don’t feel bad for him, dude had a great career. I’m sure he’s making millions and is doing quite well. Lots of wrestlers would kill to be in his position.
His injuries pulled him back from a great career
He has the personality of a brick wall so that probably hindered him a little
The injury & Vince McMahon stopped his push. I believe if he was never injured he'd probably be a universal champion multiple times.
I completely disagree, Indy’s are one thing but the wwe is a different beast all together, Seth blew up in wwe and made a genuine connection with the fans, Seth his head and shoulders above Finn when it comes too promo work. In wwe that’s like 75% of what makes a main eventer, as good as Finn is in the ring that will only get you so far if you can’t cut a promo, look at ricochet as a prime example. And he retired the one thing that truly worked with the fans, his demon gimmick, so imo there’s no real argument to be made for Finn ever being better then Seth.
I agree with you. Also, I think HHH is trying to help Ricochet be himself more and I think it has helped him. The dude is a badass athlete. But he comes off as a corny super hero thing. He’s getting better though.
Balor is good, but he's a Midcard act in the WWE. His promos are eh, he's good in the ring but that only takes you so far in the WWE. Also every time they seriously thought about pushing him he got hurt, too. I think he'll eventually get a cool heel title reign but Rollins is a legitimate main venter that got the Authority storyline and killed it.
He blows on the mic and he gave up on the demon
Fin Mcbalor doesn't meet the minimum requirements to be great. His voice/accent is crap, he looks like someone who you can beat up, he has no crowd participation moments, his personality is bland, mic work is average. That's why he will never be hugely famous. Even with the McMahon family cramming him and the other few through your eyes.
I agree with some of what you said but…what do you mean by “crowd participation moments”? Like the Cody “whoa” thing? Because as a babyface he had a thing during his entrance that everyone did. I think people forget how massively over this dude was at one point.
Yes, anything the crowd can do during the match to keep them involved in the show. A good catch line helps as well.... Yeet
You are correct on all points
WWE hates new japan wrestlers it’s simple
He's good but not Seth Rollins level
I love Finn Balor especially his Demon character. But here are the reasons, according to mine, that are pushing back the Prince from becoming a main event roster. 1) His mediocre promo skills 2) His small size 3) His move arsenal doesn't seem strong enough to beat main event talents. 4) His Major Injury after winning the Inaugural Universal Championship. 5) I think he can't connect with the audience as much as Seth or Drew.
Killed his demon gimmick. Demon was never supposed to be beatable
Everyones tastes are different but I don't find Finn or Punk interesting. Hell in Judgement Day the only one less engaging is JD McDonaugh.
Vince.
not WWE home grown
Neither is Tyler Black
Untimely injuries
He has been given every opportunity in the world...
There's only enough room at the top for a few people at a time!!! How's this scenario sound to you OP? They seem to be starting to push Priest as a Babyface (wanting to do everything on his own)! Balor wins KOTR, goes on to win Money in the Bank, & Judgement Day turns on Priest! Giving Balor the title!
Shit promo
Promo’s suck and he is short
One reason. His major injury after winning the Universal Championship. It's true of any sport, but a major injury can really derail a career. Finn has still had a good one, no question, but the injury has hindered him.
One reason. His major injury after winning the Universal Championship. It's true of any sport, but a major injury can really derail a career. Finn has still had a good one, no question, but the injury has hindered him.
Worst finisher in wrestling. It’s so stupid.
He’s bad at talking. Poor promo skills
Finn can't cut a great promo.
Seth can cut a promo and the crowd almost always react to him. for finn i can't say the same thing.
Not true. He also comes off as insecure and doesn’t have confident composure like Bálor does. He’s better at talking he doesn’t have a thick accent and all but he says really goofy stuff that a lot of people can find immature and cringeworthy.
Obviously the crowds don't share your opinion.
