5 Reasons why Finn Balor keeps losing on RAW

We try to understand why one of the greatest professional wrestlers on the planet, Finn Balor, keeps losing to anyone and everyone on RAW
We try to understand why one of the greatest professional wrestlers on the planet, Finn Balor, keeps losing to anyone and everyone on RAW

One of the most sensitive points of discussion over the past few months has been regarding the issue of Finn Balor losing way too many times on RAW.

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You and I both know, as do the vast majority of professional wrestling fans and experts, that Balor is one of the most talented pro-wrestling performers on the planet today!

In fact, Balor was one of the biggest stars in Japan, signing with NJPW in March of 2006, and working as one of the company's top stars until his run with them came to an end at NJPW's Invasion Attack PPV on April 6th, 2014.

Balor eventually signed with the WWE's NXT brand and went on to the NXT Championship after he beat then-champion Kevin Owens, at The Beast in the East event which took place at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan, on July 4th, 2015.

Besides, after being promoted to the WWE's main roster, Balor faced Seth Rollins at SummerSlam (August 21st, 2016), and defeated Rollins to become the first-ever WWE Universal Champion.

Unfortunately, a shoulder injury forced Balor to vacate his Universal Title the very next day, on the August 22nd, 2016, an episode of Monday Night RAW -- And since that day, Balor has been on a shocking downward slide in the WWE!

The talented Irishman is at a strange crossroads in his WWE career, and as much as we all want him to succeed, apart from a rare win here and there, he keeps losing "clean" to anyone and everyone on RAW.

Today, we take a special look at why Balor has been booked in such an absurd manner, as we closely examine a few important aspects of his main roster run which started on his 35th birthday, on July 25th, 2016 (July 19th was when WWE first confirmed that he's been drafted to RAW, but he didn't appear on TV until July 25th)...


#5 The WWE roster is overpopulated

The WWE roster is undeniably overpopulated
The WWE roster is undeniably overpopulated

This may be one of the biggest reasons why many talented WWE Superstars get "buried" after being promoted from NXT to the main roster.

Honestly speaking, we cannot really blame the WWE or even the Superstar in question here, because it's an undeniable fact that the WWE's current roster is grossly overpopulated!

Needless to say, even some of the most talented performers in the company, such as Kevin Owens and Finn Balor (RAW), as well as names such as Andrade "Cien" Almas and Rusev (SmackDown) get lost in meaningless, random feuds because like every other television show, there is only a limited amount of TV time for WWE each week.

As a result they end up suffering terrible losing streaks, caused by poorly-booked random matches every now and then...

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#4 Finn Balor is a victim of "the curse of the worker"

Bubba Ray Dudley aka Bully Ray (left) spoke in detail about why good wrestlers such as Dolph Ziggler (center) get typecast in the mid-card slot; just like Finn Balor (right)
Bubba Ray Dudley aka Bully Ray (left) spoke in detail about why good wrestlers such as Dolph Ziggler (center) get typecast in the mid-card slot; just like Finn Balor (right)

I remember that in December of last year, I'd written an article about WWE Hall of Famer Bubba Ray Dudley aka Bully Ray, and Dolph Ziggler.

In the article, I'd noted how Ray explained in detail why Ziggler keeps losing so many matches despite being considered a highly-respected performer in WWE.

Ray revealed that the biggest reason behind the WWE booking Ziggler to lose so many matches, is because "The Show-Off" is a victim of "the curse of the worker" -- In simple words, it means that if a wrestler is a "good worker", and can wrestle a great match against any style of opponent; then the bosses of the wrestling organization will probably book him/her in too many random matchups.

In the end, the "good worker" ends up losing way too many times, and resultantly, the fans don't take him/her seriously!

The reason I narrated the aforementioned story, is because Finn Balor -- just like Dolph Ziggler -- is one of the most naturally-talented performers in the business today, who can work a great match against any kind of opponent.

As strange as it may sound, this is one of the biggest reasons behind Balor being booked in way too many random matches, and losing the majority of them (PS: Remember when Kane randomly returned to WWE, and pinned Balor "clean" on the October 23rd, 2017 episode of Monday Night RAW? The curse is real!)...

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#3 The Universal Championship curse, as noted by us a few weeks back

The Universal Championship curse is quite spooky, to be honest
The Universal Championship curse is quite spooky, to be honest

Alright, out of all the serious and practically analyzed reasons listed in this discussion of ours, this one may be somewhat odd, but just hear me out.

Thanks to my colleague Gary Cassidy, for writing a wonderfully detailed article about how the WWE Universal Championship may be cursed.

Well, I do believe in the paranormal, but even a person like me would feel that the aforementioned "Universal Championship Curse" is too bizarre and unbelievable to be true...Or could there be some truth to it?

There have been a total of five men who have held the Universal Title since the Finn Balor won the inaugural title at SummerSlam on August 21st, 2016. Balor, Kevin Owens, Goldberg, Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns have all held the Universal Title.

