5 reasons why Finn Balor’s win over Johnny Gargano is good for business

The recently concluded WWE NXT Takeover: Portland was an action-packed event that saw the fans witness countless shocking moments throughout the night. The NXT-exclusive PPV events never fail to live up to the expectations of the fans and on Sunday, they delivered yet another memorable show.

One of the highlights of Takeover was Finn Balor’s victory over Johnny Gargano and it left a few fans in confusion, considering the fact that the former is a heel and the good guy was expected to prevail. If you have been following the Black and Gold brand for long, you know that their storylines are long and detailed, generally not pieced together on a week-to-week basis.

In this article, we will take a look at 5 reasons why it was important for WWE to have Balor defeat Gargano in their first Takeover encounter. So without further ado, let’s begin.

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#5 Strengthens Finn Balor’s position as a lone wolf

Finn Balor had to make a statement, and he did!

Finn Balor shocked the world with his heel turn when he subjected Johnny Gargano to a brutal punishment that kept the latter on the sideline for months. In Gargano's absence, his friend-turned-foe-turned-friend Tommaso Ciampa found allies in Keith Lee and Dominik Dijakovic while battling against The Undisputed Era.

When the heel turn occurred, it was heavily speculated that Adam Cole would find another friend in Balor, but the latter very quickly dismissed any possibility of a potential alliance with the UE. He openly stated that he isn’t looking for anyone to fall back on and prefers to walk the road all by himself. Referring to his past self, Balor introduced his ‘Prince’ persona that believes in the advantages of being a lone wolf in the wild.

Balor’s match at Takeover had to end in his favor for him to back up all the above-stated claims. After a really long time, his in-ring actions are doing justice to his caliber. A victory over Gargano makes him look stronger than ever, and he will use this momentum to remind the rest of the NXT roster why he is one of the greatest champions that the brand has ever produced.

#4 Allows room to extend the feud

Johnny Gargano will look to get his revenge

We have seen Johnny Gargano involved in extended feuds with the likes of Tommaso Ciampa and Adam Cole. Both of those feuds saw him locking horns with his nemesis at multiple Takeovers during sagas that boasted many memorable encounters. Hence, it shouldn’t be a surprise if WWE is planning to continue the conflict between him and Finn Balor.

Another match between Gargano and Balor guarantees anticipation amidst the viewers. The excitement of the fans with respect to the promos and the build-up of this match is the testimony of the same. At Takeover: Portland, the two Superstars delivered a fantastic match, but it wasn’t the kind of match that lends you to believe that it was a one-and-done. They definitely have more to deliver.

That alone is a strong indication of an epic story in the making. Just like their match, they will slowly add more speed and brutality to their rivalry. If they gave their best in their first match, there would be little room for delivering better matches in the future which would, in turn, not sit well with a good narration.

Gargano, being the ‘good guy’ in this particular story, will look to avenge his loss but with the recent developments in the brand, we will have to be patient for that.

#3 Buys time to search for new challenges

WWE can't afford to put these Superstars in his rushed feuds

As mentioned in the previous slide, Finn Balor’s victory over Johnny Gargano will allow WWE to extend this rivalry. WWE would not likely want to put a match between the two on Wednesday night television unless it’s for something big, like determining the Number 1 contender for the NXT Championship. Hence, we can expect that they will continue attacking each other on TV, both physically and verbally, but another match will be saved for when the time is right.

In the meantime, there is always a possibility that both men will find other enemies from the stacked NXT roster. A few one-off encounters with other Superstars and shorter in-between feuds will prevent the storyline involving the biggest Superstars of the Black and Gold brand from growing stale by avoiding having them men at each others' throats week-in and week-out all the way until WrestleMania weekend (and possibly beyond).

However, if Balor had lost his match, it would have essentially ended the storyline before it reached its full potential. That would have also forced the creatives to hurriedly book brand new feuds and come up with different ways to create conflict instead of letting things evolve and grow naturally, which has always been the NXT way.

Fortunately for us, that is not the case. So, while Balor and Gargano continue with their feud, the creative minds will have enough time to carefully create compelling storylines for both those individuals respectively before it is time for them to meet again.

#2 Potential involvement in the main title picture

Is there another NXT Title run in the works for Finn Balor?

Finn Balor’s victory over Johnny Gargano might have upset a few fans, but the person who was affected the most is the one who couldn’t lift his shoulder before the referee finished counting to three. That loss triggered Johnny Takeover to betray the trust of his best-friend-turned-enemy-turned-best-friend later in the night.

While Adam Cole and Tommaso Ciampa were involved in their title match, they had a good exchange that saw them turning the tides in their favor in quick successions. They went back and forth with neither man able to gain the advantage. Near the end, there was one clear chance for Ciampa to win back Goldie, as he was poised to hit Cole with the title belt.

Unfortunately, Gargano had other plans.

He went up to the ring and snatched the title from Ciampa and then went on to hit the latter with the title, allowing the leader of The Undisputed Era to get the upper hand and eventually retain his title. It was a surprising turn of events, but it leads us to a bigger picture.

There is no way that Balor will let Gargano chase the NXT Title comfortably, especially when he has an important win against Johnny under his belt. Therefore, we might soon end up seeing the Prince being involved in the title picture alongside the likes of Ciampa, Gargano, and Cole.

#1 Frees him for NXT Takeover: Dublin

Balor has plans that may involve a trip back home!

During NXT Takeover: Portland, WWE announced that the next UK Takeover will be held in Dublin, Ireland on April 26. Given the fact that the country is Finn Balor’s homeland, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him booked for the event. If you’re still unsure about that, then let me be the one to inform you that he has already been announced for two NXT UK shows next month.

Since Balor has already picked a win over Johnny Gargano at Takeover and established his superiority, at least for the time being, he is free to look for new short-lived feuds with the Superstars of the NXT UK roster. This also explains why Gargano turned his attention towards the title before he had dealt with the man who caused him to miss his first Takeover of the career a short while ago.

At NXT UK Takeover: Dublin, Balor might find an opponent in WALTER. There is also a chance that fellow Irishman and the reigning NXT Cruiserweight Champion Jordan Devlin will be the one to lock horns with the Prince in a non-title match. The two are friends in real life and it will be perfect if both these WWE Superstars can engage in a good match in front of their home crowd.

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