As of now, just about all signs point to Brock Lesnar defeating Goldberg after two failed attempts. However, this time it will be for the WWE Universal Championship, in which Lesnar will experience his first reign with the title. The long-term plan is for Lesnar to be champion by the time WrestleMania 34 rolls around in order for the WrestleMania 31 rematch against Roman Reigns to occur. Reigns is still slated to be a top babyface, and Lesnar is looking to gain as much heat as possible to help out “The Big Dog.” It is not known whether Lesnar will carry the title all the way until next year’s event on April 8 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The following night on Raw , Goldberg is expected to give his thank-yous to the live crowd and WWE Universe, ending his magical comeback run for the company. Although the door is not closed for him to return, it will only be as a featured attraction for major events. This leaves the possibility to feud with Reigns at either SummerSlam , Survivor Series , Royal Rumble , or WrestleMania 34.
At a recent house show, Finn Balor made his in-ring return after a seven-month absence due to injury. Balor teamed with Chris Jericho and Sami Zayn to defeat Triple H, Samoa Joe, and Kevin Owens. With his return occurring before WrestleMania 33 , many speculated that he would be returning on television come April 2 to either compete against Samoa Joe, or replace Seth Rollins to battle Triple H. It would have been interesting to see how the replacement for Rollins would have unfolded, since he was responsible for putting Balor on the shelf for seven months.
With Lesnar expected to be at the top of the Raw roster, he will need a babyface opponent to compete against. Per PWInsider , via the We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Name Show , that opponent could be Finn Balor. Since the chances of Balor actually competing at WrestleMania 33 are decreasing daily, the next stop is Raw , where he is expected to make his return. Since Balor never used his rematch clause for the WWE Universal Championship due to injury, this would be a way to immediately insert him back in the picture.
Another interesting bit of information reported by PWInsider is that there have been discussions for Balor to have a different look when he returns to television. Although he uses the body paint for big matches, there is nothing fascinating about his look without it. As a result, Balor may be wearing a mask as he walks down the ramp to the ring, but remove it when he enters the ring. This would be for the purpose of increasing his marketability and selling the masks. This would be useful, since Balor’s T-shirts sell highly for the company. There have been other talks of creating other possibilities of a change in appearance for Balor.
Perhaps the change in look would create a character for Balor that resonates as a big star. Since he is considerably smaller than Brock Lesnar, and the margin of belief that Balor is an intimidating figure next to Lesnar is very low, this could be covered up by an enhanced appearance.
Since professional wrestling is still about larger-than-life characters, as shown by the importance still of Goldberg, Lesnar, and The Undertaker, Balor’s character has the potential to fit that role if the appearance is right. While he was in NXT, he had good feuds with Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe. While both competitors are larger than Balor, neither had a strikingly massive presence such as Lesnar. For this feud to work, there indeed has to be a change of appearance for Balor.
[Featured Image by WWE]
