5 Reasons why Finn Balor turned heel in NXT
Heel and face turns can really turn our expectations on their heads. Bayley's heel turn, for example, was long overdue as she embraced her darker tendencies in order to regain her SmackDown Women's Championship. While Bayley made shockwaves recently on the main roster, it appeared that NXT wouldn't be outdone. After triumphantly returning to NXT on the debut episode on the USA Network, Finn Balor, another once-beloved babyface has officially turned heel.
It was initially set up as both Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa came out to the ring to confront the Undisputed Era. Roderick Strong had successfully retained his NXT North American Championship in his match against Keith Lee and Dominik Dijakovic. It appeared as if Balor was targeting Adam Cole and the NXT Championship once again by backing up both Gargano and Ciampa.
Balor didn't take long to make a truly monumental impact as he hit Gargano with a Pele kick while TUE beat down Ciampa in the ring. So now that Balor fired his first physical shot at someone in NXT, the main question is: why did he turn heel on Gargano? Is it to stake a claim to "his" yard? Was he joining the Undisputed Era? The possibilities are endless but here are five likely reasons why Balor has turned to the dark side.
#5 It freshens up his character
Throughout his entire NXT and WWE career, Balor has been a beloved and trusted babyface. He would always fight against the odds while also sticking up for everyone. Some would call him the quintessential babyface. After his demolition at the hands of the Fiend, Bray Wyatt, his character needed some rehabbing.
The first step of that rehabbing involved a move to NXT. That in and of itself was enough for most fans as Balor would be returning to the place where he once reigned supreme. It would also be great to see a potential match between him and Cole for the NXT Championship.
But now that he has turned heel, he regains some edge to his character that he lost when he was dispatched by the Fiend. Being fed to Wyatt would have been better had someone lower on the totem pole been chosen instead. Despite being low on the totem pole of WWE bookers, Balor was still held in high regard by everyone else. By turning heel, he not only gets a reboot of his character but it could lead to bigger and better things both in NXT and on the main roster.