6 Ups & 7 Downs From WWE Raw (12 June - Review)

2. ‘Seven Years In The Making’

Finn Bálor Seth Rollins
WWE.com

We all know WWE treats its fans like they have the memories of goldfish, but billing Seth Rollins and Finn Balor as a match “seven years in the making” is just ridiculous on its face.

Of course, WWE is trying to draw a direct line to their initial encounter in 2016, where Balor won the brand new Universal Championship, but was injured during the match and forced to relinquish the title the next night. As Finn noted Monday night, their careers went in very different directions afterward.

But Balor and Rollins have faced each other seven times in singles action since then, including the World Heavyweight Championship semifinals last month, where that 2016 match was referenced. There also were two title matches in the past, for the Intercontinental and United States titles, both won by Rollins.

Sure, it’s fine to use that older match as a table-setter, but don’t act like it’s some form of long-term storytelling, a journey that’s been charted out. It’s a nice callback, nothing more.

Advertisement
Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.