WWE Royal Rumble 2019: 3 Reasons why Finn Balor should win and 3 reasons why he shouldn't

Is Finn a sacrificial lamb or does he really have a shot at the Royal Rumble?
Is Finn a sacrificial lamb or does he really have a shot at the Royal Rumble?

The WWE really shook things up for the Royal Rumble when the swapped Braun Strowman with Finn Balor in the Universal Championship match versus Brock Lesnar.

Many were gearing up for Strowman to finally get his hands on the Beast, but since it looked like he wouldn't be medically cleared from elbow surgery in time for the match, WWE pulled out its back-up plan.

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Few are probably complaining about Finn Balor getting a marquee match on the Royal Rumble card, and one for the title he never actually lost.

Some people might just figure he'll get tossed all around the ring and is essentially being fed to Lesnar, but as the matches with AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan showed us, Lesnar is willing to have a competitive match if he is invested in it.

He allegedly likes working with smaller guys, and Styles and Bryan got some of the best matches out of Lesnar since his WWE return. Balor can certainly do the same.

While the some see the writing in the wall is that Balor is just a fill-in and Lesnar will easily retain, there are both reasons for and those against Balor walking out of Arizona with the Universal Championship on January 27th.


#3. Should - He's a hard-working, full-time superstar

Balor and Rollins had some great matches involving the Intercontinental Title.
Balor and Rollins had some great matches involving the Intercontinental Title.

Finn is what a lot of folks would call a 'work-rate' guy. He's a great in-ring technician and rarely has bad matches. A lot of the time, hardcore fans gravitate towards these types of superstars rather than guys who just get by with being passable in the ring.

And since Finn Balor is a full-time superstar who truly cares about his craft, him winning the Universal Championship would make fans care about the title again.

Some people have been turned off of WWE and Raw because of Brock Lesnar's part-time status and sporadic appearances. Guys who are there every week are more respected, despite how much money Vince McMahon may shell out for their services.

Having a full-time champion would drastically improve the product. Some people in WWE might not admit it, but a big part of their ratings problems to end 2018 had a lot to do with Lesnar winning the title again.

Those who may have tuned back in when Roman Reigns won the belt probably tuned out again. Raw needs its alleged top champion on the show weekly so that there are at least two singles titles for the men to chase regularly.

While it does feel like a big deal when the title is defended, it doesn't feel like the top title on the show when everyone is busting their butts for the IC title instead.

#3. Shouldn't - Seth Rollins is the apparent end game at Wrestlemania 35

Rollins has been very outspoken about Lesnar's championship reigns.
Rollins has been very outspoken about Lesnar's championship reigns.

WWE has spent the better part of a few months building up Seth Rollins as the man likely to take the Universal Championship from Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 35. Rumours have run rampant about that ever since the early fall.

He's been given free rein in his promos to bash Lesnar and he's been the stand-in champion as IC Champ while Lesnar has been away from WWE. If WWE invested so much time in Rollins as the guy to beat Lesnar, then what point would there be to have Balor win the title on January 27th?

While it would provide the fans with a better overall match and one to look forward to more so than one with a guy who may be on his way out the door, Rollins has been their guy for a while ever since Reigns relinquished his title.

Strowman would have already won the title in one of his other opportunities but they aren't really invested in Strowman as the top guy on Raw.

A Balor win would be great and more than deserved, but it would have made months of storytelling with Rollins pointless. While WWE does often do that with some of its storylines, this isn't one that should be swept away.

They've reportedly had Balor in mind to take Strowman's place for a while, so will Mr McMahon have one of his trademark 'changing his mind' feelings regarding the match? Probably not.

#2. Should - It would be unpredictable

Daniel Bryan was the man who last faced Lesnar on PPV.
Daniel Bryan was the man who last faced Lesnar on PPV.

The last time Lesnar was involved in a match, it was against Daniel Bryan at Survivor Series. Bryan literally won the WWE Championship from AJ Styles on the Smackdown before Survivor Series.

While many wanted to see Styles vs Lesnar again, the unpredictable nature of switching things up last minute was a welcome surprise for those who have loved Daniel Bryan for years.

If Balor wins the Universal Championship, it would mark another unpredictable memory for fans everywhere. WWE has been pretty 'connect-the-dots' when it came to the inevitability of Roman Reigns winning the title from Lesnar and prolonging it just infuriated fans.

