'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAwb/2gAIAQEAAAAAhi//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA/9oACAECEAAAAH//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAB/9oACAEDEAAAAH//xAAhEAACAQMDBQAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMAEiEEBhExUnGB4f/aAAgBAQABPwA7hW9ILJ0aKURMUfBuA4HHsZ80munKKcdO75X/xAAVEQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAf/aAAgBAgEBPwCP/8QAFxEAAwEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEhAv/aAAgBAwEBPwDUUP/Z'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
What's the story?
Finn Balor is a very popular WWE superstar who, through a combination of bad luck and awkward booking, has not reached the heights expected of him on the main roster. Vince McMahon is reported to have said that Balor isn't over but fans are very much behind him.
With Balor expected to take a leave of absence after losing to Bray Wyatt at SummerSlam, plans for a character reboot are already underway.
In case you didn't know...
Balor has a character trait that makes it very difficult to take him particularly seriously. His debut on the main roster was very powerful, with a victory over Roman Reigns without the demon paint. However, that remains his only high profile win when unpainted.
Balor would win the Universal Championship as the Demon King and then vacate the title due to injury. Upon his return, there never seemed to be much of a place for him. An early feud with Elias would slowly build into a feud with The Miz and a triple threat match at WrestleMania alongside Seth Rollins.
While a long running and high quality feud with Seth Rollins would enable some victories, Balor's only real statement wins have been against AJ Styles, Bray Wyatt, Baron Corbin, and Bobby Lashley. All of these were painted squash matches. At the current time, the Demon King has won more championships than the unpainted Finn Balor.
A predictable loss at the Royal Rumble to Brock Lesnar will now be followed by a predictable loss to Bray Wyatt at SummerSlam. Balor simply doesn't use the paint unless he's going to win. At the same time, he doesn't win without the paint.
The heart of the matter
With Balor taking a leave of absence from the company for a short space of time after SummerSlam, plans are being considered to change the way that the painted man is perceived.
"The Demon King is cool. It pops the kids, the grown ups, everyone...it's not working and it needs to change for Finn to be taken seriously."
Sources indicate that the Demon King persona can be so limiting to the creative team that some in different departments believe that the concept should be reimagined. At the moment, there are no plans to have the Demon King lose his winning streak.
I can report that a number of options are being considered for how to best present the paint without it being used to limit the man himself.
"It's not just Finn Balor. A lot of people work on characters in WWE and a lot of people are invested. Everyone is considering how to get the best out of both characters instead of just having one winner and one loser."
What's next?
We won't really know what's next until Balor returns but the most obvious way to relaunch the man with no paint would be to give him a significant winning run as Finn Balor rather than as the Demon King.
Sadly, it is also possible that nothing will change and that Balor will remain his current one note gimmick for the foreseeable future.
When reporting on this story, please credit Sportskeeda as the original source.
