10 Booking Steps Leading Finn Bálor To WWE Title

6. A Major Loss Before A Major Fall

Finn Balor WWF Title
WWE.com

At Battleground, Finn Bálor once more comes agonisingly close to rebuilding his momentum - and once more loses.

This loss must arrive at the hands of another former NXT talent to reinforce to Finn Bálor, the character, that he is in severe danger of becoming irrelevant. He isn't just on a losing streak, of the sort most but the Hogans and the Austins of the industry at some point fall victim to: more than one entire generation is passing him by. This defeat is delivered by Kevin Owens, which serves two storyline purposes as well as representing a sobering turning point for the Finn Bálor character. This match is a subverted sequel to their Beast In The East and Brooklyn bouts. Everything Bálor used to mount an advantage in those matches is rendered toothless. Owens possesses a brutal and or clever counter to Bálor's increasingly diminished arsenal. Owens emerges from the match as the number one contender to WWE Champion Shinsuke Nakamura at SummerSlam. Bálor, struggling yet again to recapture his momentum, targets the face of his new brand in an attempt to save his.

Bálor's 'Mania to SummerSlam 50/50 is booking by design; there remains a main event talent under the paint, albeit one short of confidence and in the midst of an identity crisis.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!