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In a surprising turn of events on Monday Night Raw, the Intercontinental Championship changed hands from the champion to the challenger.
Bobby Lashley did not hesitate in his attempt to regain the Intercontinental Championship from Finn Balor. Lashley had lost the championship last month when Balor pinned Lio Rush in a handicap match, and therefore Lashley emerged strongly in the one-on-one battle.
While the match wasn’t all clean, as Lio Rush’s distraction proved to be the pivotal point leading to Lashley spearing Balor and pinning him for the championship, it was definitely surprising to see WWE take the title off Balor so soon.
While it might seem like a bold yet bad move, it must have some reasons behind it. While we can’t be sure of what the creatives are thinking at the moment, we have still made a list of 4 possible reasons why Finn Balor lost the Intercontinental Championship to Bobby Lashley.
Take a look at the list below, and share the reason you think Balor lost the title on Raw this week.
#4 To move to SmackDown Live
Finn Balor has been on Raw for some time now, and a move to another brand could help the superstar rise to the upper card.
Balor has been battling on Raw’s mid-card for a long time now and has only gotten a few top matches on the brand. SmackDown, however, has utilized its top talent much better in the past year or so, and Balor could benefit from a change in brand.
The first ever WWE International Superstar Shake-Up is coming after WrestleMania 35.
This would allow WWE to shift Balor from Raw to SmackDown as he is arguably their biggest International superstar.
Therefore, a change of hands of the title from Balor to Bobby Lashley makes sense, and Lashley can continue to pose as a big threat with the championship while Balor can focus on his switch in the coming weeks.
#3 To allow for a heel turn
Balor has played a babyface for a long time now, and that is exactly how the fans love him. He looks like a natural babyface and has done wonders by selling heelish attacks from men like Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, and Jinder Mahal.
On the other hand, Balor plays an even better heel when he’s handed the character. A heel turn on Raw for Balor could do wonders for him and his bookings which have seen a downward trend in recent months.
Balor’s heel turn could also help him get in contention for other championships and form alliances with some of the best heels on the roster.
His heel turn could be a result of his bitterness towards losing the title so early in his run and his bad bookings which could kayfabe put his on a path against the WWE management.
#2 To retire Kurt Angle
This week on Raw, one of WWE’s biggest and most decorated superstars announced that he will be retiring from wrestling come WrestleMania 35.
Kurt Angle followed his announcement by facing Apollo Crews in what seemed like a friendly match between the two competitors. Angle is past his prime, while Appolo is past his push too, the match did not seem to be as interesting as it could have been.
A reason for that is that Apollo too fought as a babyface, and couldn’t inject the same intensity into the match as Drew McIntyre did some weeks ago on Raw against Angle.
Finn Balor would be the perfect choice to retire the veteran superstar at WrestleMania 35.
Balor is an extremely good performer who can prove to be a great last opponent for anyone, be it Kurt Angle or The Undertaker.
Without a title around his waist, he can focus on the match at WrestleMania rather than defending the Intercontinental Championship which Bobby Lashley can do now.
#1 To become Seth Rollins’ first challenger
Seth Rollins is all pumped up to slay The Beast at WrestleMania 35. Finn Balor tried to do so earlier at Royal Rumble 2019 but failed after coming close to beating Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship.
While the Intercontinental Championship looked good around Balor’s waist, nothing will look better than the Universal Championship as he is an elite performer.
Therefore, there is a huge likelihood that Balor would become Rollins’ first challenger after he wins the Universal Championship at WrestleMania.
While Roman Reigns should technically get the first shot at the Championship after WrestleMania 35, it’s possible that WWE will want to save Rollins vs Reigns for a grander stage such as SummerSlam.
If Balor does turn heel, then the rivalry between Rollins and him could prove to be extremely entertaining and rewarding for both the superstars as they are arguably the best wrestlers on Raw at the moment.
