'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Bray Wyatt's "The Fiend" character made a big debut on an episode of Monday Night RAW when he attacked Finn Balor. This first-time appearance in the ring led to a match between The Fiend and Finn Balor at SummerSlam 2019. Finn decided to not bring out his Demon persona to battle the newest monster in town (he didn't bring the Demon to take on "The Beast" Brock Lesnar, either). Finn was left defeated in the ring by the merciless Fiend and then disappeared from WWE.
In the opinion of many, The Demon surely would have been able to defeat The Fiend. If nothing else, he would have had a fighting chance. But what if he didn't? Would the war paint be enough to transform Finn Balor into the kind of monstrous persona that could handle the onslaught of the newly motivated, very fiendish, Bray Wyatt? It's impossible to say just yet, but the answer might be no. The Demon could not, and will not, defeat The Fiend, because Bray Wyatt's evil alter ego is too strong.
Wyatt's Fiend seems content with attacking legends and leaving them in his wake, but that will have to change sooner or later. Who is going to step up to him? Current Superstars seem to be afraid to confront him. The lone exception was Finn Balor, and that was because Bray attacked him first. After the destruction of Finn at SummerSlam 2019, he will surely return with a vengeance, and he will bring The Demon with him. The Demon started his WWE main roster run undefeated and has proven to be very strong. The Fiend may prove to be stronger, and very may well be the man, or monster, that will put an end to the legend of Finn Balor's Demon persona.
Finn's face and body paint, nor his very cool entrances, will disappear, however after such a devastating loss, Finn and The Demon may become two separate entities. Let's explore why The Fiend should defeat The Demon character.
#5 The Fiend needs a win that makes a statement
Bray Wyatt's Fiend needs to make a very big statement. Taking out legends like Mick Foley, Kurt Angle, and Jerry Lawler definitely makes a big statement, but since they are past their prime, these former stars are not formidable opponents -- they are a warning. Finn Balor's character is a popular guy, but he's just that -- a guy. The Demon character, however, isn't just a guy. He's Finn's monster. He's the "fiend" that is the character used when the soft-spoken man from Ireland needs to win an important battle. That's the kind of victory that would make Sister Abigail proud. Nobody has defeated Finn Balor when he has worn the paint in WWE.
The Demon defeated Bray Wyatt at SummerSlam in 2017, and The Fiend defeated Finn Balor at SummerSlam 2019. There must be a rubber match, and it would make sense to be Demon vs. Fiend. Nobody has defeated The Demon since the character's debut match at SummerSlam in 2016, and in his 13 other matches donning the paint, he suffered only one loss, which happened to be only two months prior to his RAW debut, when he lost a cage match to Samoa Joe. He's a perfect 6-0 since August 2016. When he returns, whether it's late 2019 or in early 2020, that record should move to 6-1, courtesy of The Fiend.
#4 The spectacle would be amazing
There is one thing fans know for sure. Both Finn Balor's Demon and Bray Wyatt's Fiend know how to make an entrance. Be it a creepy, brooding crawl to the ring or a themed entrance such as his appearance as Jack The Ripper at NXT Takeover: London, The Demon always puts on a show. As fans learned at SummerSlam, The Fiend also puts on a very spectacular and scary show when he makes his way to the ring for a match. Much like the first Demon appearance in NXT in 2014, the crowd lauded Bray's Fiend entrance at SummerSlam 2019 with a raucous "This Is Awesome" chant, in one of the loudest reactions of the night.
WWE loves doing big entrances for big events, and an event such as Survivor Series would be a perfect place for it to happen. While an entrance from The Demon or The Fiend will always be cool, it's that much more of a spectacular event when it happens on a major pay-per-view. Survivor Series is the next major show on WWE's calendar. Two spectacular entrances, two spectacular characters, and only one survivor. The good guys can't always win.
3. People will believe that The Fiend can beat The Demon
It is well-documented that Finn Balor has only lost one of his 14 matches as a member of the WWE family while wearing his signature paint. It came at Takeover: The End, where he failed to regain the NXT Championship from Samoa Joe. It was his final Takeover before making his way to the main roster and he has upped his Demon record to 13-1 overall from the summer of 2016 to the summer of 2019.
In NXT, the Demon paint wasn't a different character. It was Finn Balor wearing war paint. He won all but one of his painted-up matches because he was booked as a dominant performer and a dominant champion (he held the NXT Title just shy of 300 days). On the main roster, Finn Balor and The Demon are two different characters, which can put WWE in a tough spot. The fans could ask, "Why wouldn't Finn bring out The Demon for his biggest match ever, against Brock Lesnar, one of the most dominant performers of all time?" There is no logic for Finn to decide not to become The Demon and fans cannot understand why he would need it for Baron Corbin, but not Brock Lesnar.