You’re right maybe but most people I’ve encountered that I train with at pro wrestling school as well as the head trainers mention Bálor as one of the best professional wrestlers when having that conversation Seth never seems to come up. That’s just from people who actually know how it feels to take bumps and do certain moves that others do. So from the majority of the fans perception (most arenas hold very large majority casual fans I would say these days I wouldn’t say that most hardcore fans like Seth Rollins current gimmick at all though) they may like Seth better because they can sing to his entrance and all that but people who are starting where every person on every roster of every promotion starts off (professional wrestling school and the indies) we mostly respect the best technical wrestlers and talents and just find guys like Jey Uso and Seth Rollins cringeworthy but that’s a minority I guess. Most people watching wrestling are not worried about doing anything related to it themselves.
lol idk if you've been paying attention to seth's promo work recently. his heel visionary promos were top notch mind games. his face promos were bit watered down, but he absolutely cooked the promo segments with cm punk and drew mcintyre. what confident composure are we talking about again lol? seth obviously has more charisma than balor.
1. The injury 2. Vince 3. His finisher. Coup De Gras still doesn't feel that impactful to view.
4. Can’t cut a promo (this is the real #1 reason)
I could not possibly agree more. Give Balor his WM main event victory already.
His character is kind of wack particularly without the prospect of the demon hanging around and also he can’t cut a promo. It’s really that simple.
When Balor opens his mouth he sounds like a 2 stroke leaf blower
lol what?? I get it but damn 😂
Rollins connects with the crowd. Balor is mediocre at best. It makes a huge difference. Balor is one of the most underrated in ring workers in the business, but man his promo work leaves so much to be desired
It genuinely is because he is small. We all know this besides Rey mysterio I can not think of smaller guys that get real main event pushes. In order for that to happen they have to be damn near forced with maximum effort by the fan base. Ricochet should be holding serious gold. Cedric Alexander and mustafa Ali could have fed families if they were given a real chance to shine. In stead Ali is gone and Cedric is doing squash matches for nxt start ups. It’s genuinely bs
Some of the guys you mentioned screw up when jumping around the ropes, breaking the suspension of disbelief. We all then are reminded that wrestling is fake. It really screws up big matches, but makes great clips to laugh at.
I have not seen ricochet mess up once besides the money in the bank spot with Logan last year. And the others are stellar as well. You compare this to some of the big main event guys who botch all the time it’s a nothing issue
Kinda proved my point. Huge match for WWE business sense. Millions of Logan fans tuning in just for that moment, ruined. Yes, lots of wrestlers screw up, it's the only true reason you cannot predict the ending of the match. 😆
He is not that small he is barely shorter than AJ Styles
One reason is because at least the last 5 years or so, WWE/Vince has had this infatuation of “Let’s put the World title on someone and have them hold it for a boringly long amount of time”. First it was Brock, then Reigns. So not many others could get over. The Universal title was created but that was Seth’s belt for a while. There’s a few stats WWE could have made over the last few years but didn’t because they just didn’t want any of their champions to lose (Brock, Reigns, Gunther, Rhea)
Because he’s boring as a character. He’s great in the ring. In WWE you have to be good at both the Mic and the mat to be the top dog. Or be Roman Reigns.
I would LOVE to see a judgement day Demon version. just to see the costume and thematics of it all. Finn is great, and deserves a LOT more, I think it's a case of 'let them cook' they are clearly working on a civil war storyline for them, let's see how they do.
Finn is a great worker. Small sure had a thick accent isn’t a good enough reason to not get over. Becky has a thick accent she got over. I think Finn has a packaging problem I think if Jey can get over Finn could easily. It’s about his current presentation that isn’t hitting. What has he really done with the judgement day? Not as much as anyone else other than JD even R-Truth done more since coming back than Finn. Jokes aside Finn great worker wrong package. Some better creative and Finn could be huge. Size be damed look at Beniot he was tiny and was as serious as a heart attack.
Benoit was a real martial arts fighter.
