4 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Sep 17)

2. Plain Ol’ Finn

Finn Balor Big E
WWE.com

Thank God WWE didn't have Finn work his 'Demon' guise on Friday.

Credit must go to Cole and Pat McAfee for exploring the possibility that Bálor is just playing mind games with Roman Reigns and keeping him guessing. Also, it was neat that creative included a short insert that examined why Finn sporadically appears in face paints later. That was a nice touch that gave his alter ego some context.

Deploying plain ol' Finn Bálor for the opening tag was wise. Now, one of the big selling points at Extreme Rules is seeing how Reigns will fare against a supernatural force; that's not something he's really had to deal with since becoming Universal Champion (outside some super-early interactions with Bray Wyatt).

If one was being hyper-critical, he might've kept back 'The Demon' for this week or next. Then, WWE would've been able to avoid explaining why Bálor wasn't crawling his way to the ring here. Meh, at least they covered their backs with the whole mind games thing.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.