At WWE’s Bad Blood PLE this past weekend, Finn Balor and Damian Priest went to war against one another. It was their first singles encounter ever since Balor cost Priest the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam. The match was one that saw Priest come out on top. Despite interference from The Judgment Day, Priest overcame the odds and won. And while this is great for Priest, it leaves Balor in a bad position.
Arguably, Balor needed this win a lot more than Priest did. Balor needed this win to look strong after turning on Priest, but a loss did the exact opposite and has done a lot of damage not only to Balor, but The Judgment Day as well.
WWE Built-Up Finn Balor’s Turn On Damian Priest For Months
Finn Balor Kicked Damian Priest Out Of The Judgment Day
Liv Morgan was struggling in WWE until she ran into Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio on Raw.
Balor’s turn on Priest was something that was being slowly built up for months with tension between the two of them. With the absence of Rhea Ripley, Priest was stepping up as the leader of the group. This was something that not only rubbed Balor the wrong way, but others in the group as well. It was only a matter of time before one was going to turn on the other. And with Priest becoming a fan-favorite babyface, the role of the heel was Balor.
At SummerSlam, Balor cost Priest the World Heavyweight Title. This effectively kicked Priest out of The Judgment Day. That same night, Ripley was also kicked out of the group when Dominik Mysterio cost her the Women’s World Title. Afterward, The Terror Twins united and declared war on Judgment Day. And despite Judgment Day having the numbers advantage, they more often than not were the ones who looked weak. Weekly beatdowns saw Priest and Ripley find a way to overcome the odds, but Bad Blood could have been the time for Balor’s luck to change.
The Judgment Day Looked Weak Against Damian Priest
Finn Balor Couldn’t Win Even With A Numbers Advantage
WWE’s Bad Blood had it all from multiple surprise returns to an epic Hell In A Cell match, but was it the best premium live event of the year so far?
The match between Priest and Balor this past Saturday was one that was not necessarily a must-win for the former. Priest has been looking very strong this past year. He is a former World Heavyweight Champion that was able to defeat all challengers for his title. In addition, Priest has become a massive fan-favorite in the months that Ripley was absent. He truly grew into his own. Pair that with his alliance with Ripley as The Terror Twins, and Priest will certainly be a name that WWE and fans view as a tremendous star.
As for Balor, he needed to win at Bad Blood. After weeks of beatdowns on The Judgment Day, he needed to be the one to recapture momentum for the group and show that they did not need Priest or Ripley to succeed. Even Carlito and JD McDonagh got involved in the match, but that was not enough for Balor to get the win. Despite McDonagh and Balor being World Tag Team Champions, they also have rarely defended those titles. Judgment Day’s implosion was great for Priest, but it has not benefited Balor at all.
WWE Needs To Do Something With Finn Balor Soon
Finn Balor Needs Big Wins
Jey Uso has been in WWE for nearly 15 years. And in that time, he has changed his look a few times.
Throughout his time in WWE, Balor has hit a lot of bumps. When he won the Universal Title, he had to relinquish it the next night due to injury. After that return, Balor floated in and out of the title scene. There were times when he felt completely irrelevant to what was going on in the larger WWE. A return to NXT from 2019-2021 did help him, but he lost momentum when he returned to the main roster.
When Balor helped to kick Edge out of Judgment Day, it felt like that was going to be the time when he would establish himself as one of WWE’s biggest threats, but instead, he lost to Edge inside Hell in a Cell. Again, it was not a win Edge needed. It was a win that Balor needed.
After he lost to Priest, Balor said on Instagram:
“This ain’t over, Damian. This ain’t over because right when you least expect it, I’ll be waiting.” (h/t 411Mania)
However, in the eyes of fans who have seen this feud, it is essentially over. Priest won the war between himself and Balor. He got his revenge. All this does is make Balor look like he cannot accept a loss and move on. Balor is a tremendous talent, but WWE needs to give him the wins where it counts. They build him up, only to let him crumble in the major scenarios where he needs a victory. Not all hope is lost for Balor, but WWE needs to do something quick to help him.
