More On Finn Balor Replacing Braun Strowman With Some Very Interesting Details

Well isn’t that a change of pace. Last night’s Monday Night Raw really shook up the Royal Rumble picture. Coming into last night, Universal Champion Brock Lesnar was scheduled to defend the title against Braun Strowman at the pay per view. However, last night saw Vince McMahon drop Strowman from the title match, eventually setting up a four way match that saw Finn Balor become the new #1 contender. So what the heck is going on here?

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the plan has always been for Balor to face Lesnar at the Royal Rumble. The plan started back at Crown Jewel, where Baron Corbin cost Strowman his shot at Lesnar. Their rematch would take place at the Royal Rumble with Lesnar moving on to face Seth Rollins at WrestleMania. Vince McMahon then changed his mind as Strowman wasn’t winning the title but couldn’t lose again. Therefore, Balor was moved into the slot as the top available option, with Lesnar wanting to work with him. The situation can be described as a bait and switch with Strowman vs. Lesnar used to sell tickets.

Balor was rather pleased with the result, as he should be. Check out his post match reaction:

Finn Bálor prepares to reclaim the Universal Title at WWE Royal Rumble: Raw Exclusive, Jan. 14, 2019

Opinion: The more I think about this, the more sense it makes. It’s very true that Strowman would have been hurt by a loss and since Lesnar must continue as champion (because of course he must), they didn’t have much of a choice. The problem here though is a little bigger: if they keep treating people like Balor as second string replacements, no one is ever going to seriously get over. Build him up instead of making him look like the next best choice.

What do you think of Balor getting the shot? Was he the next best option? Let us know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his Amazon author page with 28 wrestling books. His latest book is the the Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews.

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