“We Were Robbed” – Ex-WWE Champion Makes Heartbreaking Finn Balor Claim
For weeks, WWE had been teasing a potential babyface turn for Finn Balor, who is firmly established as a heel member of The Judgment Day.
Those teases seemed to reach a climax last week on Monday Night Raw, when Balor challenged CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship in Belfast, Ireland. He even made a shocking entrance to his classic theme song and worked the match almost entirely as a babyface.
The performance led many fans to believe that WWE was preparing to officially usher in a new chapter for Balor as a fan favorite after years of heel dominance. However, those hopes were quickly crushed.
This week on Raw, General Manager Adam Pearce announced that Balor would not be an entrant in this year’s Royal Rumble match. Later in the night, during the World Heavyweight Championship match between CM Punk and AJ Styles, Balor made his presence felt once again, this time in the worst possible way for fans rooting for his redemption.
Balor interfered in the match and brutally attacked Punk, fully reaffirming his heel status and seemingly putting an end to any imminent babyface turn. The moment effectively killed all speculation that WWE was ready to turn Balor face, leaving fans disappointed after being led to believe a major character shift was coming.
Big E Was Excited For Finn Balor’s Babyface Turn
On this week’s Raw Recap, former WWE Champion Big E addressed the events from the January 26 edition of Raw and shared his personal reaction. Big E admitted that he was genuinely excited at the prospect of a babyface Finn Bálor.
He went on to say that when Balor ultimately stayed heel, he felt disappointed, adding that fans were “robbed” of what could have been a truly special moment.
“He got me. I was so excited for this new turn, a new Finn Balor. I think of him as a peer of a CM Punk or an AJ Styles, those guys really changed the game. What they did on the indies really helped shape what wrestling looked like in WWE for years to come.
“The thought of Finn breaking from the Judgment Day, carving out his own path, making a World Title run as a beloved- even just getting to see glimpses of his old entrance the week prior and seeing the way the fans in Ireland took to him, that was such a beautiful moment, and I thought for a split second we were going to get that Finn Balor again, and we were robbed. We were all robbed.”