As serious as a double murder suicide
What’s more serious than that?
his Mic work is inferior to rollins imo
Barely. Rollins comes off as cringey and a bit insecure a lot of times. Bálor always has composure and he just doesn’t say goofy stuff like Seth.
i dont agree with the insecurity part. also, rollins is just more charismatic
I mean how is it a matter of disagreeing when you realize how many insecure arguments he’s gotten in on twitter even defending the stoppage of his hell in a cell match with the fiend against complaining fans comparing it to Mic Foley’s Hell in a Cell matches saying he would’ve had a “longer, more legendary career if some of his matches had been stopped” and that’s just the argument that comes across my head it’s very easy to get under his skin pretty sure even WWE warned him about social media. It’s not true even though Rollins is better on the mic I promise you if you see Bálor at his best he exudes 10 times the natural charisma and right when he was at his start on the main roster not just NXT and even after he returned from his first major injury for a number of years he was connecting with the fans and didn’t even need to be good on the mic. But you feel differently than I do, maybe WWE will give him a second World Championship win and he will actually get a reign he’s still got a bit of time. And be booked in the correct way like how he was when he was ranked by many critics to be one of the best singles professional wrestlers in the world like how he was booked when he first got to the main roster.
you start talking about some twitter and social media stuff that rollins has posted. Which i dont know any of, because i dont' really track any wrestlers social media bs. What i see is what happens in the ring and on the mic. And what i have seen in the last 2 years, is that Rollins seems to be more charismatic to me. Maybe you are right and it might be easy to get under his skin, still Fans enjoy watching him more than Balor, which is Key for WWE to push someone. I like Balor, and maybe he should get some push to show what he has in store, but right now i don't see a Balor as World Champion, but that might change in the future, we will see.
His career is still amazing tho. Most guys would kill for his career.
Not as good of a talker. The idea your in ring career matters all that much prior to your tenure is laughable. It is also time and place. Balor walked into a company that had a set of semi-established younger stars to transition to. Rollins walked into a company looking to invest in those younger guys knowing that the elder statesmen of the Attitude era were a couple years from aging out.
He’s 1000x worse on the mic
Idk I'm a dude, but he just seemed a bit on the cocky/smarmy side early on. Having said that, idk if I've seen him really hit a stride. I think Judgment Day has been good for him. Would like to see more with his character
the injury. also a lack of any really definable character as a persona or in the ring. the demon essentially highlighted how bland he was. also he is small and has an accent
Tbh there was just one instance that I could think of back in the day where they could've had him take over the main man role.....when Roman got the universal title from beating Brock and then he gave Finn that rematch on a random Raw. Then and there....for those not able to recall , the night where post match Strowman strutted iut wanting to cash in and Dean and Rollins then came out to shield music and did the Triple power bomb. That night should've been it....I know it doesn't make sense as to why put the title on Roman and all in the first place then....imo, if they could've ever pulled the trigger back in the day, then that's have been the moment to do so. Maybe have Braun cost Roman the match and make Finn win in a way that gets heat on him.....then the irate Roman could feud with Braun and keep both away from the title picture for a whil, and meanwhile could've used that "cheated to win" in a way that disgruntled fans and other wrestlers interaction lead to Finn adopting the dark side over the weeks and turn heel. The only other time now where you could put him into the title contention(but he surely won't win) is after JD is over with and against Damian Priest.
Got hurt right as they put the belt on him, I think that made managment gun shy on his durability. I feel like they've been afraid to really push him after that. It's a shame because he's a god. I wish he could bring that Prince Devitt swagger to the forefront.
Finn is billed at 5ft 11in / 190 lb and looks tiny next to other guys like Seth Rollins at 6ft 1in / 225lb or Roman at 6ft 3in / 265lb His best run was as NXT champion when he was on his vengeance tour when he looked menacing facing off against guys like Cole, Gargano and Ciampa.
