How does Finn Balor find himself in the mix for WWE WrestleMania 33?

The closer that WrestleMania 33 gets, the more it feels like Finn Balor’s epic return is going to take place at the Show of Shows. The question is, how does Balor enter the mix in Orlando?

It’s hard to argue against Finn Balor having the best first month on WWE’s main roster in the history of the company last summer.

Balor beat the likes of Cesaro, Kevin Owens and Rusev in his very first match on Raw, then defeated Roman Reigns to gain entry into the SummerSlam main event match for the red brand against Seth Rollins, where he went on to be crowned the inaugural holder of the newly-created honor.

With that win, Balor became the first wrestler in history to win a world title in his pay-per-view debut, less than a month after being called up from NXT. As we know now, that match ending was rather bittersweet for Balor, who tore his labrum and was forced to relinquish the title just the very next evening in Brooklyn due to a mandatory surgery.

Now, with months passed and the sling off the arm, Balor could be back on WWE programming sooner rather than later. For Balor, the target date of a return is WrestleMania and not the Royal Rumble. Obviously, it’s WWE — things change. But, it doesn’t sound like the Demon King wants to return any sooner.

“Yeah, [the sling came off],” Balor said on the Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast back in December. “Like down here [in Birmingham, AL], I feel real good, but I’ve got to be real careful. The target’s WrestleMania. There’s talk it could be sooner, but really that’s the hard target. And that’s what I’m aiming for right now.”

So, for those hoping that The Demon rises in San Antonio for the Royal Rumble Match and wins the famous 30-man battle royal, those thoughts might have to wait until a different year.

That raises a big question: if Balor isn’t coming back before the WrestleMania 33 build really starts to take off after the Rumble, how does he work into the company’s plans for their biggest show?

Balor’s start on the main roster was quicker and bigger than any before him, including the likes of Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle and many others before him. He won a world title in his first pay-per-view match. That’s a big deal, so his inevitable return must be of a humongous proportion.

But, how?

The Demon King vs. The Deadman?

Chalk this one up to the whole “Sting vs. Undertaker dream match” that the world never got to see. The Icon and The Deadman were a dream match ever since Sting’s Crow character took off to unprecedented heights in WCW. Everyone and their mother wanted to see those two duke it out someday.

Here’s another opportunity for a match full of darkness, excitement and really long, but really great entrances: Finn Balor vs. The Undertaker.

The opportunity of facing The Deadman at WrestleMania doesn’t bring the allure it used to with The Streak being over and Undertaker’s health deteriorating over the past few years, but it would still be interesting if Balor could get one more awesome match out of The Undertaker in his return to full-time action.

What if the Royal Rumble winner is from SmackDown?

There’s been just one instance where the winner of the Royal Rumble chose a title that wasn’t on his show: Chris Benoit in 2004. (I don’t know if I’m allowed to say his name, but WWE still has him on their network’s programming, so hear me out.)

Benoit, a member of the SmackDown roster during the 2004 Rumble, won the match from the No. 1 slot, thus earning a shot at a world title at WrestleMania XX. Benoit wanted a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship, which was on Raw. So, he switched brands, defeated Triple H and Shawn Michaels in a Triple Threat Match and captured the Big Gold Belt in dramatic fashion inside Madison Square Garden.

If the winner of this year’s Rumble doesn’t do something similar and doesn’t come to challenge for the Universal title, Raw won’t have a main event for WrestleMania 33. (The Elimination Chamber pay-per-view will return next month and be exclusive to SmackDown Live.)

What if Balor comes back during the time where Raw is putting their main event for WrestleMania together? With the Fastlane pay-per-view in between the Rumble and ‘Mania, Raw could get creative with a No.1 contender tournament, a “Beat the Clock challenge”, a battle royal, etc.

Why not bring Balor into the mix during the build to clinch a spot in Raw‘s main event for the Universal title he never lost?

Speaking of SmackDown, what if Balor does actually come back for the Rumble? Bullet Club vs. Bullet Club at ‘Mania?

For the purposes of having fun, let’s say Finn Balor does come back for the 30-man free-for-all this month, and to make things really fun, let’s say he wins the whole shebang.

That means Balor gets a shot at the Universal title he never lost or the WWE World Championship on SmackDown Live currently held by … the man that replaced him as the leader of the Bullet Club in New Japan Pro Wrestling: AJ Styles.

Could you imagine Balor switching brands right off the bat, going to SmackDown, and challenging Styles in the main event for the blue brand in Orlando? It would just be a match filled with 40 “Holy s—!” chants and 20+ minutes of amazing action from bell-to-bell.

In terms of dream matches, this one probably sits near the top of the current WWE roster.

Whatever Balor does, he’ll be back to shoot a much-needed jolt into the product

To some, the Raw brand has been lulling along after the big swerve this past summer with Owens winning the Universal title thanks to Triple H’s interference after Balor’s injury.

With Balor back in the fold, assuming Balor obviously stays on Raw, the red brand gets a huge face (literally) back in the fold for their biggest show of the year and moving forward afterwards.

Whether it’s The Undertaker, Seth Rollins after his potential tangle with Triple H, Roman Reigns (fingers crossed he turns heel, right?), AJ Styles or even renewing the classic Kevin Owens feud from NXT, Balor being back is simply huge for WWE altogether in the grand scheme of things.