5 Reasons Finn Balor Could (or should) Get Added to the Backlash IC Title Match

Next Sunday at Backlash, Seth Rollins defends his newly-won Intercontinental Championship against the man who entered WrestleMania 34's Triple Threat Match as the defending champion, The Miz.

While The Architect and The A-Lister definitely have the potential to put on a great match, one man is left out in the cold by that booking: Finn Balor.

With this week featuring the two go-home shows for the WrestleMania sequel, here are five reasons Balor could, and probably should, join his WrestleMania opponents for a sequel.

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#5 Backlash is all about sequels

It was good in its first act, and the WrestleMania followup show is all about giving fans a second act.

If there's one thing the WrestleMania followup show is for, it's for sequels; we've covered how WWE loves to remix its featured matches from The Grandaddy of 'Em All a few weeks later to tread familiar, and successful, ground.

Already, the WWE World Championship is being defended in a rematch (albeit one with a better heel/face dynamic and which should promise better drama, if its participants are able to build on their intensity in Jeddah), as is the RAW Women's Championship.

The current Intercontinental Championship booking is a partial rematch, taking 2/3 of a great triple threat, but fully embracing the rematch would give fans a repeat viewing of a thrilling opener from New Orleans.

#4 The WrestleMania match was fantastic, but could be improved

Starting off the main card on April 8, Miz, Balor, and Rollins put on a fantastic show, getting 3.5 stars from The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. There was a fun finish, some creative spots, and all three men brought an electricity to the Superdome that made their match memorable.

However, they got far too little time to shine, with their match opening a bloated five-hour main show and being followed immediately by one of the greatest main roster women's contests ever (if not the greatest, and the match many considered to be WrestleMania 34's best), Charlotte vs. Asuka.

The match was great for what it was, but more time to breathe would make it a classic.

Adding Finn Balor to Backlash, and giving this match a full Round 2, would let the contest breathe and let all three men tell a better-crafted story, not having to rush the ending to keep the biggest show of the year moving.

#3 The Greatest Royal Rumble left lingering tensions

TFW you're so close to winning the Intercontinental Championship twice and are foiled twice by the same man.

Many had predicted that the ladder match in Jeddah would result in Finn Balor taking his first Intercontinental Championship and beginning his first main roster title reign of any consequence (a 21-hour reign as the first Universal Champion doesn't really count).

With Balor poised atop a ladder, preparing to take home the gold, Seth Rollins springboarded off the top rope, onto the ladder, and literally snatched the belt from Balor's hands. Typically, when a ladder match comes down to two men at the top vying for the strap, one gets tossed down while the other stands triumphant.

In this case, Rollins swooped in and stole back his title in one fluid motion, leaving a confused and frustrated Balor staring in disbelief at the glory that was very nearly his.

Just like at WrestleMania when Rollins hit his Blackout on Balor to prevent a Coup de Gras pinfall, then hit it again on Miz to secure the win, The Architect's victory left The Demon just conscious enough to rue Rollins win; Balor has enough unfinished business that he should still be in the title picture and match.

#2 What does Balor do otherwise?

The pinnacle of Balor's WWE

career,

followed immediately by its nadir.

Finn Balor has been in a tough spot ever since his return from shoulder surgery.

He came in to RAW in the first brand split draft in 2016 with a mountain of expectation, and ascended to the top of the Red Brand almost immediately by defeating Roman Reigns to earn an opportunity to become the first-ever Universal Champion.

Balor won, of course, but disappeared immediately due to a shoulder injury sustained early in the Universal Championship match; in the intervening months where he rehabilitated his shoulder, Balor was supplanted atop the card by Reigns, and the title he never truly lost became mired in a seemingly unending Brock Lesnar part-time reign.

Without his Good Brothers, Balor needs to shine on his own, and staying in the Backlash title match helps him do that.

There's no place for him atop the card, and Balor Club has unofficially disbanded with Gallows and Anderson making their way to Tuesday nights; there are currently no other stories for the Irishman, and being anywhere but the top of the mid-card could be dangerous for a man many have seen as constantly being at risk of losing major stock with Vince McMahon due to his size.

Balor needs to stay active in meaningful feuds with talented opponents; leaving him out of the Backlash Intercontinental Championship match could seriously damage his stock in a very "what have you done for me lately?" WWE.

#1 This could be a generation-defining mid-card rivalry

This era-defining program began with a WrestleMania triple threat that continued at Backlash; Balor and Rollins have the potential to be this good (or better).

Eighteen years ago, Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit first met in a WWE ring during a disappointing and rushed-for-time Triple Threat for WWE's midcard championships at WrestleMania 2000. The company kept their rivalry active into the spring, and it evolved into one of the defining midcard feuds of the Attitude Era.

Seth Rollins and Finn Balor have the in-ring skill, indie promotion pedigree, world traveller status, and over-the-top showmanship to be this generation's Benoit vs. Jericho.

This one is a gem anywhere on the card and needs to have a place at Backlash.

As we've mentioned, Balor has unfinished business with Rollins due to his oh-so-close ending in consecutive title matches, and the two have obvious chemistry as they showed in one of the best RAW broadcast television matches in years.

A lengthy feud coupled with a heel turn for one of its participants (Rollins works better as a heel, but fans have been clamoring for a return to Balor's villainous New Japan ways the entire time he's been floundering since his injury comeback) could make this a feud for the ages, but there's a danger that WWE simply moves on to other things without Balor being present in the Backlash match to continue the tension.

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