Royal Rumble 2019: 3 Things to look out for in the match between Brock Lesnar and Finn Balor
Finn Balor is set to challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship at the 2019 Royal Rumble event. It is a match that fans have wanted to see for a long time, but also a match that fans thought they would never get the chance to see. It came about at the last minute, but it is finally going to take place this Sunday.
Finn Balor, the challenger, is known as 'The Extraordinary Man who does Extraordinary Things'. I suppose becoming the first ever Universal Champion qualifies as extraordinary. So does winning it in your first pay-per-view match. Especially with one good arm. Having to relinquish the championship due to injury the very next day must qualify as extraordinary bad luck.
However, since he has returned from injury, Finn Balor had not done anything extraordinary until he became number one contender for the Universal Championship. He feuded with the likes of Elias, Bray Wyatt, and Baron Corbin; all excellent superstars, but not in the upper echelons of the WWE. When he did mix it up with main event talents like Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns he lost; failing to capture both the Universal Championship and the Intercontinental Championship. Two weeks ago, he was back to doing extraordinary things; defeating John Cena, Jinder Mahal, Baron Corbin, and Drew McIntyre in the same night to earn the right to challenge Brock Lesnar.
Brock Lesnar, the reigning, defending, undisputed WWE Universal Champion is known as 'The Beast'. Anyone who questions why he is known by that moniker need only look at him; he is a scary, scary man. He has only been defeated by five men since he returned to the WWE in 2012. Finn Balor will have to be pretty extraordinary to defeat him.
The match is sure to be interesting. But what must we as an audience look out for?
Let's find out.
#1 How long will the match last?
Brock Lesnar versus Finn Balor is a massive physical mismatch. His matches also tend to end quite quickly. He defeated Braun Strowman in just over three minutes to win the Universal Championship for the second time. He lost the Universal Championship to Roman Reigns in just over six minutes. Both of his matches with Goldberg were quick affairs; he lost in over a minute, and Goldberg in under five minutes.
Conventional wisdom dictates that given Finn Balor's size, and the time Lesnar's bouts with true heavyweights lasted, this match will be quick.
However, when Lesnar has faced smaller wrestlers, his matches have actually gone one longer. His Survivor Series victories over Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles took almost 19 minutes and 15 minutes respectively.
The longer the match goes, the better Finn Balor will look. Even if he loses, Finn Balor can come out of this match looking good. However, a quick loss will heavily damage Finn Balor's standing.
How long this match goes could give some indication as to whether the WWE considers Finn Balor a main event player despite his small size.