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Heel and face turns can really turn our expectations on their heads. Bayley's heel turn, for example, was long overdue as she embraced her darker tendencies in order to regain her SmackDown Women's Championship. While Bayley made shockwaves recently on the main roster, it appeared that NXT wouldn't be outdone. After triumphantly returning to NXT on the debut episode on the USA Network, Finn Balor, another once-beloved babyface has officially turned heel.
It was initially set up as both Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa came out to the ring to confront the Undisputed Era. Roderick Strong had successfully retained his NXT North American Championship in his match against Keith Lee and Dominik Dijakovic. It appeared as if Balor was targeting Adam Cole and the NXT Championship once again by backing up both Gargano and Ciampa.
Balor didn't take long to make a truly monumental impact as he hit Gargano with a Pele kick while TUE beat down Ciampa in the ring. So now that Balor fired his first physical shot at someone in NXT, the main question is: why did he turn heel on Gargano? Is it to stake a claim to "his" yard? Was he joining the Undisputed Era? The possibilities are endless but here are five likely reasons why Balor has turned to the dark side.
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#5 It freshens up his character
Throughout his entire NXT and WWE career, Balor has been a beloved and trusted babyface. He would always fight against the odds while also sticking up for everyone. Some would call him the quintessential babyface. After his demolition at the hands of the Fiend, Bray Wyatt, his character needed some rehabbing.
The first step of that rehabbing involved a move to NXT. That in and of itself was enough for most fans as Balor would be returning to the place where he once reigned supreme. It would also be great to see a potential match between him and Cole for the NXT Championship.
But now that he has turned heel, he regains some edge to his character that he lost when he was dispatched by the Fiend. Being fed to Wyatt would have been better had someone lower on the totem pole been chosen instead. Despite being low on the totem pole of WWE bookers, Balor was still held in high regard by everyone else. By turning heel, he not only gets a reboot of his character but it could lead to bigger and better things both in NXT and on the main roster.
#4 NXT needs more main-event level heels
Outside of the Undisputed Era, who would be considered next in line as top heels? Damian Priest? Killian Dain? The Forgotten Sons? The answer to that question at this point in time is no one.
Had Ciampa returned to NXT as a heel then he would have made perfect sense. But since he overcame such a career-threatening injury to his neck, there was no way that he wouldn't be received as anything more than a hero when he returned. And even though Priest and Dain are being slowly built up as top heels, neither man is ready to be a main-event level threat at the moment.
The Forgotten Sons are also heels, but they are better served as mid-card heels due to a lack of charisma. Cameron Grimes has received the biggest push out of all of the Breakout Tournament participants but he just recently debuted. The biggest and best decision was to turn one of the huge faces to a heel, and Balor desperately needed a huge change. Moving to NXT was the first step. Turning heel was the second part. It will help NXT balance out its ranks while also allowing Balor to explore the nasty side of his personality.
#3 It will set up the ultimate battle between two of the best/most popular faces in NXT history
When you think of the biggest faces in NXT history, who comes to mind? The first two names are probably any mix of Bayley, Balor, Sami Zayn, Gargano, and Shinsuke Nakamura. Balor was the King of NXT when he was a member of the yellow brand. Nakamura and Gargano followed suit after Balor joined the main roster.
Gargano has been the backbone of NXT for the better part of three years. Every one of his storylines has been built around him being a resilient face who has never given up despite the odds. He did tease a heel turn with Ciampa but had to become a face again once Ciampa was out due to injury.
What are the best moments in NXT over the last three years? Two of those moments have to be Gargano winning the title and DIY winning the NXT Tag Team titles. Ciampa turning on Gargano was a huge storyline in all of WWE. Balor represents the standard of faces in the past whereas Johnny Wrestling has taken that ball and run it into the end zone numerous times.
By being a cold and arrogant new character, it allows Balor to claim that he did it first and did it better. It also allows both men to go into a match with portions of the crowd on their side. Balor may be the heel in this potential feud, but he will have his supporters. In that instance, it will turn into one of the most heated feuds between two of the most popular stars in the history of NXT.
#2 It will lead to an amazing match at an upcoming TakeOver
While the storytelling behind Gargano's character has been among the best in WWE history, his matches have also been among the best in wrestling over the last three years. His bouts with Ciampa were candidates for "Match of the Year". The matches against Adam Cole have proven that both men are pivotal to success in NXT and in the future of the WWE.
That's why he's called both Johnny Wrestling and Johnny TakeOver. The dude delivers every time he steps in the ring and can easily have a MOTY bout at any time. Balor has always had great matches in both NXT and on the main roster, but his booking hasn't always been the best. Since he's on the smaller side, he usually loses out to bigger wrestlers like Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar and the like. Unless, of course, the Demon is involved. Does this mean we'll get an even darker interpretation of the Demon?
In NXT, size doesn't matter as much as it does on the main roster. Sure, Keith Lee and Dominik Dijakovic are killing it in their matches with each other, but smaller guys are treated on the same level in NXT. Due to that, it's a slam dunk that Balor and Gargano will have a masterful match.
Both men always deliver and won't need to carry the other. The star power of each man also means that a match between them should only take place on a TakeOver. It could be at the next one or the following one, but the fact is a Balor/Gargano match could feasibly main event any TakeOver special if they aren't involved in WarGames.
#1 It was an unexpected surprise
One of the greatest problems that the WWE still has is that it is rarely unpredictable. Bayley's heel turn was telegraphed but needed to happen. Brock Lesnar winning Money in the Bank was unpredictable but not in a good way.
Most of the title challengers are a part of the same rotation. For the women's titles, it's usually Bayley, Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair, and a fourth person now that Becky Lynch is RAW Women's Champ. For the major titles, it has been Seth Rollins, Lesnar, Baron Corbin, Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe, Randy Orton, and AJ Styles.
A different Superstar will be put into the mix on the rare occasion, like Daniel Bryan or Kofi Kingston. Jinder Mahal winning the title from Randy Orton a few years ago was also unexpected. Simply put, the predictability of both WWE storylines and matches likely turned some viewers off. If you know exactly how things will play out, then it doesn't make the program "must-see."
By Balor turning heel, it reiterates that anything can happen in NXT. The Yellow Brand is still outgunning both RAW and SmackDown despite being considered the "third brand". Balor's return was primarily seen as merely to challenge Cole for the title. It was also likely done to recapture his former glory on the yellow brand.
When he said his past would become his future, he didn't just mean going back to NXT. He also apparently meant changing the game again as a heel just like he did when he formed the Bullet Club. It was certainly an unpredictable moment. The faces of NXT need to look out because it's only a matter of time before he has you in his sights.
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