Finn Balor debuts, and his first feud is with Sheamus. The idea would be that Sheamus is Balor's debut opponent at a PPV. Balor does well, heads to the top rope for the Coup De Grace, and Sheamus heads for higher ground and accepts a DQ loss. In the back, he says that the double stomp is dangerous, and that he's just smarter than every NXT wrestler. In the next part of the plot, the story moves to a Raw rematch where Balor can go up to the top again, and Sheamus rolls away and rolls out of the ring one more time. The idea is that the next week, there's another rematch of the same match, and Kane can warn Sheamus that if he rolls away again, he'll have to put the Money in the Bank briefcase on the line. Sheamus agrees, but when Balor goes up top, as Sheamus rolls to the outside, Balor leaps onto him, and a brawl ensues. Kane then hits the ramp as the two are separated, and the match is set for the PPV. At the PPV, Balor hits the double stomp, but Sheamus' foot is near the ropes, and he's able to break the count. He gets his wits about him, and wins with a Brogue Kick after say, Balor hits an exposed turnbuckle. This sets up Balor demanding another shot at the briefcase, but saying that he'll put up his NXT Championship for it, because he wants to be WWE Champion that much more. Thus, in order to win the briefcase, he has to vacate the NXT Championship. Balor has the match, and loses in heartbreaking fashion. He's given up the NXT Championship, but at the same time has expressed his passionate desire to one day be WWE Champion.The loss puts much needed heat on Sheamus, plus also would then allow Balor to easily slide into say, a US Championship feud with Kevin Owens who could belittle Balor for his losses.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
