Last night on RAW, Elias Sampson turned a guitar to sawdust over the flesh of Finn Balor. The ferocious attack ended the match immediately via disqualification. Sampson stomped up the ramp while referees tried to put Balor back together again.
As if Balor could forget the attack, Sampson’s guitar left him with a painful reminder. Balor likely will never look at guitars the same:
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Up Next: Has WWE Gone Cold on Finn Balor?
— Finn Bálor (@FinnBalor) July 18, 2017
To make matters worse, as Finn Balor was still counting stars, Bray Wyatt showed up. The Eater of Worlds got a real kick out of the guitar smashing and would go on to taunt Finn in his patently archaic manner. His mocking will absolutely lead to a feud between them, likely start next week. Balor is already scheduled to fight Sampson in a no DQ match next Monday. Odds are, Wyatt will be making an appearance.
This should relax Balor fans as the Demon King seemed to be sputtering since coming back from his shoulder surgery. The first ever Universal Champion has been aimless of late, so much so that he was left off of the Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view.
More: Finn Balor Discusses The Future Of The Bullet Club In WWE
Not long ago, RAW featured Paul Heyman standing toe-to-toe with Balor calling him the “greatest in-ring-talent” on WWE‘s roster. That segment was before Extreme Rules where Balor would compete in a fatal five-way for the right to challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship. But despite Heyman’s glowing endorsement, Balor did not win that match, in fact, he was submitted by Samoa Joe.
With the surge that Samoa Joe has enjoyed along with the near biblical rise of Braun Strowman, the main event is spoken for. Add the newfound flexibility of John Cena flipping from RAW to SmackDown and it’s easy to see how Balor is getting pushed off the top of WWE’s card.
Finn Balor has one of the most marketable gimmicks in the WWE, yet, since his return from injury, we haven’t seen even the slightest glimpse of The Demon King. If Bray Wyatt can’t bring out Balor’s demon, then who can? It’s nice to see that WWE considers Balor important enough to build long-term programs around him. While he’s still likely out of the Universal Championship picture for the rest of the year, it looks like WWE is committed to keeping him relevant.
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NEW YORK CITY – DECEMBER 19: "Toil and Trouble" – Elsbeth is thrown into the world of television after the showrunner of a long-running police procedural is brutally murdered in his office, and although it appears to be the act of a disgruntled fan, she begins to suspect the show's longtime star Regina Coburn (Laurie Metcalf) who yearns for artistic fulfillment. Meanwhile, Judge Crawford (Michael Emerson) continues to be a thorn in Elsbeth's side, on the CBS original series ELSBETH, Thursday, Dec. 19 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs). Pictured (L-R): Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni and Carra Patterson as Kaya Blanke. (Photo by Michael Parmelee/CBS via Getty Images)
