WWE Rumors on Finn Balor's Trade, Drew McIntyre's Return and NXT Star Impressing Backstage

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Finn Bálor Gets a Fresh Start

After WWE unveiled the King of the Ring bracket on Sunday, fans took notice that Finn Bálor was listed as a SmackDown wrestler despite being a longstanding member of the Raw roster.

WWE officially confirmed Bálor had been traded to SmackDown on Monday with an announcement by Byron Saxton during Raw.

Per Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE's creative team moved Bálor to the Blue Brand to both keep him apart from the Judgment Day and to give him a fresh start.

Both reasons are logical since Bálor was kicked out of Judgment Day way back in March for refusing to help Dominik Mysterio. He has been a babyface essentially since his match with CM Punk at Elimination Chamber when the two shook hands after Punk retained the world heavyweight title.

Bálor got his revenge on his former faction by beating Mysterio at WrestleMania in a street fight, then later winning two out of three matches with JD McDonagh.

The move to SmackDown gives the brand another high mid-card babyface, as well as opens up plenty of new feuds for Bálor. His first match as a SmackDown wrestler will be in the first round of the King of the Ring tournament against Jey Uso, LA Knight and Royce Keys.

Update on Drew McIntyre's Return

Even though Drew McIntyre was apparently close to being called into action if Jacob Fatu had been unable to compete at Clash in Italy, there are no plans for the Scottish Warrior to return to television in the immediate future.

Per PW Insider and F4WOnline.com (h/t Geno Mrosko of Cageside Seats), it doesn't appear as if McIntyre is coming back imminently.

Amid rumors about an injury to Fatu that left his status for the Clash in Italy show on Sunday, McIntyre was reportedly considered as a replacement if WWE needed someone to step in.

There was also some thought that McIntyre was coming back for the King of the Ring tournament after WWE published a bracket on Monday that had him in the field, even though he wasn't part of the initial reveal from Sunday.

Both PW Insider and F4WOnline.com noted the bracket with McIntyre was simply posted by mistake and the original 16-man tournament is the correct one.

McIntyre has been off WWE television since Wrestlemania 42 when he lost to Fatu in an unsanctioned street fight. He was written off in order to give him time to complete filming on the upcoming Highlander movie.

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select noted on May 29 that McIntyre has finished filming his role.

It will be interesting to see where McIntyre lands when he returns. He has been on the SmackDown brand, but WWE notably didn't mention what Raw got back in the trade for Bálor.

With SmackDown set to go back to two hours very soon, there could be more opportunities for McIntyre on Raw.

Nikkita Lyons Earning Praise

As the NXT roster continues to be reshaped in the wake of the post-WrestleMania call-ups, one name that could become a factor in the women's division is Nikkita Lyons.

Per False Finish, WWE officials have been "very impressed" with Lyons' recent work on Evolve and NXT shows but she is not expected to receive a main-roster call-up soon.

Originally signed by WWE in 2021, Lyons' in-ring career has been disrupted by injuries. She spent most of last year working on Evolve before returning to NXT television in January.

Lyons has also ben featured on WWE LFG recently. Her most recent television match was a loss to Maxxine Dupri on Main Event on May 18.

The NXT women's division was hit hard by the call-ups, with Blake Monroe being the most recent one to SmackDown. Sol Ruca and all three members of Fatal Influence went to the Raw brand.

Lola Vice and Tatum Paxley are the two NXT women's singles champions, but they will need more contenders as the year goes on. As long as Lyons can stay healthy, there's no reason she can't be in the mix for a top spot on the developmental brand as this year goes along if she continues to impress WWE officials.