I can see he's a great athlete of course, but for me there's little personality ala AJ Styles. I'm not feeling his babyface sympathy vibes like I do for, say, Bayley (if we're talking NXT).
Plus I'm not a fan of his finisher. It looks unsafe and unspectacular.
I was a big fan of his work in Japan and was hyped for his debut.
My memories of his old work mixed with the good parts of what he does in NXT kept him a favorite for a while.
But he's growing stale. The demon looks cool but the commercial for Beast in the East with him in a suit and demon shadows rising from him, talk about controlling your inner demons, etc.... was THE MOST character development he's had in almost a year! He's wearing a jacket now with a goofy flasher motion as he walks to the ring.
He looks like the Real Rock n Rolla, but he isn't a cocky disrespectful heel. He's got the Balor Club shirts and tron but no actual stable.
It's like they're still selling him on "Remember how cool he was in New Japan?"
He was cool in New Japan. He started promising. He needs to make himself cool and interesting again. A documentary on his life and love of Legos isn't going to do it.
I'm a bit "this guy fucking sucks" on Finn Balor. He's Seth Rollins meets The Boogeyman. Yawn. Are they EVER going to hire anyone ever again who knows how to talk?
Seems like they're transitioning away from the demon stuff and starting to lean on the Balor Club stuff. Hopefully a shift in personality comes with that.
But, on the subject, this is how I feel like Crews so far. I love his dragon gate shit, but here, he just hasn't done it for me yet. Smiling black guy no.665
Haven't cared for him much since Mania season. I don't know what it is exactly. Nothing about his ring work stands out to me. Perhaps if it did his meh promos and lack of character wouldn't matter as much to me. He's a good worker but it doesn't stand out. I want to care but i dont find him interesting yet. Maybe a heel turn would shake things up? He just comes off very average in this main event role.
Despite all of that I still feel like he could be a big star. He hasn't clicked with me but I believe he has a wide appeal. Lots of potential if hes booked right.
I really want to like Finn Balor, but I just find myself zoning out during most of his matches.
put it this way, Zayn v Owens is an awesome feud. It's personal and full of intensity. It was 2-3 months of great promos, great segments and great stories told in the ring.
It then went from that to Owens v Balor, which was just as long but didn't have that intense feel to it. They had some ok matches and we were told they had problems with each other and didn't like each other. But I don't remember any segment that took place before Japan, between Japan & Brooklyn, or after Brooklyn between the two.
The same with the Dusty Classic. We know that Joe & Finn are teaming together, but I don't remember any segment between the 2 of them before the live Special. Segments make feuds, and any segment that involves Balor (non demon) hasn't been very memorable. The most memorable thing about him is the 3 part video about his past before Japan.
Now I think they have a very good chance with the return of Itami. If they had Balor be the one who took out Itami (maybe as the Demon, maybe not), then we have some intensity and a personal rivalry. Something which he has lacked since coming into NXT
I like Finn Balor but I understand why some people don't like him. He is more a wrestler than an entertainer but I am perfectly fine with that. It's a throwback for me. He won't go out there and do great promos or anything but he will have great matches and his entrance is creative.
Well the WWE hasn't done anything in terms of character development on him because of the "Hey! He's already fucking over so why bother!?" mentality they have with him right now. The whole Balor Club thing he's doing right now seems totally out of left field and I would like an explanation as to what his new persona is about (even though I know it's a play off of Bullet Club).
I was iffy on the guy when he signed because I don't fall for the trap almost everyone else seems to. You know, liking someone because "oh my goodness he's from the indies/etc!". I liked the entrance and I liked the demon thing, but nothing else clicked. His wrestling was sub-par for the hype it got, he couldn't and still can't talk worth anything, he was clearly being pushed as something he wasn't, and he's a poor mans Neville at this point. Bland as fuck. The difference is that Neville put on fantastic matches as NXT Champion. Balor is the worst I have seen the entire reign of.
I personally also don't understand any of the praise he gets. He's not as good as anyone else at anything. He's middling for who he is; a 34 year old who has a decade or more of wrestling experience. There is someone better than him in every category, some of these people being better at more than one thing. He has nothing but a pretty-boy look and paint, which he didn't even use at this special.
your criticsm is a little bit strong. but in most points i will go to the same direction.
my resume is that he is a good in ring performer with ok look-intrance combo. but with his boring finisher i do not see any chance in wwe even to get a great spot monkey. but with proper booking he can get a huge star maybe. i would have no problem with it
He was a lot of fun in Bullet Club when I watched him at New Japan.
The Demon attire is awesome but the one worry I had about it was that they would milk it and not develop Finn's character beyond that.
That seems to be the case right now. In a way not having Joe turn on him has left him in Limbo even more. I think Balor/Owens had the makings of a truly great rivalry but the problem was that Owens was already going so there was no suspense for their second title match. Balor has had no rival at all since Owens has gone.
I still think the BEST way for him to go down is to be revealed as the man who took out Hideo. The trouble is, has Hideo been gone so long that people won't care about that fact? They would need to build it for a few weeks and then in Triple H 2002 style "Did I take you out? You damn right I did!"
"Balor Club" heel Finn would be great and he could put a small faction together around him in NXT. Where would that leave the Demon though?
I personally am not "meh" on him. I dug his work before NXT & I'll continue to do so now. I hope the new club does something that's interesting & has lasting value on his character. Something (stable) that can translate into the main roster of RAW with substance and impact.
I assume the Jacket flash thing.. is to show off that he's NXT champion. I don't think Balor Club is meant to be any type of stable. They're using Balor Club in the same way Shawn Michaels used the Kliq in 1995 or John Cena's CENation. Balor Club is a way to describe his fans I think.
People forget that character development in ring isn't really done aside from contract signings or the occasional championship celebration. The only other chance they get to develop character is a minute and a half backstage interview.
Be glad he's finally got an interesting entrance instead of just walking out normally when he's not doing the demon stuff in his huge main event matches. It also looks like he's on the brink of a heel turn going into his next next title feud.
People expecting "character development" from a guy that hasn't even come through NXT to the main roster yet...
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