Well, as soon as Balor won the Universal Title, he suffered a horrific shoulder injury which kept him out of action from August 22nd, 2016 episode of RAW until his appearance in NXT on February 22nd, 2017.

As for the others: Owens was squashed by Goldberg for the title and has been stuck in the mid-card ever since -- Goldberg received an unbelievable amount of criticism for his part-time reign as Universal Champion and subsequently lost to Lesnar and retired -- Lesnar is every WWE fan's nightmare Universal Champion, as he's never around to defend the title -- and although Roman Reigns beat Lesnar and defended the title like a true champion, he had to step away to battle his returning leukemia.

Now, Lesnar once again holds the Universal Title, after having beaten Braun Strowman for the vacant title at Crown Jewel (November 2nd, 2018). Up next, we take a look at a couple of more practical reasons behind Balor being booked in such an undesirable manner...

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#2 Because Finn Balor has not been given enough time to develop his promo skills in a "PG environment"

Finn Balor's PG promos in WWE, haven't been able to connect with the fans
Finn Balor's PG promos in WWE, haven't been able to connect with the fans

If you've been following Finn Balor's career since his days in NJPW, you won't be surprised to see that most of the promos the man known as Fergal Devitt or Prince Devitt used to cut in Japan, were nowhere close to being PG!

Balor is actually very good in the promo department, however, just like Dean Ambrose who first made a name for himself on the indies as the crazy trash-talking Jon Moxley, before coming to WWE -- Balor too isn't used to cutting promos on a PG-rated show!

Remember how many swear words Balor and Moxley (Ambrose) used in their promos outside the WWE?

Well, unfortunately, it was around July of 2008, that the WWE changed its programming from catering to the adult 18-35 male demographic, to viewers of all ages, including children...I still remember being surprised when the July 22nd, 2008 episode of SmackDown was aired with the PG rating.

What's really important for us to understand here, is that when a performer such as Balor or Ambrose comes into a company like the WWE and is forced to cut promos that are suitable to be viewed by everyone (including children), they tone down the genuine emotion, passion and free-flowing trash talk in their promos!

One of the biggest reasons Balor hasn't been able to shine in the promo department in the WWE is because he hasn't been given a decent amount of airtime to carefully develop his PG promo skills on RAW.

Needless to say, that has negatively affected his brand in WWE, as most casual fans don't know that this man can indeed cut a fiery promo...The result? Balor's stock drops even more, and the bosses keep booking him to lose...

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#1 Most of us know who Fergal Devitt is, but who is Finn Balor?

We are familiar with Fergal Devitt but haven't seen the real Finn Balor yet
We are familiar with Fergal Devitt but haven't seen the real Finn Balor yet

As I'd noted earlier in our discussion, certain sections of fans are more than familiar with Finn Balor's work outside the WWE, particularly during his run in NJPW and as the leader of Bullet Club.

Nevertheless, I'd hereby like to ask you an honest question: Most of us know who Fergal Devitt is, but who is Finn Balor?

If my memory serves me right (and trust me, it's quite sharp!), Prince Devitt was one of the most interesting characters in professional wrestling history.

He knew how to wrestle a great match, was well aware of the subtle art which enables a wrestler to adapt to the live fans and cut a brilliant promo, and also constantly changed up his character, besides being involved in multiple emotional and passionate storylines.

On the contrary, the WWE version of Fergal Devitt is Finn Balor -- a man who is allowed to do nothing more than smile constantly, lose to everyone he faces, and on the odd occasion that he does manage to pick up a win, he's booked to rematch and then lose to the opponent in question!

Moreover, his "Demon" persona is a part-time attraction who appears without any buildup and then abruptly disappears.

After his feud with Seth Rollins over the Universal Title came to a crashing end due to the former's shoulder injury, Balor hasn't been involved in a single halfway-decent or meaningful storyline on RAW.

Here's the thing, friends -- We know that Fergal Devitt is one of the greatest professional wrestlers on the planet. However, the Finn Balor character's booking has significantly harmed his standing on the WWE's RAW brand today.

Most of us hardcore fans love Balor because we know very well what he's capable of. Notwithstanding, the casual viewers fail to connect with his on-screen character in the WWE because his character on RAW hasn't been steadily developed nor has he been booked to emerge as the victor in any meaningful rivalry/storyline.

It's no surprise that the culmination of the reasons we just discussed, results in Balor being booked to lose time and again on RAW. However, I truly believe that things could change for good in 2019, and Balor may perhaps have the chance of ascending to the top in WWE -- especially considering how several other top Superstars such as Alexa Bliss, Kevin Owens, Roman Reigns and many more are currently on hiatus from in-ring competition on RAW.

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Which other factors do you feel are causing Finn Balor to lose as much as he does on RAW? Please give us your thoughts in the comments section below!