WWE Rumors: Real Reason Finn Balor Replaced Braun Strowman

The latest episode of World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE) ‘Monday Night Raw’ saw a major twist in the main event of their upcoming first pay-per-view of the year Royal Rumble after Chairman Vince McMahon cancelled Braun Strowman’s planned showdown with Brock Lesnar.

The ‘Monster Among Men’ was primed to take on the Raw Universal champion Lesnar in two weeks’ time – a repeat of their clash at Crown Jewel, which the latter won to reclaim the title after it was vacated by Roman Reigns.

But a backstage confrontation with Baron Corbin, which led to Stowman destroying McMahon’s limousine saw the chairman strip the professional wrestler of his opportunity to fight for the title. He then decided to put forward a fatal four-way match between John Cena, Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre and Finn Balor to decide Lesnar’s opponent.

It was Republic of Ireland’s Balor that came away victorious after executing the Coup de Grace on John Cena and will now face Universal champion Lesnar in the main event at Royal Rumble on Jan. 27. The Irishman was also the first Universal champion after the brand split in 2016, but had to relinquish his title immediately due to an injury sustained during his win over Seth Rollins.

Immediately after his win, questions were raised about the reason for the sudden change in direction – with many wondering if it was Strowman’s sudden outburst against the chairman that resulted in him being removed from the main event.

But Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer, via CBS Sports, has revealed that it was not a sudden decision and was always in the plan to drop Strowman as Lesnar’s opponent and replace him with Balor.

It is further claimed that the only reason Strowman was installed as Lesnar’s main contender was to raise interest and sell more tickets for the event at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. The ‘Monster Among Men’s’ loss to the universal champion at Crown Jewel was said to have made the decision for McMahon as they were not willing to risk Strowman losing his momentum completely with another loss.

Balor is well loved by the entire WWE Universe and while his chances of beating Lesnar are slim, it certainly makes for a more enticing fight than it would have been if Strowman was in the other corner.

PW Insider’s Mike Johnson also seemed to have the same view about Strowman’s sudden replacement. He also believes, he does not want to risk completely killing off Strowman’s momentum and hence took him away from the firing line.

It is likely that Strowman will be made part of another storyline going into Royal Rumble and it could become clear when ‘Monday Night Raw’ returns on Jan. 21 just a few days before the first pay-per-view of 2019.

“I have not heard there’s heat on Braun Strowman. No, there’s no heat on Braun Strowman. It is more likely that they don’t want to beat him at the Rumble and they’re right on this. If this is the case, that it will kill him off and hurt him in terms of his momentum and they decide to go somewhere else which is the Finn Balor route,” Johnson said, as quoted on Sportskeeda.