Finn Bálor was thrown against the barricade via a bucklebomb at SummerSlam during his match with Seth Rollins. During the execution, Bálor had to use his arm to alleviate some of the fall, which caused him to suffer a torn labrum in this shoulder. This forced Bálor to relinquish the title, ending his reign as the inaugural WWE Universal Champion after less than one day of having it. Doctors confirmed that the injury would require surgery, resulting in a mandatory six-month absence from the WWE.
WWE is allowing the fans to witness Bálor’s journey to recovery with pictures and videos. In the most recent installment, Bálor describes his physical therapy on the road to returning to WWE. “Today was probably one of the longest days of my entire life,” said Bálor. He added that the surgery was a lot more complicated than expected, and this was confirmed by the surgeon, Dr. Jeffrey Dugas. Dugas stated that the labrum tear was severe, ranging nearly 180 degrees. In fact, the injury was so severe that he also tore part of his bicep and pectoral minor.
"Never in my life has six months felt like such a long time..." - @FinnBalor after beginning his road to recovery. pic.twitter.com/lNGI3zwNEx
— WWE (@WWE) August 27, 2016
Although Bálor describes his mobilization and rehabilitation as agonizing, and he is “gutted about the amount of work [he] is going to miss,” he is looking forward to returning the WWE to make up for lost time and hopefully recapture the WWE Universal Championship shortly after his return.
Balor recently provided an update on his road to recovery, stating that he has returned to his residence in Orlando, Florida to check with the Performance Center medical staff. However, Balor did show an optimistic tone on his tweet, stating that he is “planning the Comeback” attached with a smiling photo of him in a sling.
One of the burning questions that has already surfaced is whether Balor would is injury prone, which would significantly decrease Vince McMahon’s stock in him as a top competitor in the WWE. Surprisingly, McMahon gave the go-ahead to immediately thrust Balor as the top guy on the flagship show of Raw, which automatically came with a great deal of pressure. It should be interesting to see where Balor is placed upon his return.
