Although we are still a few weeks away from WrestleMania 33, most of the pieces of the puzzle are starting to line up and as such, the card is starting to fill up rather quickly. This is making it more and more obvious how a handful of names are being left out of the loop, which causes speculation as to what those Superstars will be up to when WWE comes to the Camping World Stadium on April 2nd.
One of those men whose status is up in the air is Finn Balor. Although only being on the main roster for a short time, he is undoubtedly a top star who fans would love to see in some fashion.
Since his injury has kept him off television for the past few months, absolutely nothing has been done with him to indicate that he has a spot for him on the show.
However, on March 10th at a WWE Live event in Buffalo, New York, Finn Balor made his surprising return to in-ring action, wrestling in a six-man tag team match.
Since he is obviously cleared to compete, what does this mean for his chances of appearing at WrestleMania and what options might be available?
#1 Backstage promo
WWE may very well want to continue testing Finn Balor’s health and keep him out of the ring, so if that is the case, some sort of promo backstage would be a means to get him to make an appearance while also eliminating all of the risks of further aggravating his injury.
Every year at WrestleMania, there are a few interstitials to break things up, allow fans to get something to eat or use the bathroom, or just act as a reset for our brains so we aren’t staring at the same ring for six hours straight.
During those segments, legends of old and current Superstars tend to interact with each other and have a little bit of fun.
Since he’s a fan favourite, having Balor show up to say his regards to another wrestler before that Superstar goes out to wrestle could work, or he could announce that he’s coming back soon or just show up in his demon makeup to scare off The Boogeyman if that’s what WWE has in mind.
This would all be underwhelming for those who wish to see him compete, but it would at least be better than nothing and it would be the absolute easiest thing to plan around in regards to his health.
#2 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal participant
For the fourth year in a row, everybody who has nothing better to do will be thrown together in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal match, which sounds awful, but is actually a big benefit to the roster. A paycheck is a paycheck, right?
If the past three years are any indication, just because the competitive field is largely comprised of jobbers doesn’t mean there aren’t still some bigger names in the mix to help offset it so people don’t completely tune out.
At the moment, Mojo Rawley and Apollo Crews are the only two confirmed participants, while Dolph Ziggler seemed to indicate he would be joining the fray as well (which makes sense as nothing else was being lined up for him to do instead).
Over the coming weeks, more and more names will be declared and virtually anybody who does not have a confirmed alternative match scheduled could be another addition, meaning Finn Balor is well within the range of being one of those men.
Since he hasn’t wrestled on Raw since his injury, no feuds have been put in place to give him another opponent who would need to be addressed, so that leaves him open to play around with other ideas.
This could also be an easy way to put him in a match that doesn’t require him going full force, similar to how he was put in the six-man tag team match at the live event instead of a singles bout.
Balor’s participation in this match could be the factor that gets fans invested in it, which surely won’t happen if it remains a haven for midcarders.
#3 A match against Samoa Joe
If Finn Balor does wrestle in a singles match instead of being allocated to the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, the only logical opponent for him is Samoa Joe, who at this point doesn’t have a match set in stone for him and would be a big enough star to justify having the two of them clash and the fans actually caring about it.
Sure, the match has been done before, which takes away a lot of the fun, but it’s important to keep in mind that not every WWE fan watches NXT. For many people, this would be the first time they’d ever see the two of them in the ring together. For others, they might have just enjoyed their matches enough to want to see another one anyway.
Before Balor made his return at the live event, it looked like Sami Zayn was pencilled in as Samoa Joe’s opponent for WrestleMania, which is an adequate match for a card like Fastlane but wasn’t even the original plan for that, either. When it comes to WrestleMania, it’s certainly not going to turn any heads—especially considering how it just happened a few weeks prior.
That match would be in danger of being cut from the card or at least bumped to the pre-show, but the return of Finn Balor going up against Raw’s resident hitman could make enough waves to find its spot on the main card even while WrestleMania is filling up beyond capacity.
The story is easy: he and Joe have unfinished business from NXT, Joe is a villain who is attacking people and Balor is a hero who will come out to help save the day. That’s all it takes to set this match up, and it might actually be a method to build more toward another segment as well...
#4 Interference during Triple H and Seth Rollins segment
If Samoa Joe and Finn Balor are going to square off in any capacity, that would bring Balor right into the feud between Triple H and Seth Rollins as Joe is the reason Rollins is currently injured.
Returning from injury himself and having last previously faced Rollins for the Universal Championship, Balor could be in support of Rollins. He shouldn’t have any beef with him as Balor was victorious in their encounter and they can even play off the mutual respect angle—but that would be something Triple H and Samoa Joe are acting in opposition to.
Also read: WWE Rumors: Finn Balor to possibly replace Seth Rollins at WrestleMania
Assuming Triple H and Seth Rollins have some kind of confrontation—whether in a true match or just a brawl—Samoa Joe could interfere on behalf of Triple H while Finn Balor could even the odds and take him out to help Rollins.
Triple H and Samoa Joe facing off in the ring at the same time against Seth Rollins and Finn Balor is definitely a WrestleMania moment even if there’s no referee to call it an actual match.
This could be a means to combine two segments into one if WWE feels there isn’t enough time to have separate spots for Triple H vs. Rollins and Joe vs. Balor.
#5 Nothing at all
Yes, this could all just be a random live event that has absolutely no implications for WrestleMania whatsoever.
It’s the most negative and disheartening answer of the bunch, yet it could very well be the most truthful. By no means does Finn Balor have to be part of the card this year.
The fact that he is cleared for in-ring action greatly boosts his chances of making an appearance, although that isn’t a necessity and in fact, it might be a better option not to utilise him in any fashion.
Every year after WrestleMania, there is an influx of talent from NXT to help offset the part-timers who are leaving and won’t be around for the rest of April and the following months. Since some of those NXT stars were brought up during the draft, there may not be as many making their Raw and SmackDown debuts on April 3rd and April 4th, but if Finn Balor makes his return at that time, there’s now a fresh main event star to create storylines for and to set up new feuds to keep things interesting for the next few months.
If WWE has nothing good enough to justify putting him on the WrestleMania card, it’s better to have him sit the event out and make a bigger impression on what’s to follow than to waste his return pop on something that will halt his momentum.
What do you think will end up happening with Finn Balor? How would you like to see him utilised for WrestleMania? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
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