Finn "Prince Devitt" Bálor Thread (Raw Spoilers ahoy!)

The Ayatolla

They could build a good story between now and Summerslam of Rollins out-smarting him and physically getting one over on him and Finn becoming frustrated. Boom - out comes the demon, scares the **** out of Rollins and Balor gets the win.

grames_bond

https://twitter.com/wwebalor/status/758317839765889024


https://twitter.com/wwebalor/status/758317962797445120

https://twitter.com/wwebalor/status/758318115394641920

Bounty Hunter

When the show ended he was throwing up the too sweet sign just like Gallows and Anderson were doing earlier in the night. They didn't reference their history like they have been doing with everything else recently so maybe they want to sow the seeds for Balor club (afterall we now have Balor club in his titantron & "The Club" but again no link being made) without highlighting it too much so that they can have a shock formation moment.

That, His potential use of "The Demon" gimmick, how he could be seen as the personification of the new era and NXT stars and especially how they are pushing him so far (drafting him so high and then on his first night giving him 2 wins one of which was clean of Roman as he became no.1 contender) would all suggest he is going to be pushed like crazy and could very easily be made the first ever universal champion.

The Ayatolla

I'll be honest, I was worried for his future on the main roster but I'm slightly optimistic.

He would die a death in the mid-card. He has to be in the main event really.

Agent Coulson

Well Flair doesn't seem to be a fan and doesn't think he is a draw.

He thinks Ziggler is thought.


I can't link the comments as I'm on my phone but they are on a number of the copy and paste sites.

Mr.Nice Guy

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Well Flair doesn't seem to be a fan and doesn't think he is a draw.

He thinks Ziggler is thought.


I can't link the comments as I'm on my phone but they are on a number of the copy and paste sites.

I listened to them on Youtube earlier:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kORANd0Grw

I like Ric but I think he's out of touch with these comments. McGregor is the biggest male star UFC has and he's not a big guy.

And how big was his pal Michaels really when you discount that phony weigh-in number they used to give. What was it, 220 pounds or something? He can't have been much bigger than Balor.

Agent Coulson

Punk, Bryan, Seth, Eddie, Jericho, Hardy are all in and around the same height and weight range as Finn give or take a few kgs and Mysterio was a true cruiserweight and was a huge draw.

sky88

Yea I think flair I'd forgetting Shawn who I would say weighed less then Finn in the 2nd half of his career. Sure even hhh made fun of the 220 they billed Shawn at during hall of fame speech.

The Ayatolla

sky88 wrote: »

Yea I think flair I'd forgetting Shawn who I would say weighed less then Finn in the 2nd half of his career. Sure even hhh made fun of the 220 they billed Shawn at during hall of fame speech.

He was bulky enough around Wrestlemania 12.

When he came back in 2002 he was round 190 at most!

Neil3030

Long time lurker on here, and I think now is as good a time as any to grow pair and chucked in my 2c.

I think Flair has a point. The size difference was striking on Monday night. Balor looked like a wiry Irish scrum half picking a fight with a Samoan No. 8. And imo, the story of the match didn't unfold in a way that made me believe Balor genuinely overcame the size handicap. Instead, it just looked like they reached a point where it was time for him to get the upper hand. I just worry that eventually Vince's fetish for large men will ultimately halt this gallop.

I also worry about the riskiness of Balor move set; his signature moves (like that M. Bison front bicycle kick thing he did outside the ring) surely bang him up a fair bit. And then there are his mic skills, which have come on a lot since he started in NXT, but not near the calibre of a top baby.

Now having said that, his gimmick swings things enormously in his favour; I'm sure Balor Club t-shirts and demon action figures sales are fuelling the push. Let's also be fair, Balor wouldn't look out of place in a Dolce & Gabana advert. He also seems to comport himself very well in interviews and interactions with the public. So there's plenty of positives there to be confident that they'll stick with the push for a while at least.

The Ayatolla

Flair must be drunk.

He calls Rollins a "legitimate heavyweight". Good grief.

Shapey Fiend

I'm always impressed at how lucid Flair is after 50 years of drinking and god knows what else. He broke his back in 3 places in the 1970's and was told he'd never wrestle again.

