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The WWE Universe watched in horror as the finish of the Universal Championship match unfolded last night at Extreme Rules.
The Demon brought himself back to life after receiving a beatdown from Roman Reigns. But his momentum came to an end when the top rope of the ring snapped, the turnbuckle came off, and he was sent tumbling.
This led to Reigns delivering a devastating spear and retaining his WWE Universal Championship. It also led to the WWE Universe scratching their heads and trying to figure out what happened at the end.
The following list looks at just five potential reasons why Finn Balor was betrayed by the top rope at Extreme Rules.
#5. The Extreme Rules finish could be the beginning of an NXT call-up/main roster debut
WWE has come up with some interesting ways to allow superstars to be called up to the main roster. From RETRIBUTION hijacking the show to the NEXUS sending a message to the entire locker room.
Remember, Balor recently spent two years down in NXT where he was a former NXT World Champion. The Demon didn't appear during his NXT run, but his alter-ego could've made a few enemies of its own.
It's entirely possible that someone from NXT still has some issues with Balor and decided to air their grievances during his Universal Championship match.
There are ways to make this happen; with the help of production or by paying the ring crew to make the ropes collapse during an attempted Coup de Grace.
The WWE Draft takes place on Friday night and could see several stars called up to the main roster from NXT 2.0.
The WWE Universe doesn't expect to get an explanation regarding the ending of the Extreme Rules match until Friday night, which could be the beginning of an interesting feud for Finn Balor.
#4. Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman were behind the finish to the Extreme Rules match
Brock Lesnar wasn't part of Extreme Rules this year but will face Reigns at Crown Jewel in a few weeks.
Could Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar have worked together to ensure that Reigns was Universal Champion heading into Crown Jewel? Could this be Heyman turning on Reigns and aligning himself with Lesnar once again?
It's not as far-fetched as many fans may think. Heyman tampering with the ropes at last night's show could have been his way of proving his loyalty to Brock Lesnar to ensure Roman Reigns walks into Crown Jewel as Champion.
#3. Could this Extreme Rules ending be a hint that The Fiend is about to return?
Finn Balor's last main roster pay-per-view before Extreme Rules was SummerSlam 2019 when he was defeated by The Fiend.
The Fiend then sent Balor down to NXT for two years before he was able to make his way back up to the main roster, just as The Fiend was released.
Just because Wyatt was released from WWE doesn't mean that the company can't use The Fiend character with someone else. Rumors suggest Wyatt could be heading to AEW this week so this could be WWE's reaction to the news. On Friday night, there could be the debut of a new Fiend character.
Alexa Bliss recently lost Lilly, which could also be a hint that a new supernatural character could debut in WWE soon.
#2. It was a legitimate botch and the ending to Extreme Rules was called on the fly
Whilst it's unlikely, there's always the possibility that this was a legitimate botch and Finn Balor wasn't supposed to lose the match this way at Extreme Rules.
The Demon was about to deliver the Coup de Grace, and it's clear that he was unsettled on the top rope for a few seconds. Balor is one of the lightest stars in the company and it's highly unlikely that he'd break the rope with his weight alone.
That being said, when the ring was set up and checked ahead of the main event match, there could've been an oversight on the ring crew's behalf which resulted in the rope breaking.
The end of the match did look planned, but if Reigns knew that he was winning the match and Balor was legitimately injured from the fall, then the two men would've been able to call that ending on the fly.
With everything going on in WWE with all of the botches on last night's show, it's hard to completely rule out that this, perhaps, wasn't supposed to happen.
#1. Could Paul Heyman be the man behind the rope issues at Extreme Rules to prove himself to Reigns?
Finn Balor climbed to the top rope to deliver the Coup de Grace at Extreme Rules before the top rope collapsed and cost him the match.
One man who was at ringside and able to have played a part in this error is Paul Heyman. The spotlight has been on Roman Reigns' Special Counsel over the past few weeks after Brock Lesnar's return to the company caused a rift between the two.
Kayla Braxton interviewed Heyman ahead of Reigns' Extreme Rules match and talked about overlooking The Demon. Could this have been Heyman's realization that Reigns could lose his Universal Championship so he had to act in some way?
Could this also be Heyman's way of showing that he's loyal to The Tribal Chief despite recent rumors suggesting otherwise? Of all the stars who were at ringside when the ropes collapsed, Heyman should be seen as the most obvious candidate.
