WWE New: NXT Champion Finn Balor Set To Turn Heel At ‘WWE NXT Takeover: Respect’
WWE NXT Champion Finn Balor has been an extremely fun performer to watch all year long. Going back to his work in Japan, he was as over as he could be there. It goes without saying, but if you get over in Japan you can make a great living just working there and nowhere else. Balor thought of this, but wanted the challenge of performing in the WWE.
When he came over, he was surprised at how many people knew of him. While this may seem weird in today’s world, it is not a shocking thing to hear. The American performers know that the crowd should know them due to them working in the states a lot. However, the people coming from overseas do not expect you to know anything about them. However, through the power of the internet, fans have been able to see a lot of people before they even step foot in the WWE.
Since he has made his way to WWE, he has been an extremely over babyface.
That may change very very soon. According to Cageside Seats, the idea WWE is currently set to go with is Finn Balor turning on Samoa Joe at WWE NXT Takeover: Respect. This should cause the two to lose the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, or Balor will simply attack Joe after the match is over. There are many ways to go about this. Keep in mind, this has been months in the making.
While WWE could have easily made a Samoa Joe/Finn Balor match happen as babyfaces, the heel Balor ideology was supposed to happen around this time due to Hideo Itami.
WWE wanted to have Finn Balor vs Hideo Itami, but they felt they wouldn’t get the chance to make it happen beforehand. While Kevin Owens was blamed for what happened to Itami, he claims he had nothing to do with what happened and he is probably telling the truth. The idea as of now is to have Balor be the guy who took Itami out. It made sense for him to do so, as Balor knew he would have a one on one match to be the No. 1 Contender for the NXT Championship. He would also get to face off with Kevin Owens in Japan, a place Balor made major history.
The spot that Balor took was supposed to be Hideo’s. He was supposed to win the match before he got hurt. Balor would then turn on him later on, and have a program until a call up was set to occur for him. Hideo getting hurt changed all of this. That said, the plan is still for them to go at it. However, the best thing Balor can do now is still work the heel angle.
While the program with Samoa Joe will not be as exciting as the one with Hideo, it will be a very good rivalry with fun matches. The idea might be that WWE will semi-change Balor when it comes to Samoa Joe. From there, he can turn full-fledged heel against Hideo Itami. Regardless of what they plan to do, Samoa Joe and Hideo Itami are set to be the final two programs Finn Balor will work in WWE NXT.
He very well could make a main roster appearance well before the end of these rivalries. However, we shouldn’t expect him to come up until at least toward the end of the year. Of course, WWE wants to promote the WWE NXT Takeover: Respect show coming up this Wednesday. A good way to do that would be to have a popular NXT star appear on WWE RAW, potentially to answer the John Cena US Title Open Challenge.
All eyes are on WWE RAW and their ratings slump. So WWE could use a shot in the arm from NXT, and Finn Balor in particular.
[IMG Credits: wrestlingnews.com, lockerdome, business2community.com]
