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Finn Balor made his NXT debut in late December 2014 and quickly solidified his position as one of the must-see Superstars on the black and gold brand.
Winning the NXT Championship in just over six months, his stature as the face of the brand grew manifold during his record-setting 292-day reign at the top of the card. He main evented multiple NXT TakeOver specials against the likes of Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe and had some memorable encounters in the process.
However, it was his main roster debut which caught the attention of fans. Competing and winning against experienced Superstars like Cesaro and Roman Reigns, Balor soon found himself facing Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship at Summerslam 2016. Donning his Demon King avatar, he went onto capture the title and instantly became a major player on RAW. An unfortunate injury derailed his momentum, but his best was yet to come.
Now, as the NXT Champion in his second reign, his matches are highly anticipated by his loyal fans from all across the globe. Let's take a dive and recount Finn Balor's 5 greatest WWE matches:
#5 Finn Balor vs AJ Styles (TLC 2017)
A dream match that was never supposed to take place, Finn Balor vs AJ Styles at TLC 2017 was an encounter that certainly lived up to the expectations of fans. Initially, Balor was supposed to take on Bray Wyatt, but an unspecified illness forced the latter to withdraw from the match. AJ Styles was called in for an exhibition match-up against Balor.
The fact that the audiences were chanting "this is awesome" even before the match started, was a testament to how eagerly anticipated this match was. Even though the two had no story to work around, the pure technical wrestling display in the ring left the fans enthralled for 18 minutes.
From submission locks to executing their moves with seamless transitions, they put up a wrestling clinic that can be considered as one of Finn Balor's greatest WWE matches. Post-match, the two stars showed mutual respect with a 'Too Sweet' gesture that yet again sent the fans into a frenzy.
#4 Finn Balor vs Kevin Owens (The Beast in the East)
This match is today mostly remembered as the beginning of Finn Balor's iconic run as the NXT Champion. The match took place in Tokyo, Japan, where Balor had wrestled for several years before coming to the WWE, the crowd was in full support of him as this was a homecoming of sorts. However, the quality of this contest is undeniably great. Both Kevin Owens and Finn Balor wrestled a match which was a great mix of the WWE style of wrestling and Japanese wrestling.
Finn Balor started the match with a flurry of aerial offense on Owens, who found it hard to keep up with the pace of his opponent. However, he soon found his footing and began to take control of the contest during which time the crowd became more sympathetic towards Balor and resentful towards Owen.
Once the match got into the final gear, it becomes a terrific contest of speed, agility, and power. The match-up also included one of the first instances where a Superstar kicked out a Coup de Grace delivered by Balor. However, Owens couldn't recover after a second Coup de Grace and went down to Finn Balor.
The ensuing celebration was euphoric, but the action preceding it was the clincher when we look back now.
#3 Finn Balor vs Brock Lesnar (Royal Rumble 2019)
Considering Brock Lesnar has had tremendous matches with Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles, guys much smaller in size than him, the expectation for this contest with Finn Balor at Royal Rumble 2019 was off the charts. While the match itself was not as long as the match with Bryan, it was a fast-paced one with relentless action and zero room for either wrestler to take a breath. Unlike usual Lesnar matches, this one started with Finn Balor dominating and connecting several dropkicks that weakened the former's rib.
The match soon became a back and forth contest in which both Superstars got their fair share of moments. While Balor got to show his superb agility and speed in the ring, Lesnar was in his usual beast mode by unleashing a flurry of German Suplexes once he got going.
Another reason why this match stands apart is that this was one of Balor's most high-profile matches in a long time, and he performed as if he was never away from the main event spot. The ending of the match was also unlike a usual Lesnar finish as he locked Balor in a Kimura lock, thus giving birth to an iconic moment.
#2 Finn Balor vs Seth Rollins (SummerSlam 2016)
Finn Balor's main roster run started in a dream manner. After being a high-profile draft pick by RAW, he took part in a tournament to determine the contender for the then newly-announced Universal Championship. In the finals, he defeated Roman Reigns, the clear-cut favorite to win the match. He then advanced to face Seth Rollins to crown the first-ever Universal Champion in the co-main event of SummerSlam 2016.
Even though he had earlier performed on big stages, an event of SummerSlam's stature was new to him.
Concerns regarding not being able to perform at his best could have popped into his head. But Finn Balor isn't the kind of Superstar that crumbles under pressure. On the contrary, he rose to the occasion and put on a memorable match with Seth Rollins. Not many had put their money on Balor leaving SummerSlam as the champ, but they were all proven wrong when he did just that by slaying Seth Rollins.
The contest and the moment itself was a rousing one, a boyhood dream coming true for the man known as Finn Balor.
#1 Finn Balor vs Kyle O' Reilly (NXT Takeover 31)
Easily one of the best matches of the pandemic era, a brutal and stiff encounter between Finn Balor and Kyle O'Reilly at NXT Takeover 31 was wrestling at its purest. Both Superstars relished in the violence that they created and enjoyed the creative freedom that they were seemingly given. While both Balor and Reilly have very similar wrestling styles, this was their very first match against each other.
The two performers weaved magic in the ring and used the empty arena concept to perfection.The two NXT stars went on for 28 minutes and ensured that not a single minute was wasted. Finn Balor ultimately came up on top after executing a Coup de Grace. The two men shook hands after the match as a mark of respect for each other.
Unsurprisingly enough, both Superstars found themselves on the injured list and were out of action for some weeks. While Balor suffered a hairline jaw fracture, Reilly had broken teeth and some other unspecified injuries.
Bayley gives us a HUGE update on a top Superstar's upcoming return RIGHT HERE.
