Finn Bálor Removed From WWE Royal Rumble Main Event
Original plans had 'Demon King' vs. Brock Lesnar.
According to Dave Meltzer, speaking on Monday's Wrestling Observer radio show, original plans for the upcoming Royal Rumble event which saw Finn Bálor squaring off with Brock Lesnar over the Universal Title have been nixed. Reportedly, the Irish star is not considered "over" enough by company chairman Vince McMahon.
Based on the dismissive nature of the Irish star's booking over the past month, the news is hardly surprising. One night removed from a thrilling victory over Bray Wyatt surrogate AJ Styles at TLC, Bálor was unceremoniously crushed by the superannuated and painfully irrelevant Kane. On yesterday's Raw - fresh from tasting defeat to the unstoppable RKO at Survivor Series - the 'Demon King' was knocked out cold by a dominant Samoa Joe. WWE's zany logic aside, such defeats made plain that Bálor was no longer considered main event material in the near-term.
Meltzer further noted that McMahon is adamant nobody kicks out of Brock Lesnar's lethal F5 ahead of the annual Roman Reigns coronation come WrestleMania, but are struggling to find an adequate replacement for Bálor. The apparent predicament is that the company need a guy Brock can squash, but not someone valuable such as Braun Strowman.
As ever, check back for further updates as they emerge.