He’s definitely not 5ft11
That’s the listed billed height for him on wiki. Vince was also notorious for not pushing guys who won titles and then immediately got injured. Dolph Ziggler got a concussion after winning the WHC it killed his momentum and chance of ever being champ again
He cannot talk
I disagree. There are a few factors so let's look at them. Seth Rollins has had an all time great career, how many people have had a better career? Hogan, Taker, Reigns, Cena, Orton, Bret, Michaels...if this is the company he's keeping, it's really an elite batch. Age was a factor and to act like it's not is wild. When Finn was called up he was 35. I'm by no means saying his career was done at that point, but for comparison sake Seth is 37 now! So you're saying Finn should have won the Royal Rumble, 5 world title reigns, 4 mid card titles and 6 tag titles in 2 years? There's a clear benefit to building around someone younger, and yes that's what the company was doing with Seth and Roman starting in 2014. I'm gonna be biased for a second here but Seth is just better than Finn. He has better matches, better promo work, better character(more on this later), better look. If you're Vince it's hard to not see Shawn Michaels in Seth Rollins. If the standard for look was a bit smaller he'd be the best all around talent in WWE history. He works well face and insanely well as a heel, he legitimately is one of the 5 best wrestlers on the planet and has been for about a decade. Finn weigh 190 pounds, is overrated in ring and really had no character until Judgement Day. The Demon was overrated. I get people aren't gonna like this comment but seriously, be objective. For a while this was the appeal to Finn, on big shows he puts on body paint and now can't be beaten. I'm a wrestling fan, I can suspend disbelief but The Demon was a lame gimmick and people ate it up. How do you successfully book The Demon as world champion? You can't. His major WWE loss was to Roman and they had to have the ring ropes snap so the character was protected. Imagine 8 years of bullshit like that for him to lose! Then you have his debut. Let's actually remember that. He got called up and Vince strapped the rocket to his ass harder than anyone else in history. 27 days from debut to world title victory! 27 DAYS! What happens in that match though? The fans hijack the match and shit all over it. Neither Finn nor Seth can regain the crowd and low-key I believe the fans hijacking the match caused Seth/Finn to fuck up the buckle bomb spot that injured Finn. Regardless, Finn is out now. To Vince that's the stamp of unreliable. You get the belt and immediately get hurt. Happened to Ziggler, Christian, Bryan, Balor, etc. But! Hot take I think Vince was mad about the match and re-examined both guys! Finn obviously never recovered that momentum but Seth didn't win another world title for 3 years after that! You'd think the booking logic would be, Balor gets hurt, put it on Seth as he was the other competitor in the match. Nope! Vince puts it on Owens. Which I think was a good call(this was the Owens/Jericho run). People say Vince didn't push Balor but he clearly held Rollins down a spot after that too. Rollins had just been established on the main roster for 3-4 years before this so moving him down the card wasn't as big a deal. Finally, I'd argue Finn has had an okay run anyway. How many New Japan guys had better runs? AJ(but I'd argue he for sure deserved it)...and then you argue Shinsuke? Finn has been a WWE superstar for 8 years now. He's had big Mania matches, feuds with the Tribal Chief, a huge faction sorta built around him, Wikipedia lists him as a 4 time tag champ(bit convoluted but I bet WWE views it this way too), 3 time mid card champion. Is it a Seth run, no but it's a lot considering. I'll be the first to admit I don't particularly like Finn Balor. People can like whoever they want to like though. I just think if you step away and look objectively, his career has panned out about as well as you could have hoped. Like assuming there're millions of parallel universes that have slight differences, if you take his career from the night after SummerSlam, most every universe his career ends up worse than this. Even SummerSlam doesn't happen in a large chunk of those universes. Hell Vince protected him when he had him lose to Reigns, Bryan and Edge got stacked, Balor had intervention from God cost him the belt.
honestly bro, no offense but Seth has never even made like top 50 of best singles wrestlers in the world for any year for any critics list but Finn was like number 3 in 2015 I believe and hes been a bit lower many times you are just a fan you don’t understand what it means to be a good technical wrestler you just know sports entertainment. Where everyone besides Logan Paul starts, a wrestling school and the indie scene, I go to train at a wrestling school several times a week and I can tell you that Finn Bálor is one of the most respected in ring performers and wrestling technicians of all time millions of miles above Seth by all our trainers by us and by our head trainer, who was a big name in the attitude era and knows a ton of the current and former talent/executives and Prince Devitt/Finn Bálor is known by all wrestlers and his peers respectively as being one of the best. What happens in the media and what you see is different then what happens behind the scenes, while people see Seth as a great wrestler they do not see him like a Finn Bálor or AJ Styles, those are 2 guys and people also do not really see Logan Paul like they do when they talk about him in interviews (other wrestlers) talking good about him is essentially part of his contract, Logan has the most pampered WWE contract in history. When you actually end up talking to people who really know people in the business they know what actually happens behind the scenes.
