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NXT Superstar Finn Balor recently shocked the WWE audience by seemingly turning heel and attacking Johnny Gargano on this week's NXT on USA Network.
The inaugural Universal Champion joined both Tommaso Ciampa and Gargano in-ring in the closing segment of the show to face off against the Undisputed Era. Balor then hit a hellacious Pele Kick on Gargano to signify that he had turned against arguably NXT's biggest babyface.
Balor then appeared on WWE Backstage this week and declared simply that "The Prince is Back." In a previous wrestling life, Finn Balor was known as Prince Devitt, the 'ace' of New Japan's Bullet Club faction. Balor was one of the founding members of the group, alongside Tama Tonga, Bad Luck Fale and WWE's Gallows and Anderson. The original incarnation of the group looked to bring 'westernised' professional wrestling to the more traditional Japanese fans. This involved dirty heel tactics, disqualifications, 'ref bumps' and weapons being brought into play. These sort of shenanigans helped to establish the then new Bullet Club team as hated heels in Japan's biggest promotion.
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When Balor first appeared in NXT he was positioned as a huge babyface star teaming alongside Hideo Itami (now KENTA in New Japan). The 'Demon' character that Balor developed on the NXT brand helped him to stand out in a crowded marketplace of outstanding performers who weren't maybe as proficient on the microphone as some others. With Balor now changing up his act and reverting to the 'Prince' character that we saw in New Japan he will be able to flex his promo muscles and start to really add a new dimension to his character beyond the special 'Demon' appearances that we saw at Takeover and big WWE PPV events.
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With that in mind we'll be looking at the Top 5 Dream Feuds for Finn Balor in NXT now that he has 'switched sides' and more likely to face off against some of NXT's biggest babyface competitors.
Pete Dunne
Former WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne would be an ideal opponent for Balor in NXT. The former PROGRESS World Champion is one of the stalwarts of the booming UK scene from 205 onwards. With his credentials as an NXT UK competitor and short stint thus far in NXT the Bruiserweight still has much to give inside WWE's squared circle.
The story almost writes itself, it is NXT's past/present (Balor) taking on NXT's future (Dunne). Both men have an extensive history in the British style of grappling as well as the more high impact Japanese strong style that has been used (although very sparingly) in the NXT style.
Besides the UK/Irish connection both men have travelled the independent scenes of the world and almost transcend their nationalities in WWE. Long gone are the days that you would see Dunne appearing with a pitbull and signing 'God Save The Queen' or Balor appearing out of a pot of gold (at least I hope so). This would be the pinnacle of NXT's international flavour being showcased at the top of the card.
Tyler Breeze
Now may think that this is a slightly odd choice, however Tyler Breeze is much more than just a tag team comedy gimmick.
Prince Pretty was one of the original standout talents from the NXT 2.0 roster along with the likes of Sami Zayn, Adrian Neville (PAC) and Bo Dallas. When the time came Breeze was trusted to have main event caliber matches with the best that NXT had to offer. The company even brought in New Japan Pro Wrestling legend Jushin Thunder Liger for a special one off bout against Breeze.
With Balor returning seemingly as the 'heart and soul' of the previous NXT incarnation there's an opportunity for Breeze to step up and stake his claim, as funnily he was there before Balor and helped NXT move into the 'Takeover' era.
In ring Breeze still has the credentials to deliver a seriously spectacular bout, and the newly rechristened 'Prince' Balor would be the ideal foil for a man who would be looking to showcase just how good he really is.
Tommaso Ciampa
As Ciampa himself recently stated, "Daddy's Home." With the former NXT Champion back in the fold it is very likely that he will be Adam Cole's first opponent heading into winter. Ciampa was unfortunately sidelined with a neck injury over the past few months and now he has the opportunity to reclaim the gold that he never truly lost.
Once Ciampa has finished his feud with Cole he should be moving onto Balor. With Balor attacking his longtime DIY tag team partner Johnny Gargano (more on him later) there's an in-built story there to drive at least a series of 2-3 matches next year.
Balor and Ciampa are two Superstars who have devilishly strong 'heel' personas inside the squared circle and these could be played off against each other perfectly. Here's hoping that NXT opts to put these two in the ring together sooner rather than later.
Adam Cole
The NXT Champion and leader of the Undisputed Era had to be on this list at some point right? With Finn making his return to NXT to square off against Cole it is surely only a matter of time before Balor is standing across the ring from Cole in a Championship match.
NXT does have less of an issue when it comes to a heel/heel feud. The 'main roster' of WWE would rarely have a defined heel take on another, as the crowd would have difficultly deciding who to cheer for and the match would lack an atmosphere.
In NXT however you would not have that issue. The Undisputed Era undoubtably have their fans and Balor himself received some positive reaction when he attacked Gargano and raised the fingers in a gun pose.
There's also a chance that by having Cole and Balor feud the OC may be able to make some sporadic appearances on NXT. Given the history between Balor, Gallows and Anderson could you imagine if this all lead to a War Games match between The Club and The Undisputed Era?
Johnny Gargano
Even if Balor had not attacked Johnny Gargano on NXT this week there's no way that I could leave Gargano off this list.
Johnny 'Wrestling' has been part of the most Takeovers in NXT history and is looked at as the 'heart' of the brand. As I previously mentioned Balor was once looked at in the same light, having held the NXT Championship and performed in some stellar bouts against the likes of Shinsuke Nakamura and Samoa Joe.
Aside from the fact that they have an in-built story Gargano is arguably one of the best performers in the world today. The feud against Tommaso Ciampa where they took each other to three of greatest matches in WWE history was enough to cement his legacy, however the stand-in matches he had against Adam Cole were even greater (arguably). The thought of putting a determined and motivated Finn Balor in the ring with Johnny Gargano to prove who is the true 'heart and soul' of NXT is mouth-watering.
We know that WWE is looking at getting a program between the two men, it will be interesting to see just how long they will continue the feud and if there will be some interaction with Ciampa in the process.
