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2-Time World Champion Calls Out Finn Balor Ahead Of WWE SmackDown

By John Canton • Published Jun 05, 2026 11:02 EDT
Finn Balor
Finn Balor - Image via WWE.com

A former WWE World Champion feels disrespected by Finn Balor after a social media post.

It was announced during Monday’s WWE Raw broadcast that former WWE Universal Champion and member of The Judgment Day, Finn Balor, was “traded” from Raw to SmackDown.

The move to SmackDown is considered a fresh start for the veteran Balor, who started on the WWE main roster about a decade ago after a successful run in NXT. After being part of The Judgment Day stable for nearly four years, Balor is now free of the group and on the show where the group isn’t.

On SmackDown, Balor will see some familiar faces because former members of The Judgment Day – Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest – are currently on the blue brand holding titles. Ripley is the WWE Women’s Champion, and Priest is one-half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with R-Truth, who thinks he was in The Judgment Day at one point in his career.

In a social media post following his trade to SmackDown, Finn Balor mentioned the following wrestlers.

Shinsuke

Tama

Sami

Damien

Rhea

Truth

Gunther

Drew

Cody

Friend or Foe?

Many of the wrestlers mentioned there are people whom Balor has wrestled against and with many times over his career, both in WWE and in Japan.

The Miz is also somebody Balor has feuded with over the Intercontinental Title in the past, yet Balor didn’t mention The Miz. That led to the former 2-time WWE Champion, The Miz, complaining about it on social media.

Perhaps Balor forgot The Miz because The Miz’s win-loss record has way more losses than wins these days.

Finn Balor Is Proud Of His WWE Success

During his 12-year run in WWE, Finn Balor held the Universal Championship and numerous other titles, including the Intercontinental and Tag Team Titles. That run with the Universal Title lasted only one day because he was forced to give it up due to shoulder surgery.

Even though Balor hasn’t been a WWE or World Champion again since that 2016 Universal Title win, he is still proud of everything he’s accomplished, considering how far he has come.

“I grew up in a small town in Ireland, in a country with no wrestling schools, no wrestling promotions, barely wrestling on TV. I moved to England to study catch wrestling with the goal of having one match. Sixteen years later, I debut on Raw. I pin Roman on my first night. Three weeks later, I pin Seth at my first pay-per-view. I become champion. That sounds like a success story to me – not a failure.”

Balor also spoke about how some people will never be satisfied no matter what he accomplishes in WWE.

“And I want to address this: people don’t consider winning the United States Championship a success. Being a multiple-time Intercontinental Champion – that’s not a success? Six-time tag team champion – that’s not a success?

Going back to NXT and having one of the best runs of your career – that’s somehow not a success? I’ve realized that no matter what I do, no matter how many great matches I have or how many championships I win, some people will never be satisfied unless I win the world title.”

Find out what’s next for Finn Balor on WWE SmackDown emanating from Bologna, Italy, on June 5th. We’ll have full coverage on TJRWrestling as usual.

Also Read: Finn Balor Credits WWE Hall Of Famer For Helping Key Aspect Of His Career