Current WWE Plans For Finn Balor's NXT Return

Is the Prince to be stripped off the NXT Championship?

by Andrew Pollard
Finn Bálor Kyle O'Reilly
WWE.com

Last night’s episode of NXT saw William Regal announce that NXT Champion Finn Balor will seemingly be allowed to heal up from his recent jaw surgery rather than have to vacate the NXT brand’s biggest prize. Now, there’s an update on what may lie ahead in the Prince’s immediate future.

In a report from Fightful Select, there have been several different pitches made for various storylines for Balor depending on how long he is to remain out of action for – including the worst case scenario option of stripping the Irishman of the NXT Title.

Given that Balor himself won the NXT Championship as a result of Karrion Kross having to vacate the belt due to a shoulder injury, NXT higher-ups are obviously desperate not to strip yet another NXT Champion of their title for injury reasons.

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While everything possible will be done to keep the NXT Championship on Finn Balor where possible, the current plan is to come up with ideas for Balor’s return to action – and with that to be a return where he stills has the NXT Title in his possession.

Finn fractured his jaw during his recent NXT TakeOver 31 match against Kyle O’Reilly, with the first ever WWE Universal Champion later undergoing surgery to install plates in his jaw. All being well, it’s expected that Balor’s recovery will take approximately six weeks, although that can obviously change.

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Senior Writer
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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.