10 Wrestlers Who Benefited Most From WWE Draft 2016
5. Finn Balor
Balor’s call-up has felt like an inevitability for months. The Irishman has continually teased his imminent arrival on social media ever since AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson showed up, and while many expected his debut to come much earlier, The Demon is finally here.
A record-breaking NXT Champion, Balor is very well-positioned to be an immediate success on Raw. He’s a supremely talented athlete who became the face of NXT in Sami Zayn’s absence, and while his presence will be sorely missed at Full Sail University, it’s time for him to climb the ladder and become one of WWE’s top stars.
The fact that he was drafted fifth overall speaks volumes of WWE’s faith in him. Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, John Cena, and every champion not named Dean Ambrose or Charlotte: Balor was picked ahead of them all, and if that’s anything to go by, fans can expect to see him pushed right away.
The possibilities are endless. The Club are without a leader after being separated from AJ Styles and the Cruiserweight division is about to kick-off. Those are two obvious entry points for Balor, but considering the all-round lack of babyfaces on the red brand (only Zayn and Banks can challenge his popularity), Balor could find himself thrust even higher up the card.
Whatever happens, Finn Balor became a very big deal in the WWE Universe last night.