I've mentioned it before, but a lot of times when WWE makes a last-minute switch with a wrestler in a match or they add one to a match like Asuka at TLC, that late addition often wins.

While I don't think Balor is going to benefit from this booking as Asuka did, it would be met with thunderous cheers if it did happen.

He's a guy who also inspires a great message to the public with the fact that Balor Club 'is for everyone'. If WWE truly wants some positive, mainstream publicity, why not have a Universal Champion like that?

#2. Shouldn't - If he beats Lesnar, what does that say for AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan?

Daniel Bryan gave Lesnar all he could handle at Survivor Series.
Daniel Bryan gave Lesnar all he could handle at Survivor Series.

When Daniel Bryan essentially took the spot of AJ Styles at Survivor Series, it was a great moment. Bryan had won a major title in his return from retirement and it was the impetus for his heel turn.

But once the confetti cleared, thoughts turned towards his safety against Brock Lesnar. How many times would Lesnar suplex Bryan on his head and just how bad a beating would Bryan take?

Bryan did take a beating to start the match and Styles also did at the 2017 Survivor Series PPV. Both guys eventually evened things up and made a run at beating Lesnar.

They made the matches competitive and believable rather than something like the five-minute Strowman squash at Crown Jewel.

If Balor does win against the much larger Lesnar when guys who have carried major titles in WWE like Styles and Bryan have failed, what would that say about them?

Styles has been the face of Smackdown for three years and Bryan has done a lot of character work in order to finally get the WWE Universe to actually boo him.

Should Balor be the one to beat Lesnar and win the title at the rumble, it doesn't say much in how WWE values Styles or Bryan in the hierarchy. Balor is even smaller than those guys, so it would hurt more people if he did win the title.

#1. Should - He's one of the most over stars in WWE

Balor Club is loud every time Finn Balor comes to the ring.
Balor Club is loud every time Finn Balor comes to the ring.

This is my opinion, but then I think a lot of fans would agree that the most over stars on the WWE roster regardless of brand are Finn Balor, Seth Rollins, Elias, Styles, Rusev and Becky Lynch.

I could be wrong, but those are the superstars that routinely get the loudest reactions when they are in the ring.

All but Balor and Elias have held gold in the past few months. If WWE truly wants us to invest in their promise of giving new superstars chances, then they could start with Balor winning the Universal Championship.

The crowd wouldn't boo him, he'd defend the belt regularly and the quality of the matches would never be in question. WWE often misses the boat on when stars are over, like when Strowman was initially over, when Rusev Day became a popular thing and how Elias is loudly cheered every week.

Those cheers from the crowd should result in titles and pushes, but one plus one hasn't always equalled two in WWE when crowd responses don't add up to pushes.

If you want us fans to believe that you 'care about what we think' and that 'we are now the Authority', show that you mean it by giving a hugely over star like Balor a major title.

#1. Shouldn't - He'd be better used winning the Royal Rumble and challenging Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania

This is one dream match that would be simple to do this year.
This is one dream match that would be simple to do this year.

While it is great to see Balor back in the hunt for the Universal Championship, before things changed this week, he was one of the legit favourites to win the Rumble match.

Seth Rollins or Drew McIntyre may have been bigger favourites, but it could easily have been done having Balor as one of or the only iron man of the match.

Sometimes that spot is somewhat of a consolation prize for someone not slated to win the rumble, but a Balor rumble match win would make it two years in a row without a repeat winner.

Now that WWE constantly mentions that winners can challenge the champions of either show, I think WWE would be better served to have Balor in the match and winning it.

He could then use his win to challenge Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 35. Bryan's potential challenger hasn't been revealed yet, so maybe he's going to drop the title at some point before April.

Smackdown has a shortage of main-event babyfaces ever since Styles lost the title and Bryan turned heel. Are they trying to build up Mustafa Ali as one or is he going to be mainly a midcard guy?

Jeff Hardy and Rey Mysterio are better utilized putting over the younger wrestlers on the roster just like Mysterio did on Smackdown with Andrade. Balor winning the rumble, challenging Bryan at Wrestlemania and moving to Smackdown would open things up for everyone on either show.

Don't tell me that a potential showdown between Bryan and Balor isn't a Wrestlemania dream match? It totally is and could conceivably happen this year.

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