The Shield's Final Chapter: 5 surprising opponents for Finn Balor's Intercontinental Championship

After months and months of speculations, rumors, and theories, Dean Ambrose is finally set to have his last match with the company alongside his brothers Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, in what is being termed as The Shield's Final Chapter in WWE.

The WWE Network Special will air this Sunday, 21st April, with The Shield facing the trio of Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, and Baron Corbin. But other than this, there is one more match announced for the show - Finn Balor vs TBD, in a singles match for the Intercontinental Championship.

Now, this might sound just as a casual match-up to hype up the audience for the main event, but what if WWE pulls out a shocker and we get a new Intercontinental Champion on the show? For once, I do want to see Balor have a proper long reign with the IC Title, but if him losing the belt here leads to a potential heel turn soon and Balor's entry into the WWE Title picture, then I'll be okay with this.

But before that, the question to be answered is - who will Finn Balor defend his title against? There are a number of worthy Superstars who deserve to get a shot at the title and prove their worth.

In this article, let's take a look at the 5 Superstars who could challenge Finn Balor for his IC Championship at The Shield's Final Chapter this Sunday. Who do you think can walk out as the Champ?

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#5 Mustafa Ali

He is WWE's future!

Mustafa Ali's status in WWE risen by a huge factor in the last six months or so. From unsuccessfully challenging for the Cruiserweight Championship in the pre-show of WrestleMania to pinning the WWE Champion on his SmackDown debut, Ali has had quite a showing in his little stint on the main roster so far.

Finn Balor moved to SmackDown this past week as part of the Superstar Shake-up, and it was Ali who faced him on his first night on the Blue brand. Even though Ali came up short, Balor showed respect towards him after the match. But could the roles be reversed this Sunday if Ali faces Balor for the IC Title? We'll have to wait and watch.

#4 Sami Zayn

Sami made his comeback to RAW last week!

Another one of Balor's recent challengers, Sami Zayn answered the IC Champ's Open Challenge on the night after WrestleMania 35, making his in-ring return after quite some time.

Though Sami was unable to win the title, his promo after the match got the attention of many as fans and legends all appreciated it. This could well lead to Sami getting another shot at the title and can lead to him winning his first championship on the main roster.

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#3 Lars Sullivan

The Freak!

Lars Sullivan made his main roster debut on the night after WrestleMania 35 and ever since has been taking out a number of legends in the past two weeks.

With the WWE officials seemingly high on him, he might soon be in a title scene. With him still being new on the main roster and his history with Anxiety attacks, it would be sensible to first let him compete for a mid-card title.

All this could happen as soon as this Sunday. Will Balor be able to survive the Freak?

#2 Kevin Owens

These two will surely put on a classic match!

Many of you might not remember this, but Finn Balor won the NXT Championship by defeating Kevin Owens in 2015. These two have a long history for sure, being two of the best NXT Champions in history.

With Kevin seemingly having no direction currently, a feud between him and Balor could be interesting. And this could kickstart as soon as this Sunday.

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#1 Andrade

Andrade has everything to make it big in WWE!

Andrade is one of the biggest prospects that WWE has in its possession currently. Being drafted to the main roster almost a year ago, Andrade is yet to achieve the level of success he got in NXT.

Challenging him this week on RAW, Andrade pinned Balor in a non-title match in his RAW debut, though with some help from her manager, Zelina Vega. However that win came, but a victory should make him the #1 contender for the title, hence he is the likeliest contender according to me.

The only issue here would be if he wins the title, will he move back to SmackDown again or will the IC Championship move back to RAW? We'll have to wait and see.

Who do you think would be Balor's opponent this Sunday? Let us know in the comments section.