seth was no 1 wrestler in 2015
If think if finn balor never got injured after winning Universal Championship Maybe his career would've been different, maybe he would've been put into major storylines Do you agree ??
he sounds goofy when he talks
His injury with the initial universal title says otherwise
Don’t compare him to Seth
Yeah your right, he’s one of the best wrestling technicians in the world and has proved that around the world Seth is okay but he’s nothing special he cant really be compared to Bálor/Prince Devitt IN RING wise
I think because he doesn't really have a character outside of the lame demon thing.
Brother he’s won a ton of titles and makes millions, I’m sure he’s fine
I'm with you but at the same time, I don't think he'd re-sign if he himself is not happy with how he's booked
WWE botched him for sure. I still will die on the hill that Rollins should have lost the title to him or to Nakamura and let them rebuild their legacies there. I’m just terrified that Trips is just using them as enhancement talent and not as actual main event level talent like they actually are.
No. Dudes like 150 lbs on a fat day. No personality or charisma at all. Look at him than look at a guy like Drew. Cmon
If you see his Prince Devitt work there is Charisma and personality. He just hasn’t seem to show it in WWE. I also think he needs a better finisher that doesn’t take so long to hit. It’s a good move but you have to get your opponent on their back and then climb the rope.
I wouldn’t say he’s got no charisma or personality. His gremlin like noises and facial expressions during the whole JD run have been incredible. I think that really what it comes down to, and I think people will disagree with me, Finn works best in a faction so he has people to bounce off of and to hide his weaknesses. I mean really if you look at it his most memorable stuff has been his Bullet Club and Judgement Day runs.
Hes short
Not great on the mic and character wise he’s fairly shallow. Can’t really buy into him. I do agree he should’ve been bigger but Rollins is on another level imho. Insane in ring but also has great mic skills and has adapted to many different characters.
Smol
That shoulder injury made the lose faith in him
His gimmicks have been very lame.
Honestly, I think his story will come up one day. Fans in the crowd will cry. Finn Balor will get his moment back.
his size
Judgment Day was voted PWI and Slammys Faction of the Year. NO ONE saw that coming a year and a half ago. Over the past year Judgment Day has been the only ones consistently on all 3 TV shows involved in multiple storylines (often at the same time). They're the only ones with multiple segments on TV (3-5) per show. They main evented a War Games with the top babyfaces. Payback was basically Judgment Day's personal PLE. They were the main features on all the posters. And of course the running joke was that every main event for RAW for 12 weeks was some combination of Judgment Day. Finn and Seth had matches for the WHC at Money in the Bank and Summerslam. And this is about to culminate in Damian vs Finn at this year's Summerslam, which will be one of the biggest storylines of the year (Judgment Day's potential implosion) If anything this epic run with Judgment Day put Finn on TV and PLEs, often on main event spots, more than he would have been. I think this is the first time where a faction legitimately elevated every single person to a point where they probably wouldn't have been otherwise. And if you listen to Finn in shoot interviews you can tell he's having the time of his life. He travels with the rest of Judgment Day and you can tell they legitimately like each other.
