Is Finn Balor Next in Line for the Universal Championship?

Having already taken care of WWE‘s Monster Among Men, Brock Lesnar‘s next Universal Championship defense may come against yet another mythological WWE character.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Brock Lesnar’s next challenger will be Finn Balor. However, it’s uncertain when that will happen. The current thought it that Brock likely will not wrestle again in 2017, which makes his next logical defense coming at the 2018 Royal Rumble in Philadelphia. The Observer speculated that it is possible that Lensar comes back to put his title on the line at Survivor Series, but that will likely depend on several other circumstances, like John Cena’s availability or a possible Undertaker return.

For Balor, this marks a rapid elevation. It’s unsure how his opportunity will come to pass, but right now the best guess lies with him winning some kind of qualifying match at TLC next month.

The Demon King was WWE’s inaugural Universal Champion after beating Seth Rollins for the big red belt at least year’s SummerSlam. Balor had to forfeit the title the next night on RAW due to a shoulder injury. So technically speaking, Finn never lost his Championship. And he’s yet to receive his rematch. Even further, Finn explicitly mentioned his interest in the Universal championship this past RAW – that was no accident.

According to GiveMeSport and The Inquisitor, Triple H is frustrated with the use of Balor on RAW. This apparently stems from the repeated regretful booking of other NXT stars. Since joining RAW, Balor has either been injured or a recurring mid-card character. Needless to say, he has yet to re-capture his NXT magic.

Having to compete for time with the likes of Brock Lesnar, Brown Strowman, and now John Cena, Finn Balor officially finds himself lost in the shuffle. If Triple H is actually upset over this we can’t really blame him. For multiple years, Balor was the face of NXT and every time an NXT legend flops in WWE is makes the Florida based brand look like they can’t produce WWE Superstars.

Currently, Balor finds himself still embroiled in a feud with Bray Wyatt. Their story dates back to before SummerSlam and for the most part has been unremarkable Finn’s win at No Mercy seemed like it would be final, but he still was dealing with Wyatt on RAW just a few days ago.

Eventually, Balor will shed Wyatt and start his climb to WWE’s upper echelon of booking. While he’ll never beat Brock Lesnar, it will be a return the main event his fans have been asking for.