Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor: The Good, Bad and Ugly of Current WWE Feud

The electric collision of talent that is the Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor rivalry isn't flawed so much as unfinished.

Balor's clash with Rollins at SummerSlam has massive promise. To maximize it, WWE must display more of who Balor is. There's work to be done on the front of character development.

That being said, fans have good reason to be excited.

WWE boldly chose to rocket an unproven asset straight into the No. 1 contender's spot for the new WWE Universal Championship. The company backed Balor right away, banking on his potential stardom on day one of his arrival to Raw. That's the kind of move that needs to be a hallmark of the New Era.

That boldness doesn't come without risk.

The first glimpse we saw of Balor in the spotlight was a reminder of that. In his verbal showdown with The Architect on Monday's Raw, Balor looked a touch hesitant—like a player not yet used to his new team.

That will fade, though. Balor is a bona fide megastar in the making.

In the early going, there is little to critique with Rollins vs. Balor. And WWE still has two weeks left to flesh out this rivalry, introduce Balor to a wider audience and allow him to get his footing in the new environment.

The Good

It's not often that WWE can bill a match as a first-ever meeting of two stars. Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins is one of those rare cases.

Starting off the New Era with something so fresh is smart. WWE could have gone with another Rollins vs. Roman Reigns match at SummerSlam. That would have been the safer move. Instead, WWE is showing surprising chutzpah in elevating Balor to this level so early.

In doing so, the company has created a pairing of rivals that instantly clicked. There was a buzz around this matchup as soon as Balor defeated Reigns two weeks ago to earn his crack at Rollins and the WWE Universal Championship.

The folks at the New Age Insiders podcast tweeted, "I never realized how badly I wanted Balor vs. Rollins until it became the only thing I wanted."

So far, the heart of the narrative has been the title. Rollins believes he deserves to be Raw's top champion. Balor is set on proving that he can rule as champ.

There are clear stakes in this story. Both men have a chance to make history by becoming the first wrestler to hold this newly created title. There's already a compelling intensity between the foes.

These elements combined with how skilled both Superstars are in the ring assure that the SummerSlam match will be tremendous.

And WWE will have ample reason to book several sequels afterward.

The Bad

Unlike many feuds, Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor's biggest flaw is not a hard fix.

Balor charged onto Raw's top tier before many of those watching knew much about him. The fans who saw him reign atop NXT for the past two years are already psyched about what's ahead. He's still mostly a stranger to more casual fans, though.

WWE did not air vignettes introducing his character before his Raw debut. It didn't hype his arrival. It simply drafted him to Raw and scripted him to strut out onto the entrance ramp before killing it in the ring.

That's not going to be enough moving forward.

For fans to invest in Balor, WWE needs to explore his character more. Officials did an excellent job of that at NXT, producing a video in which he discussed his inner demon, as well as a series of videos entitled "Who is Finn Balor?"

Of these vignettes, Will Pruett of ProWrestling.net tweeted, "The multitude of Finn Balor videos on NXT this week were exactly what I was hoping to see. We know who he is now."

WWE needs to repeat that approach for the Raw audience.

Rollins is a well-established figure, someone fans have seen rise and fall. The Demon hasn't been on display like that yet.

Until WWE digs into Balor's character, the Universal Championship feud will be missing half of the tale.

The Ugly

There is always an adjustment period when switching stages, no matter how talented one is.

That's what WWE has to be worried about with Finn Balor. He went from NXT to Raw—from crowds of hundreds to thousands. For the moment, that move has seen the former NXT champ be slightly off his game.

He and Rollins faced off on Monday's Raw in an exchange that began with trash talk and ended with a brawl. The talking part of the moment shined a light on Balor's weak point: his mic skills.

The clash entertained, but Balor never got into high gear. Greg Parks of PWTorch tweeted, "Balor did well on the mic, but I never got the sense he had a real confident presence in the ring opposite Rollins there."

One night later, Dolph Ziggler and Dean Ambrose had their own verbal showdown. Those two outdid Balor and Rollins' interaction, showing off more intensity and oomph.

The Brand's Vince Russo tweeted, "If [anyone] believes Balor-Rollins exchange was even in same ballpark as Ambrose-Ziggler—run to the emergency room and have a CAT scan."

WWE is going to have to find a way to hype Balor vs. Rollins without asking too much of the former right away. He needs to be eased into the mix as a talker. Rollins needs to play the lead role.

Otherwise, WWE will be doing Balor and this rivalry a disservice.

Projections

The plot will become more complex as it moves along.

As of now, Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor is a story of an alpha male fending off a new arrival to the pack and a battle over a championship. But WWE is sure to work The Club in at some point.

The company played off AJ Styles' pre-WWE relationship with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson earlier this year. The Club name is a reference to the faction's name in New Japan Pro Wrestling—The Bullet Club.

Balor was the leader of the original version of that outfit. Fans will be pining to see it reform in WWE, with Gallows and Anderson joining forces with their old chief. WWE will oblige them. It's too easy of a story not to write.

Expect Balor's alter ego, The Demon, to play a big part in this feud, too.

Rollins may push Balor too far en route to SummerSlam and awaken that dark side of his challenger. WWE will want Balor to deliver one of his spectacular entrances at the marquee pay-per-view, not to mention increase sales of Balor's demon-themed merchandise.

And as unlikely as it seems, WWE is going to crown Balor. What better way to announce that we have arrived in the New Era than to end SummerSlam with a new star holding up a new championship above his head?