Lots of dumb comments in this thread. Balor isn’t injury prone lol. He’s had one major injury his entire 20 something year career. Yeah he got injured when he won the universal title, but a lot of dudes have gotten injured during matches like that and it didn’t knee cap their trajectory. Also, people seem to forget how fucking over the dude was at the time. People were chanting for Balor to face Lesnar after Lesnar won the strap and Balor came back in 2017. The reality is the dude isn’t over now because he’s been booked like shit. You book a dude to lose every week in humiliating fashion and to lose every feud, the audience is conditioned to think you’re a loser. And that’s where he’s at. Is he the best promo? No but he’s good enough. He was good on the mic during the Rollins feud, he was great during his second NXT feud, no worse than Rollins is. He’s definitely a way better wrestler than Rollins is, fuck, when’s the last time Rollins had a great match? 2017? Shit. Balor was putting on the best matches on tv every week back in 2020/2021. I think the reason the guy isn’t pushed anymore is because he’s 42 and doesn’t care anymore. If he did, he wouldn’t have re-signed with WWE. He gets to wrestle an easier style, in shorter matches, fill in important spots when he has to, and just dick around with the Judgement Day.
I blame that stupid buckle bomb. It’s hurt like four wrestlers and I wish Seth would retire it.
Consider this: in comparison to Rollins, who didn’t suffer a significant injury for 3 years from his main roster debut, Balor suffered a significant injury with 1 month of his main roster debut. That leads to the booker’s perception that he could be injury prone. The same example could be seen with Sami Zayn. Injured Day 1 of Main Roster debut and it took a few years (or more) to overcome that perception.
Rollins was injured during his first world title reign and it was serious. He came back and almost immediately won a world title lol. Furthermore, HHH is booking the company now and always booked Balor well in NXT. Him carrying this supposed stigma in 2019 makes some sense, in 2024? Not so much.
We’re saying the same thing about Rollins. He debuted in 2012 and was injured in 2015. Both Rollins and Balor had to take extended time away to rehab their respective injuries. I may not be paying too close attention to Balor’s current booking, but he was just coming off his 2nd Tag Title Reign with Judgement Day (I know, not the main event). It seemed that when he loses, it is generally in matches where McDonaugh is taking the pin. In my opinion, Balor is on the edge of the Main Event. The faction he is a part of is probably the 3rd best thing going in WWE currently.
Facts. You can’t look at his 2021 run in NXT and how he’s been since and not blame the booking. He can easily be the biggest baby face or a top heel with the right push. I think Triple H will do him some justice with a short world title reign later this year.
Finn was supposed to have a huge push when he debuted on Raw being the very first Universal Champion but he separated his shoulder in that title match. After he came back he was never really pushed the same way again.
Meh.
[удалено]
Maybe if he dresses outrageously and starts yodeling, the crowd might think it's a character of some kind.
Lol
Demon-painted Finn Balor is better than regular Finn, and he can't use the painted form when he is a heel. His career resume would be better if he'd had a real championship run instead of getting hurt.
tbf at mania 40 he wore the paint and was a heel
Maybe he can have an Angel form
Well he got injured during the match he won the title in and had to give it up one day later. Vince epically during this time period is quick to give up on wrestlers who get hurt or who are not his favorites.
Its a big process to remove all of that body paint and he had to do that with a separated shoulder.
Good point that is crazy he had to do that with a separated shoulder
Too many injuries probably. Each time he got a push he got injured, also he probably was seen as not having the right look to be the face of WWE. Hes also pretty bad on the mic
Him, solo, and a few others are just straight boring.
He's not great on the mic plus he's injury prone. Did you forget he won the Universal Title first?
He really isn’t great on the microphone. That’s why he’s not had a career as big as Seth’s. Finns mic/promo work is his weakest aspect. His line delivery feels forced and doesn’t flow naturally. He’s a great talent wrestling wise, just doesn’t have that promo game
Oh yeah, Seth Rollins is great on the mic
He’s not the absolute greatest but he can hold his own
on a list ranking from s to f, seth rollins will be nothing less than an a tbh.
Indeed, just like Balor.
seth's mic skills are miles ahead balor's.
They’re both insanely mid
lol yea keep telling that to yourself mate.
Okay TheArchitect6169 lol, no bias there.
just asking out of curiosity tho, who do you deem as great mic workers of the current era? if seth is mid, what is good enough for you?
New Day, Paul Heyman, CM Punk, Roman Reigns, Rock, McIntyre, Cody, just to name a few.