Benefit of the doubt to Flair he's probably forgetting he's a cruiserweight at most and was huge. Balor is never going to be a promo master like Flair but he's got the right idea tapping into the superhero character. Plus he looks like a bloody superhero. Size isn't everything he's just sculpted. Saw him wrestle in Ennis before the NXT transfer and seeing someone that ripped in person really holds your attention.

His drop kick/kicking moves seem like the weak point to me. It's kind of repetitive. Maybe he's just holding off the other kinds of wrestling he can do for later though. Lads in his mid thirties now may stop relying on the high flying ****. Seeing him in person he's really good at just throwing realistic punches and making clotheslines look like they hurt.

D-FENS

The goosebumps when this kicks in on the night though...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl4KJa5BmME

Agent Coulson

Has there been any kind of upset backstage with the rocket that's been put on Finn.

I'd assume he is well liked and well respected but this is the wrestling business there is always jealousy and backstabbing towards guys who get that rocket push.

Bounty Hunter

He just did another Jericho podcast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PLtAxgjm4c

mad listening to it especially when he found out about how he would be debuting. Arrived at Raw thinking he may end up doing something with Jericho, then having the fatal four way and not finding out he would win the match with Roman and be the new no.1 contender until after he had won the fatal four way before it.

LeeJM

Listened today in work. Was a worthwhile listen. Finn was being very smart in his answers. Praising Roman, praising HHH and NXT in general. Talked more about the background of the Demon King etc...

diusmr8a504cvk

https://twitter.com/finnbalor/status/491612561499258881

thebostoncrab

According to Pwinsider.com, Finn Balor was reportedly injured during last night’s Summerslam match with Seth Rollins. Balor was seen wearing a sling after the PPV last night, and there is concern that the injury is severe enough that it could require surgery. Balor will get examined today to determine how severe his injury is.

harney

Looking OK here, hopefully it's not too serious

https://twitter.com/GMA/status/767748440100970496

Bounty Hunter

Thanks be to Jaysus, might still not be 100% but i'd guess he can just be involved in promos for a week or two instead of matches while they try and find a no.1 contender so he can rest it up.

Mr.Nice Guy

Bret Hart was spot on about Seth Rollins. He is very reckless in the ring with other performers.

SureYWouldntYa

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Bret Hart was spot on about Seth Rollins. He is very reckless in the ring with other performers.

Who else has he hurt other than Balor last night and Sting last year?

He's no Sasha who damn near kills herself a couple times a match

Bounty Hunter

SureYWouldntYa wrote: »

Who else has he hurt other than Balor last night and Sting last year?

He's no Sasha who damn near kills herself a couple times a match

Smashed up John Cena's nose pretty bad with his knee that time. That said I don't think he is that dangerous but hopefully it isn't a trend we see more of

J. Marston

Also injured Sting doing a similar move that hurt Finn last night.

The Ayatolla

Sting was far too old to be in the ring having a high profile, main event WWE match with a star of Rollins' caliber. Simple as that.

Cena's broken nose was a genuine mis-calculation.

Has Fergal's injury been confirmed? Or just dirt-sheet click bait?

Lord TSC

Meltzer saying the injury is legit and there's fear he'll need surgery.

Ageyev

He survived NJPW for years, different schedule with WWE but I'm sure he'll be OK.

Fwiw Ayatolla, PWInsider gets fed stories from WWE.

DM_7

Finn barely survived New Japan and had arm trouble to start with.

Really liked the change to the face part of his paint, looked far more menacing.

ricero

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Bret Hart was spot on about Seth Rollins. He is very reckless in the ring with other performers.

Well if balor is injured and on the shelf for awhile then it sure does add more fuel to bret's claims

Mr.Nice Guy

SureYWouldntYa wrote: »

Who else has he hurt other than Balor last night and Sting last year?

He's no Sasha who damn near kills herself a couple times a match

As BH said, he smashed Cena's nose to bits with a ridiculously risky jumping knee strike.

He was in a match with a veteran Sting who doesn't work regularly and he failed to protect him. Sting had to retire shortly afterwards. Rollins has said he went and apologized to Sting for his injury and Sting forgave him.

Now looks to have put Balor on the shelf with another reckless move.

If you watch his matches and really pay attention to his moveset (which I've been doing since hearing Bret's comments) you really see how dangerous his stuff is. That turnbuckle powerbomb, the jumping knee to the side of the head etc. It's unnecessary. I'm raging that Balor could be out now.