This week I had the privilege of not only witnessing the incomparable Finn Bálor perform in the ring, in his home country of Ireland, in the very building that he would watch his favourite wrestlers perform in as a kid, but I got to meet the man that many people, myself included, would consider to be the very best wrestler in today’s industry.
The WWE’s first show of the November tour will always be remembered as the night that Seth Rollins’ inaugural reign as WWE World Heavyweight Champion came to an end. In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last few days, you’ll know by now that Rollins botched a sunset flip powerbomb spot that night, leading to a torn ACL, MCL and meniscus, meaning he’s had to relinquish the gold and will be out of action for at least half a year.
It really is a shame, whether or not Rollins was booked to drop the title to Roman Reigns before the new year or not, because it goes without saying that ‘The Architect’ has been the most consistently entertaining Superstar on the main WWE roster, whether he’s battling it out with the very best in the ring, or delivering a promo that only he can, usually opening up every episode of Monday Night Raw with the title in hand.
Personally, I do feel special to have witnessed Rollins’ final match as champ. I know a lot of people were disappointed that they wouldn’t get to see him on the tour, so I do consider it an honour to have seen him perform for the last time in the greatest year of his career thus far. That being said, however, the moment from Wednesday night that will always stick with me was Finn Bálor taking on Sheamus for the very first time, in their hometown.
The match was simple yet extraordinary. The story of the powerful brawler, Sheamus, dominating the majority of the match-up with Finn Bálor trying to counteract the size and strength difference with innovative agility and athleticism, with aerial manoeuvres to provide an additional sense of excitement to the match. The finish saw Bálor, having failed to pin the south-sider with the double foot stomp to the head, and having kicked out after an emphatic Brogue Kick, pin Mr. Money in the Bank with a sunset flip.
After the match, as the NXT Champion celebrated his victory, Sheamus was visually shaken by the loss, and the handshake between the two men would admittedly bring a tear to my own eye. I’ve followed these two men for years, and to see them wrestle each other for the first time, with the up-and-comer getting the victory over the established Superstar, was a beautiful moment. I’ve seen about fifteen house shows in 3Arena in Dublin, the likes of Eddie Guerrero, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Batista, Chris Benoit, Edge have all put on phenomenal shows, and this match ranks up there as one of the very best I have ever seen live.
Credit to @BleeSimon on Twitter
It may sound funny, but I honestly think that Sheamus is one of the most underrated wrestlers in the WWE, as far as the IWC is concerned, because the man is truly fantastic when he’s been given a chance to showcase his skills. You can’t wow the universe wrestling the same people every night, and a lot of fans hold it against Sheamus that he had such a ridiculous winning streak in 2012, not to mention the whole 18-seconds fiasco. Given the right opponent, Sheamus can easily be a great talent.
This is why he’s the perfect guy to hold the Money in the Bank briefcase. Like it or not, Sheamus is the perfect example of what a professional wrestler represents. He has the ring skill, the charisma, the abnormal appearance and personally I think he’s not bad on the mic. He will be the WWE World Heavyweight Champion once again, and I am very much okay with this. Wrestling is supposed to be fun, after all. I love Sheamus’ character, and the only thing that makes me groan during a Sheamus match-up is a terrible crowd.
Finn on the other hand is clearly being groomed to become the face of the WWE, and I seriously cannot wait to see where he ends up. Provided he doesn’t get fed to Cena immediately like Kevin Owens was, he could really achieve big things in the WWE. Mark my words, Finn Bálor won’t be on the main roster a full year before he captures the top prize in the company.
As for the meet & greet, Finn composed himself very well and shared laughs, photographs and autographs with all of the Irish fans. The show was on the night of the latest NXT taping, where Bálor defended the NXT Championship against Apollo Crews, and since he had the title with him, I joked about how he must have retained the title, and asked about the match. He joked, saying that they were just trying to throw off the internet, and Apollo Crews was going around with a title as well.
Finn and Sheamus are both tremendous, yet very different, wrestlers, and they both have their biggest career highlights ahead of them. I would love to see the two square off on a big stage like WrestleMania at some point down the line, but for now that seems like little more than a pipe dream. Still though, the two men are both carrying gold, Finn with the NXT Championship, and Sheamus with the gold-painted Money in the Bank briefcase, so perhaps the two could find themselves squaring off for a bigger prize at some stage.
That’ll do it for today, folks. If you enjoyed this piece, do be a dear and share it on all forms of social media, and go ahead and follow me on Twitter @AdamOB_UTS to speak with me about wrestling, my writing or anything at all. Great craic altogether, so it is.
Once again, I’m not entirely sure I’ll be able to keep a weekly upload schedule with college and my other writing commitments (check me out here on WhatCulture.com, cheeky plug), but I’m SLTD through and through, and we still have a tonne of surprises in store for you all. Stay tuned!
Thanks for reading, everyone!
Self-Professed Conversational Wizard.
Admin, Editor and Writer for SLTD Wrestling.
Creator of 'Under the Spotlight'.
Studying Computing in Games Development.
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