10 First Years In WWE That Went From Amazing To Awful
5. Finn Bálor
A tale well told in his WWE Network '24' special, Finn Bálor's road to recovery was long and arduous after suffering rough luck in his Universal Title victory over Seth Rollins at SummerSlam 2016.
Any injury is deeply unfortunate of course, but Bálor was in the middle of an unlikely push following his ascension to the main roster in the July 2016 draft. Already in ownership of a pinfall victory over Roman Reigns, 'The Demon King' getting the nod over 'The Architect' as the maiden holder of Raw's new top title was a clear statement of intent from the company that he ticked all their boxes as a new main event regular in the revived split landscape.
It can't have gone unnoticed by the former NXT Champion then, that 2016's enthusiasm hasn't exactly been replicated since his post-WrestleMania return in April.
Devoid of a meaningful or emotional conflict to speak of and on the wrong end of some snug hits from Jinder Mahal and Elias in forgettable television encounters, Finn's Raw comeback has been less than eventful. And far from the pay-per-view gift some believe it might be, his upcoming SummerSlam match with Bray Wyatt could be, on evidence, the type of shambles that makes midcard indifference seem more appealing.