Finn Bálor's arrival to the main roster of WWE was one of the most highly anticipated debuts of all time. After making his name in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), particularly in the Bullet Club stable as Prince Devitt, he quickly carved an impressive path at NXT, becoming champion before heading to the RAW brand in 2016.
However, with injury blighting his career, Bálor moved from top of the food chain to mid-card status, only to now move back to NXT. It's a bittersweet notion, however, because while it's the place where Bálor flourished and where he's expected to help the brand compete against AEW, it still feels like a demotion that came way too early in his WWE career.
On NXT, Bálor has impressed since arriving in 2014, helping build the brand alongside the likes of Shinsuke Nakamura, Samoa Joe, Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins, all of whom would go on to earn major titles when they were eventually promoted. Bálor's rise was a bit more meteoric, because within a month of coming up, he beat Roman Reigns clean for a shot at Rollins at Summerslam 2016, where he became the inaugural WWE Universal Champion. However, a shoulder injury forced him to relinquish the belt the very night, and that wound has nagged him ever since. It stunted his career as other superstars took off, with Rollins since becoming the face of the company since, not to mention the likes of Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan also taking precedence.
Bálor ended up feuding with Bobby Lashley in the mid-cards and while it garnered him an Intercontinental title, it still felt like steam was lost and the momentum to carry Bálor back to the top would be hard to start up again. Fans felt like he was languishing in a purgatory, with a feud with Bray "The Fiend" Wyatt not even proving enough to take Bálor and his "Demon" persona on the upswing. Now, with the recent draft, Bálor is officially back at NXT, ending what many thought would be a remarkable ascent.
Finn reportedly asked for this because he wanted a lighter workload. It also allows his style to not be stifled because NXT truly lets wrestlers, especially those technically fluid ones with flair and showmanship like Bálor, to shine. At the start of October, he was back beefing with Adam Cole, with Vince McMahon's team hoping he could now push NXT on USA as something that's evolved from being a developmental territory. In other words, Bálor has to lead the way so NXT can topple the already-impressive AEW Dynamite on TNT. That's a huge responsibility and while NXT is indeed shaping up to be a powerhouse show with the likes of Velveteen Dream, Matt Riddle, Johnny Gargano and Adam Ciampa present, one has to feel like this is a step down for the athlete once considered to be the next big thing in WWE.
Bálor simply became the forgotten man, and as much as NXT is pulling crowds, it's nowhere near the numbers or the ratings RAW or Smackdown draw. It feels like the light has dimmed on him in terms of exposure. Sure, we know he loves NXT, feels comfortable there and is more than likely to have a lot more creative freedom, but the Demon belongs in a bigger spotlight -- WrestleMania and Hell in a Cell main events, not in the mid-card or kickoff shows where NXT talent might land once PPVs roll around. The most we can hope for is an awesome Royal Rumble performance but again, it's unlikely the writers will let the bottom-tier show take the win there. This just feels regressive and a reflex to AEW, all so WWE has something to try to derail the competitor. With Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega, Jon Moxley (formerly known as Dean Ambrose), the Young Bucks and Chris Jericho over at AEW, you can tell the McMahon family and Triple H think Bálor is indeed going to be a trump card, but it comes at the price of reducing his superstar mileage a lot.
A lot of fans also believe the push the Fiend is currently getting against Rollins should have been Bálor's so it appears the main roster is indeed moving on without the Irishman. What makes this all the more sad is we never saw his heel persona or any aspect of the badass rogue from the Bullet Club. And with AJ Styles and the OC (Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson) there, we're missing out on seeing a full-blown NJPW Bullet Club reunion on the main roster. It's pretty disappointing because fans had high hopes he'd be the next haunting anti-hero a la Sting or the Undertaker, rather than the Fiend.
Sadly, this sums up how WWE has botched NXT call-ups, with only the SHIELD making a big impact. Apollo Crews, Mojo Rawley, Andrade and Aleister Black are just a few of the names feeling wasted at the moment, while the likes of Asuka and Nakamura were briefly given titles in what felt like token moves. They're also now in the mid-cards, fighting to stay afloat, which leaves fans pensive about what will happen when the likes of Velveteen comes up. It remains to be seen if more big names will reverse swing and head back to NXT or if the top talent will be kept there by Triple H to build its indie essence even more, but as it stands, with Bálor back home, all NXT feels like is a haven where wrestlers might want to stay rather than get promoted only to get buried.