Finn Balor Reacts To Challenging Brock Lesnar For The Universal Championship At The Royal Rumble

After Braun Strowman ripped the door off of Vince McMahon’s limo during Raw, The Chairman stripped “The Monster Among Men” of his Universal Championship Match against Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble and made an impromptu Fatal 4-Way Match for later in the night to determine his new challenger. That match determined that “The Beast” will now face first-ever Universal Champion Finn Balor.

Prior to the matchup, however, former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal attempted to work his way into the mix, only to be bested by Balor in a one-on-one showdown to determine which Superstar would compete in the Fatal 4-Way Match.

Then, in his second matchup of the night, Balor triumphed over John Cena, Drew McIntyre and Baron Corbin to earn his opportunity to reclaim what was once his.

Balor pinned Cena to earn the Universal Championship Match. The finishing sequence saw Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment on Corbin, McIntyre give Cena a Claymore Kick, and Balor take out McIntyre with a DDT. Balor then hit the Coup de Grâce on Cena to get the win.

Cena got on the microphone after the match and put over Balor. He told Balor that he believes in him and said to give Lesnar hell at the Royal Rumble. An angle leading into the match included Balor saying tellin McMahon that he never believed in him, but the fans do.

In a post-match interview with Dasha Fuentes, Balor vows to reclaim the Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble.

“You know, a lot of people tonight questioned whether or not they believed in Finn Balor,” Balor said.

“Well, everyone knows my history with the Universal title and what’s important is that I believe that I can beat Brock Lesnar and become the new Universal Champion.”

Balor became the inaugural Universal Champion by defeating Seth Rollins at SummerSlam 2016, but he suffered a shoulder injury during the match and was forced to relinquish the title the next night on Raw.