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Finn Balor was the main babyface on the August 6th episode of SmackDown, as John Cena wasn't there. He had a big chip on his shoulder from the previous week.
As you probably know, Balor was a second away from putting the pen to paper last week to make a SummerSlam match against Roman Reigns official. However, Baron Corbin attacked him and tried to secure the match himself to get out of his horrid financial state at the moment.
John Cena took advantage and signed his name, which was sufficient enough for Adam Pearce to make the SummerSlam main event between Reigns and Cena.
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Balor defeated Baron Corbin on this week's SmackDown and post-match said that he would go through Cena (again) if he has to. Here are a few reasons why Finn Balor should be added to the SummerSlam main event between Roman Reigns and John Cena and a few why he shouldn't:
#3. Finn Balor should be added: The Prince's story has been more entertaining on SmackDown
Roman Reigns vs. John Cena doesn't need much to sell itself. It's the main event of what WWE anticipates will be the biggest pay-per-view of 2021 as 60,000+ fans are expected in the Allegiant Stadium - far more than the 25,000+ that attended WrestleMania 37 on each night.
With that said, there hasn't been much back-and-forth between Reigns and Cena except for a couple of promos. It's a bit surprising since as of this writing, SummerSlam is just two weeks away.
Finn Balor returned to SmackDown and the main roster in the first show back with the crowds. After a successful second stint on NXT that lasted nearly two years, he jumped right back in the mix.
But it isn't the same Balor. In his promo this week, he said that Finn Balor two years ago would have smiled and brushed off the situation. This is a more serious, intense, and focused Balor that could become a huge star if handled well.
In a way, he probably needed the 21-month stint on NXT to gain his momentum back. Balor easily defeated Baron Corbin after refusing his apology and made a big statement.
Finn Balor deserves to be added to the SummerSlam main event because his storyline on SmackDown has been more entertaining than the main Roman Reigns-John Cena feud.
#3. Finn Balor shouldn't be added: It could affect the marketability of the SummerSlam main event
As great as Triple Threat matches in WWE are, Finn Balor being added to the SummerSlam main event might affect its marketability. Roman Reigns vs. John Cena is the perfect match to market for the main event of a pay-per-view like SummerSlam, or even WrestleMania for that matter.
That's why it's a bit surprising that the company had a Reigns vs. Cena match at No Mercy 2017, not even putting it as the main event. Instead, they put the Universal title bout between Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman as the top match for that pay-per-view.
Perhaps WWE wants fans to forget about it, which is why they've obviously avoided any mention of it in the build up to The Biggest Party of the Summer.
Finn Balor might deserve to headline SummerSlam this year, but it doesn't mean he should. From a casual fan viewpoint, a singles match between Reigns and Cena is far more enticing than a Triple Threat involving Balor.
A Triple Threat with Finn Balor would most likely lead to a better match in terms of quality, but it's only a smaller, core fanbase that truly cares about this. In reality, a larger chunk of fans would prefer the main event of SummerSlam without The Prince.
#2. Finn Balor should be added: He has defeated both Roman Reigns and John Cena in the past
Finn Balor has clean victories over both Roman Reigns and John Cena. When he arrived on RAW as the hottest new superstar in WWE in 2016, he debuted one night after the Battleground pay-per-view.
This was when the re-introduction of the brand split began. Balor was a first-round draft pick for the Red brand, chosen ahead of Reigns and Cena. That's a big deal when considering how big both men were in 2016 as well.
On his first night on RAW, Finn Balor won a Fatal-Four-Way match as did Roman Reigns, advancing to the "final" of a mini-tournament. In the main event, he defeated Reigns clean to qualify for the SummerSlam match to crown the first Universal Champion against Seth Rollins. Post-match, Reigns said he respected Balor.
Finn Balor defeated John Cena in early 2019 to secure a Royal Rumble Universal Championship match against Brock Lesnar. After that match, Cena, too, paid his respects to Balor.
Although Roman Reigns secured more victories over the former NXT Champion over the next year, it's still a good case to bring up for the latter to be added to the Universal title main event.
#2. Finn Balor shouldn't be added: He isn't needed, similar to Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 37
As mentioned before, Finn Balor would undoubtedly improve the match quality of the SummerSlam main event if added. But is he needed? The realistic and harsh answer is no.
Let's look at the case of Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 37. When comparing the Triple Threat main event of WrestleMania with the Money in the Bank main event between Roman Reigns and Edge, its clear which match was better. The Triple Threat was better and Bryan added a lot.
But we could only see what he was doing and not what he was going through. In an interview weeks after The Show of Shows, Daniel Bryan admitted to having an odd sense of detachment despite being in one of the biggest matches of his career.
Not only this, but he was open about the fact that he tried to get out of the main event and said that he felt the WrestleMania 37 main event was strong enough with just Roman Reigns and Edge:
"It was really bizarre," Bryan said. "It's taken me time to fully process what the experience was like because it wasn't like a normal thing. I felt very out of body in it. When I'm wrestling, I feel everything and feel like I'm enjoying it. This was weird, I was out there, and it felt like I was detached. It was so strange that before the match started, I got this strange feeling like, 'Oh no, is this what it's like before you die? Am I going to die? Huh, well, okay.' I don't know why or how it happened, but it was unlike anything I've felt while wrestling."
While this obviously won't be the case for Finn Balor (in terms of detachment), the main event of SummerSlam is strong enough without him.
#1. Finn Balor should be added: It's deserved after all the hardships he has gone through
Finn Balor has been through quite some hardship on the WWE main roster. His run when he returned in 2017 didn't have the same kind of fire that his brief 2016 run did before a bad injury derailed his momentum.
But there are few wrestlers in the company that work harder than Balor. He had no issues with going back to NXT and reinventing himself. In the process, he even seemed to abandon The Demon character, for now, describing it as a "step back" in his career.
However, Finn Balor recently told WWE Germany that The Demon has a future, but right now, he is focused on The Prince and his current persona. He deserves to be added for everything that he has been through and as a reward for his character development and overall progression.
#1. Finn Balor shouldn't be added: A long-term storyline to Universal title glory is better
While it would be exciting to see Finn Balor competing with Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship, the chances of him winning it are slim to none. This isn't the Reigns he first beat five years ago.
However, what will work better for Balor is the continued storyline development of The Prince character and an eventual Universal Championship victory. For a superstar like Balor, the chase is often the best part.
You can check out this week's episode of Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk in the video embedded above.
Randy Orton picks the next Randy Orton HERE.