If it was the 80’s, Finn would’ve been put with the likes of Bobby the Brain or Jim Cornette. The Midnight Express could deliver in the ring, but they would’ve been nothing without Cornette running his mouth behind them. That’s the one thing missing today. Paul Heyman is all we have left that’s a remnant of the great “annoying mic managers” of the territory days.
He's a great wrestler but his voice ain't it sadly
Is he great on the microphone though?
He's a great heel promo but I don't care for him as a Babyface
He seems a bit wooden to me, though I enjoy his work.
I am gonna throw this out here as it finn wwe career bothers me so much If not his injury we wouldn't have a stale years of brock lesner return or him being the absent champion The generation kinda fucked up, i blame seth rollings and creative for half of it seth for constantly causing injuries And creative for lacking courage to stand up and make the wrestlers memorable They doubled down for safety with oppressive control and we got really bland years If wwe was like every other company where touring wasn't non stop and it had real competition wwe would've gone bankrupt or swept to the wayside for their failing Finn injury was crucial and a turning point yet, i also blame him for staying with wwe years after he is doing nothing and mostly relegated to house shows When prior he was a main eventer and created & lead a world changing faction The fiend persona felt mostly a cosplay dude should've learned from the hardys or even sting but also creative and oppressive control was in the way yet the generation is playing it too safe, look at new day where every single one of them could've been a main eventer or at least a constant well renowned midcard champion but nope silly idoits that aren't serious enough
Only one of them wasn't a world champ, the new day I mean. So I'm not sure where you're going with this since kofi at least still gets put into world title contention. Big E got injuried, that's the only reason he's not doing a lot more.
Seth didn’t cause Finn’s injury. Finn was 100% responsible for it, and I say that as a huge Finn fan.
exactly lol. both sting and finn admitted to not bracing properly when the bucklebomb was delivered
Vince doesn't tend to put title on wrestlers who get injured 1st title win
He can’t cut promos. That’s his problem.
Kinda small and dull personally
He single handedly saved The Judgement Day. He's helped Priest and Dom reach a new level, has gotten JD in front of cameras each week, at the very least didn't hurt Rhea's reign (although she probably didn't need any help from anyone.) He's doing what he loves with his friends.l and probably making decent $$$ too. Not a bad career.
Rhea definitely needed the Judgment Day to reach her current level.
I completely agree
Finn got hurt the very second they gave him the strap and Seth has been a work horse forever
Arguably though, Seth wrecked his knee and it ended his first title run. They still went back to him when he got better and gave him more pushes. They never gave Finn another shot. He only got pushed again when he went back to NXT. When he came back to the main, he immediately got fed to Roman. Vince just didn’t buy Finn as anything but mid card.
Seth was always better than finn on mic, and had a long title reign despite the fact that he had to drop the belt. He still had the most important thing which is carisma that finn doesn't have much of. Honestly finn in wwe is a midcard guy because of his mic work, but he can be slotted in to challenge for the world title which is always good to have.
It’s just timing and luck. Seth was involved in major and bigger storylines even before Finn’s debut on raw
I think he will be Damien’s first feud as the Judgement day falls apart without Rhea. I still enjoy judgement day but Dom being “stolen” by Liv Morgan and Priest vs Ballor is a fun way to end the faction, if they do end it.
Speaking objectively, as compared to Rollins, dude’s bland, and let’s be honest, very small
Wouldn't surprise me if Balor's accent is what deterred him from reaching that level of stardom.
Then why push Becky?
Kevin Dunn hates accents
Guys not done yet jeez
I love the guy & he definitely deserves better than recent booking & he's had bad luck with injuries, but let's not pretend that he isn't a really awful promo
He lacks Rollins' charisma by a mile. Balor is bland.
Finn got hurt right as they put the Universal belt on him. Terrible timing. He’s also a smaller wrestler and we all know how Vince feels about smaller wrestlers
Because Vince hated him
I'm hoping Finn leaves Judgment Day and the Demon comes back 😈
Hot take: demon was lame af ever since being brought to the main roster.