8 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (19 June - Review)

2. Finn Gets The Drop On Rollins

If you set aside the whole, “I’ve been waiting seven years for revenge” angle and just focus on the opening to Raw Monday night, you would think you’ve got a pretty hot World Heavyweight Championship feud going between Seth Rollins and Finn Balor.

Rollins was doing his usual shtick of playing to the fans when Balor jumped him in the dark posting him and battering the champ outside before delivering a Coup de Grace off the steps to the floor. The deranged Finn would break free of the officials two more times to deliver two more Coup de Graces, putting Rollins out of action for the night and nixing his planned open challenge.

Balor’s reasoning later was simple: He wasn’t going to allow the open challenge to move forward because he’s the one to take the title off Rollins at Money in the Bank next weekend. That’s a pretty simple and solid motive for a heel challenger: injure the champion enough to prevent interim title matches while softening up your opponent.

The callback to the 2016 Universal Championship finals and Balor’s injury is nice for continuity’s sake, but it shouldn’t be the basis for this feud – it’s just too unbelievable to ignore a thread for seven years and then just pick it up out of the blue. It can inform the rivalry, but Finn’s desire to be a champ again at all costs should continue to drive him, right down to vile acts like this.