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Last week's episode of WWE NXT saw the surprise return of Finn Balor, and while WWE fans were anticipating the return of the first-ever WWE Universal Champion, no one expected Balor would return to the Wednesday night brand.
Balor made his surprise return after the opening match featuring Adam Cole retaining the NXT title against Matt Riddle, and it appears as if Balor might be headed towards a feud against the NXT Champion.
Tommaso Ciampa also made his return to NXT TV at the end of last week's episode, which could setup some type of three-way feud between Cole, Balor and Ciampa, but either way, the numbers will be stacked against both Ciampa and Balor as The Undisputed Era will always be in the corner to assist Adam Cole.
Given the above, let's take a look at five factions Finn Balor can form to battle The Undisputed Era.
#5 DIY 2.0
DIY, consisting of Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano, quickly became one of the most popular tag teams in NXT until Ciampa turned heel and in the process turned on Johnny Gargano, leading to one of the most memorable feuds in WWE NXT history.
Ciampa played the heel throughout his feud with Johnny Gargano, until the end of the feud which saw Gargano turn heel as Ciampa was exiting TV due to injury which required surgery.
With Ciampa back on NXT TV and in the position to become a top babyface, it might be a good idea to see Gargano and Ciampa re-team as DIY, but this time with the addition of Finn Balor to help counter The Undisputed Era's numbers game against top NXT babyfaces.
With Gargano needing a more important feud now that NXT is on USA Network, a DIY reunion might be the best plan for both him and Ciampa.
#4 The Demon Street Profits
The Street Profits have been pulling double duty in WWE for the past few months, appearing as backstage talents on Raw and competing on NXT.
With the WWE draft coming up, the futures of Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford remain uncertain, as they look to be moving to the main roster on a permanent basis, however, they have a tag team title match on NXT this week which could see the duo remain on NXT should they reclaim the gold.
One of the reasons why The Street Profits are appearing on Raw on a weekly basis is because Paul Heyman is a big fan of the entertaining duo, and Heyman feels the pair bring an edgier, cool factor to Raw that the show has been missing.
With Finn Balor being an equally entertaining figure on the microphone, it might be a fresh idea to pair up the unlikely trio of The Street Profits and Finn Balor as it could be both entertaining and impactful on NXT TV.
The Profits are a great comedic duo, and with Finn Balor's Demon character being very serious, The Demon Street Profits (yes, that's a nod to Sweeney Todd), could be unusually entertaining to battle Undisputed Era.
#3 Damian Priest and Dominik Dijakovic
Damian Priest is poised to become the next standout talent on the NXT brand, having had a successful run in Ring of Honor as Punishment Martinez.
Priest has been steadily making a name for himself on the NXT brand since he debuted on TV, but he has yet to land himself in a meaningful role on TV.
Priest has a great look and a somewhat dark attitude, which could fit nicely with Finn Balor's persona especially if Balor decides to bring The Demon back to NXT as he battles Adam Cole and The Undisputed Era.
In addition to Priest, another emerging talent is Dominik Dijakovic, who recently returned from injury and appears ready to take NXT by storm.
With talents like Priest and Dijakovic attempting to make names for themselves on NXT, they might benefit greatly from a "rub" from a top star like Finn Balor, who could help get the two talents over as big stars while at the same time providing great battles against Adam Cole and The Undisputed Era. Undisputed Era currently holds all the gold on NXT, and Priest and Dijakovic could make great Tag Team title and North American title challengers.
#2 KUSHIDA and Keith Lee
When talking about a potential Finn Balor faction in NXT, there are many ways it could be put together, from the entertaining idea consisting of Balor and The Street Profits, or a group which hearkens back to Balor's days in the Bullet Club.
WWE likes to consider the grouping of AJ Styles, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows as the "original and only" club in pro wrestling, but considering Finn Balor created the Bullet Club, it would be unfair to leave him out of a club type faction.
Should Balor recruit talents to join him in his fight against Undisputed Era, the combination of KUSHIDA and Keith Lee could be a formidable one.
KUSHIDA is no stranger to the New Japan style of pro wrestling, having spent nearly a decade in NJPW, so a pairing with Finn Balor makes sense from an "old school" standpoint.
Keith Lee, who debuted in NXT in 2018, is a great hand who needs a solid introduction and push on NXT TV now that the show is on USA Network. A pairing with Finn Balor and KUSHIDA could be an interesting mix of talents, and could also result in great matches against Undisputed Era.
#1 Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne
On last week's episode of WWE NXT, Matt Riddle unsuccessfully challenged Adam Cole for the NXT title, and it remains to be seen whether or not Riddle moves to the main roster in the draft this week.
Should Riddle remain in NXT, he could very easily team up with Finn Balor in order to battle his foe Adam Cole, especially considering Cole defeated Riddle last week under questionable circumstances.
Along with Matt Riddle, Pete Dunne is a talent who made the permanent move from NXT UK to the NXT brand in time for the show to debut on USA Network, and he needs a main event level feud to return him to the status he once maintained when he was the NXT UK Champion.
It's worth remembering that Dunne's NXT UK title reign surpassed that of names such as Brock Lesnar and AJ Styles, and he would be an interesting grouping along with Finn Balor and Matt Riddle.
Who would you like to see Finn Balor join up with in order to battle against The Undisputed Era? Let us know in the comment section and be sure to follow SK on Twitter and Facebook!