When The Demon comes out to play, it's assumed that he's going to win. That's been proven 6 times in 3 years. The paint goes on, Finn transforms into The Demon, and The Demon wins the match. However, in 2017, WWE decided to try The Demon vs. Sister Abigail, and many WWE fans thought it was going to be the end of the dominance of The Demon character. And that wasn't necessarily a good thing, because the vocal majority of people did not like the idea of Bray wrestling as Sister Abigail.
But again, people still believed that The Demon could lose to a transformed, more dangerous version of Bray Wyatt. The Fiend is an extraordinary character, and is clearly far more dangerous and brutal than Sister Abigail. If anybody can slay The Demon, it's The Fiend, and people believe it.
2. The Demon vs. Sister Abigail - The match that almost happened
WWE's annual TLC event was held in October in 2017 instead of its usual December spot on the calendar, right around Halloween. This made WWE decide to have The Demon become the creature that many fans called "The Pumpkin King". Fans did not appear to think it was a spooky scary character, and instead laughed at it and thought it looked silly. If WWE needed to use the Halloween theme, fans believed, they should have at least let him be scary.
The orange paint made Finn look like a slightly annoyed Jack-o-Lantern when fans expected a scarier-than-ever version of The Demon. Finn's Demon did not become a Jack-o-Lantern and instead used his normal paint-job when the match was changed and AJ Styles was slotted in, which many fans were very glad to see.
In 2017, WWE almost gave the fans a match that they deeply wished to see. It was Finn's scary inner character versus Bray's scary inner character. However, it was laughed off because it seemed that nobody wanted to see a pumpkin wrestle a man wearing a sheet. It was not the "monster" match that many were expecting.
WWE has the chance to right the wrong that almost happened. Finn and Bray were still around after Bray's return to WWE, but the company never decided to revisit the story or the Sister Abigail character. But wrestling fans don't forget. They will forgive, but they never, ever forget. The Demon vs. The Fiend will bring forgiveness for the match that was likely going to disappoint many members of the WWE Universe.
1. The Demon should not be a different character
Finn Balor (when he was known as Prince Devitt) first wore the body paint that has become a hallmark of his character at New Japan's WrestleKingom 8 event in January 2014. He would continue to wear the paint, in many, many different iterations (comic book characters, mostly, and other designs), for the rest of his time in New Japan and independent companies in the UK until he officially signed a contract with WWE in the summer of 2014.
During his time wearing the paint from January through June, before signing to be part of NXT, the paint was part of his character, but not a completely different character. He was a cocky guy who liked theatrics and being over-the-top. It was war paint, which also helped get him fired up and inspire him to do better and fight harder. The paint did not transform him into a totally different individual who was suddenly nearly invincible. It was a stylistic choice.
Upon joining NXT, this continued. Finn wore the paint for big matches, and while he won 7 of his 8 matches in NXT in which he was painted up, he wasn't "The Demon". He was Finn Balor wearing an awesome costume, making a cool entrance, and intimidating his opponents by using psychology to get into their heads. However, upon his move up to WWE, the paint stopped being a simply thing he did and became a separate character. It was presented to the fans as an upgraded version of Finn. It was called Finn Balor's "dark place" by the voice of WWE, Michael Cole.
This distinction was a problem that confused many fans. Sometimes he could become The Demon, and sometimes he could be Finn Balor. It was almost literally stated by the commentary team that he was invincible as The Demon. It would make sense for Finn Balor to go to his "dark place" when he was faced with the challenge of The Beast, the undefeatable Brock Lesnar, but that did not happen, and fans did not understand why.
Because of the Lesnar match, as well as a number of other big matches in which he was Finn instead of The Demon, WWE may be better off no longer using The Demon as a separate character. Fans have called it confusing, and arenas have seemed to be disappointed when Finn's music would begin and The Demon was nowhere to be found. When Finn returns to battle Bray Wyatt and The Fiend, he will return as The Demon in order to even the playing field.
It may be in WWE's best interest to use that as an opportunity to end the use of The Demon as a totally different character. The Fiend defeats The Demon and Finn Balor is no longer able to get himself into his "dark place". He could still make the fans happy and play mind games by wearing the great-looking paint, but Finn Balor can be a stronger man without having to become The Demon.
