10 WWE Quick Fixes To Save Finn Bálor
Leather Jacket Love Song.
Despatching old clichés about size and dispelling worries about his NXT transition, Finn Bálor had a dream start to life on the main roster after his drafting to Monday Night Raw following the redivision of labour in July 2016.
A consummate professional in the ring and a robust and dynamic thinker outside of it, Finn offered a full superstar suite on entry, and was rewarded with a sterling first month on the red brand and dramatic Universal Title win over Seth Rollins at August's SummerSlam pay-per-view. An injury that night ended up shelving him for several months, and it seems to have been forgotten just how much he can offer the product since his return.
Either as 'The Demon King' or merely himself, Bálor knows exactly how to get himself over. Even in the typically all-over-the-shop programme he's currently trapped in with Bray Wyatt, the popping of his collar mid-way through an in-ring scuffle was an inspired and nuanced touch, reminding fans the regular version of him was both cool and dangerous in equal measures with the demonic painted force yet to re-emerge. It will probably shift a fair few of his 'Bálor Club' leather jackers from WWEshop.com too.
There's not a single thing holding Finn back, other than, frustratingly, the organisation currently holding him back. The variance in his character is such, that a host of options exist to return him to topline status, and could all be rapidly unleashed to recover his current malaise.
10. Unleash The Demon
An obvious place to start perhaps, but WWE's uncharacteristic patience with redebuting the 'Demon King' since Finn Bálor's April return has ended up sacrificing much of the momentum he departed with just a day after winning the Universal Title at SummerSlam 2016.
Inserted as a keen storyline device for his huge encounter with Seth Rollins, the painted persona was familiar to all of those that saw his act in NXT, but was a literal fresh coat of paint on the diminutive Irish star that gave the entire portrayal a dark new dimension to go hand-in-hand with the then-undefeated new star.
A quick rewatch of Finn's TakeOver debut as the character highlights the almost immediate gravitas it lends his presentation. Teaming with fellow newcomer Hideo Itami back in December 2014, his morose marauding and ghoulish glares stole every headline coming out of the contest, and even left his talented Japanese partner suddenly in the shade.
It's almost a certainty that it will rise again at this year's summer supercard, coincidentally in the same building where he became the first ever Raw-exclusive Champion of the 2016 Draft era, but it's vital that the dramatic return to Brooklyn doesn't ultimately end in yet more heartbreak...