What if Finn Balor faces The Undertaker at WrestleMania 35?

At WrestleMania 33, The Undertaker got the main event spot at WrestleMania one more time and dropped only his second WrestleMania match at the hands of Roman Reigns. Fans generally looked at it as a passing the torch moment, and read The Dead Man removing his signature garb as symbolic of his retirement.

We know now that wasn’t the case. The Phenom worked WrestleMania the very next year in an oddball short match with John Cena. From there, he wrestled Rusev at the Greatest Royal Rumble show from Saudia Arabia, is booked for Australia’s Super Show-Down opposite Triple H, and is already rumored for WWE’s return to Saudi Arabia in November. At his current pace, it would increasingly become a surprise if The Undertaker were to sit out WrestleMania 35.

The question then turns to whom The Undertaker would face off against. It might be a fellow a legend, with Shawn Michaels’s name increasingly floated for a comeback, and other legends like Kurt Angle and The Rock rumored to work the next ‘Mania. There’s also the potential for The Dead Man to wrestle a less established star. Such a performer might benefit from the very fact of being booked against and thus associated with The Undertaker at all, let alone the potential for beating him at the biggest show of the year.

Anyone from Seth Rollins to Braun Strowman to NXT stars like Tommaso Ciampa or Aleister Black could be in consideration for that spot. And then there’s Finn Balor, one of the most unique possibilities. This article looks at five potential outcomes of The Dead Man vs. The Demon King being booked for ‘Mania.

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#5 A WrestleMania-sized Demon King entrance

The Demon King's entrance may rival The Undertaker's

Finn Balor missed his first WrestleMania on the main roster due to injury. By the time he got to make his proper ‘Mania debut in New Orleans, he had largely fizzled to a challenger for the Intercontinental Championship and an afterthought. We did get to see him take on his demon visage again at SummerSlam, though, reminding fans it’s a part of his character. Moreover, in dominating Baron Corbin in that bout, it was reestablished that Balor could be an upper card threat.

If Balor broke out The Demon King persona to take on Baron Corbin at SummerSlam, there’s no doubt he’d do so for a WrestleMania match with The Undertaker. While The Undertaker is known for his dramatic, elaborate WrestleMania entrances, Balor’s might be one of the very few that could rival it. In the interest of time, WWE may well have each man rise up from mid-way through the ramp to shave valuable minutes off of their entries to the ring.

#4 Finn Balor is elevated

Finn Balor will be elevated, regardless of the result, if he faces The Dead Man

Whether Finn Balor were to win, lose, or have a draw with The Undertaker, there’s little doubt that in being booked against him at all, Balor would be elevated, returning close to the original level of confidence WWE demonstrated in him when they booked him to beat Seth Rollins to become the original Universal Champion.

Balor’s booking in this match would have to involve building him up to be a credible opponent who wasn’t out of place competing with The Phenom to begin with. On top of that, unless he were utterly squashed—an outcome WWE would probably avoid, if only to dodge complaints of being redundant to WrestleMania 34—Balor would almost certainly walk out of WrestleMania 35 with has stock having risen for going toe to toe with The Dead Man, and firming up his credibility for even casual fans who don’t follow WWE year round, and know to take The Phenom’s bouts seriously in a way that they might not other matches.

#3 The Undertaker gets one last great WrestleMania match

The Undertaker's last great WrestleMania match was against CM Punk

The Undertaker’s most recent great WrestleMania match was at WrestleMania 29, the last time ‘Mania came to the New York Metro region. In that match, he worked a younger, game CM Punk, who worked a fast pace, sold nicely for The Phenom, and all around delivered a heated, dramatic, well executed, long match.

The years to follow have been rough, with The Undertaker’s matches against Brock Lesnar, Bray Wyatt, Shane McMahon, Roman Reigns, and John Cena largely underwhelming fans.

It’s debatable whether Finn Balor could be a star of Punk’s caliber, but at least based strictly on in ring performance, he’s capable of that kind of ring work, and perhaps better. So, if The Undertaker is out to leave WreslteMania on a full on high note that’s not just a victory and not just a main event, but rather a match that broaches four-star territory, WWE could do a lot worse than booking him opposite The Demon King.

#2 Outside interference

The Balor Club and The Brothers of Destruction might collide

While Finn Balor is a good enough performer to potentially give The Undertaker a great match from a more purist’s perspective, booking The Demon King into this position would also open intriguing possibilities for a less straightforward, more sports entertainment heavy encounter.

To legitimize Balor as a kayfabe threat to The Dead Man one tack WWE could take would be for Balor to have some permutation of The Club backing him. Balor was already booked as an ally to Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. The company also didn’t shy away from acknowledging Balor’s common history with AJ Styles as past leaders of The Bullet Club when the two squared of at last year’s TLC. Thus, having these guys help Balor, with the possible addition of other rumored Bullet Club recruits like Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega, and The Young Bucks, could add a lot of intrigue and make Balor all the more dangerous.

As The Undertaker winds down his career, it would be sensible enough for him to call back allies from the past to help against The Club, too. Bringing in Kane as a surprise ally—on the premise that the mayor of Knox county could take off one night for this guest starring role—could work beautifully.

#1 A watershed moment for Finn Balor’s WWE career

Finn Balor's career could change forever at WrestleMania 35

A WrestleMania match against The Undertaker would unmistakably mark the biggest opportunity of Finn Balor’s WWE career to date. As such, it would also likely as not be a watershed moment for his WWE career to sink or swim.

Match quality is one, not unimportant factor, as giving The Phenom his last great match would be worth management rewarding. This is a case in which the kayfabe outcome of the match matters, though.

Balor losing would risk keeping him in more or less the same upper card spot he’s already approximated at different points. Actually beating The Undertaker, and especially at ‘Mania? Even if two men have done it before, that would nonetheless represent WWE strapping a rocket for Balor and suggesting that even greater heights await him. Recall that each man to beat The Phenom at WrestleMania previously main evented the next year’s ‘Mania, and was arguably booked as the top star in WWE over the year to follow.