7 Times WWE Cast Doubt On Finn Bálor's Future
6. Losing Cleanly To John Cena
Finn Bálor’s defeat at the hands of John Cena on the 29 January 2018 edition of RAW merits further examination.
On paper, the WWE Universe should have rejoiced to see such a high-caliber match on free TV. Here was the face of WWE’s recent past going one-on-one with a potential face of the future. And another victory for Cena would have been shrugged off and considered status quo, if the match itself was not so awkward - and if ‘The Demon King’ wasn’t building momentum beforehand.
Shortly after the match started, the fans became enamored with a beach ball floating around. ‘Big Match John,’ despite the numerous years of having things such as “Die Cena Die” chanted at him, was somehow preoccupied by the crowd’s antics and it detracted from the match.
Was there an angle at play? Would Bálor score the pinfall off of a distraction? No and no. Was a lackluster showing by an unfocused Cena the winning formula that night? Absolutely.
What made the loss to an unmotivated Cena worse was that WWE spent recent months rebuilding their future star with the reformation of The Bálor Club, as well as 57-minute performance in the Royal Rumble match.
Elias made it to the Chamber, so it made sense Cena would too, but why write-off a top up-and-comer for the sake of a feud, that more than likely, won’t see either wrestler as champion? Elias vs Cena could have happened elsewhere. Or Cena could have knocked off any other competitor during the qualifying match.
Nonetheless, not only did Cena eliminate Finn Bálor’s chance at the title by throwing him over the top rope at the Rumble, he also trumped him in a match to determine the Universal Champion’s next challenger at Elimination Chamber.
Hopefully, for Bálor fans, there is a major storyline developing with a significant payoff.