Finn Balor has made waves since his return to NXT and shocking heel turn that came along with it. He even injured Johnny Gargano, in-storyline costing him his TakeOver streak. He was meant to face Johnny Wrestling at NXT TakeOver WarGames but Johnny ended up not being able to be cleared in tiem and they opted to put him against Matt Riddle instead.
In his first match back officially for the black-and-gold brand, he put on a fine performance as you’d expect. He took pretty much everything Matt Riddle had to throw at him, a match that went between physicality and high flying athleticism on the regular.
This was in many ways a dream match, a huge first-time ever encounter. But with all the momentum behind him and all the talk about what’s next for Finn Balor, it made no real sense for him to lose. And indeed, he managed to vanquish Matt Riddle. Interestingly, it was not the usual coup de grâce. After all, this was a different, more violent Finn Balor.
And after the 1916 – a more toned down version of his original, violent, headdrop Japanese finish – failed him, he took it up another notch. He nailed Riddle with the true, honest to God Bloody Sunday, the massive spike DDT. That was enough to notch a major victory, continuing his surge of momentum.
Where it will lead him next is anyone’s guess. But it’s a big win for the first-ever Universal Champion for sure.
NXT TakeOver: WarGames continues and I will be giving you the results as they come!
