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What's the story?
Finn Balor is still owed a rematch for the WWE Universal Championship which he had to relinquish last year after WWE Summerslam. However, it doesn’t look like WWE officials are planning to give him a title shot before the end of the year.
In case you didn't know...
Finn Balor became the first wrestler in WWE history to win a world title in their pay-per-view debut. He beat Seth Rollins at WWE SummerSlam last year to win the WWE Universal Title. Balor had to relinquish the title due to a shoulder injury he suffered during the match.
The heart of the matter
Jason Solomon recently stated on his podcast that the reason WWE hasn’t given Balor a rematch for the title is due to them not wanting him to get beat. He believes that Lesnar will keep the Universal Title until WrestleMania 34 where he drops it to Reigns.
He believes that Balor would be beaten by Lesnar and by not booking this match, WWE is simply protecting Balor. Solomon added that WWE has big plans for Balor, but they don’t want to feed him to Lesnar as they did with Samoa Joe.
It’s worth noting that no former WWE Universal Champion has received his rematch for the Universal Title. Kevin Owens lost the title to Goldberg at WWE Fastlane and immediately went into a feud with Chris Jericho over the United States Championship belt. Goldberg lost the Universal Title to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 33, but it was meant to be a retirement match.
The expectation is that Brock Lesnar will defend the WWE Universal Championship against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 34. Because of that, Lesnar will be holding the title for another seven months and there is nothing else for Balor to do except wait for his chance.
What's next?
Finn Balor is involved in an ongoing feud with Bray Wyatt where he won against Wyatt at Summerslam. They face off again at the upcoming No Mercy PPV event later this month in Los Angeles, California at the Staples Center
Author's Take
It’s a testament to Finn Balor’s popularity with the WWE Universe that the fans are still fighting for him to get his rematch with Brock Lesnar; more than a year after relinquishing the WWE Universal Championship. There is clearly big money in a match between Balor and Lesnar, but WWE officials have yet to pull the trigger on it.
