Teaming with Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson Puts Finn Balor's WWE Future in Danger

The January 8 edition of Monday Night Raw ended for the first time in a while with Finn Balor standing tall, victorious over current champions Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan. It looked like the perfect moment for the former WWE universal champion, but it's possible this was a one-time event.

The catalyst for Balor's main-event victory was an alliance with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, his backstage friends and former allies. While it is easy to get excited about this stable finally coming together in WWE, the rushed nature of this pairing brings with it the potential for The Extraordinary Man Who Does Extraordinary Things to lose what standing he has in WWE.

When Finn Balor first signed with WWE, he was primarily known as one of the founding members of Bullet Club, a group of foreign performers invading New Japan Pro-Wrestling that has grown into a mainstream attraction still going strong to this day. Despite this, Balor was largely built up as his own man through NXT.

When AJ Styles, the man who replaced Balor as the head of Bullet Club, signed with WWE along with fellow Club members Gallows and Anderson, Balor was still left out as the trio briefly worked as a unit to take over the company, targeting Reigns and John Cena.

The former Prince Devitt only got to tease his friendship with Gallows and Anderson occasionally. WWE has changed that in 2018, though, by beginning the new year with a bang as Balor finally aligned himself with Gallows and Anderson, and the trio has looked dominant in its first two weeks.

However, while there was obvious excitement for the Bullet Club appearing in some form in WWE and its quick success breeds some confidence in the alliance, it is still difficult to trust that WWE will do this trio right. The Balor Club could easily fall apart if WWE is not careful.

Credit: WWE.com

Casual WWE fans likely have little idea what to make of Balor's alliance with Gallows and Anderson. The former tag team champions have gone completely unused for over six months. After losing their Raw Tag Team Championships to the returning Hardy Boyz, Gallows and Anderson have been enhancement talent at best.

Meanwhile, Balor has always been a solo act. In 2017, Balor had just six tag team matches on WWE programming, and he has rarely kept the same partner from match to match. He has always been the fast-paced high flier and the man who can summon The Demon. His gimmick was not tailored to work with others.

While WWE should be able to sell the trio over time, it made little sense to rush them together. This could have been a story told over weeks and even months. It still isn't even clear if Gallows and Anderson are suddenly faces or if they are slowly turning Balor heel.

This rushed booking can cripple this group. Even with its big win, how much can casual fans take Balor Club seriously? Even at their peak, Gallows and Anderson only seemed to be holding Styles back. The Phenomenal One only won the WWE Championship after being separated from his two friends.

Perhaps the biggest issue is simply that it is difficult to see how Gallows and Anderson fit with Balor. As a face, Balor cannot accept help from Gallows and Anderson in matches. If Balor is The Demon, the two would just look silly by his side, which may mean there are no plans for The Demon to appear in the near future.

Balor has had success without his signature body paint, but he has only been booked as a top star with the body paint. The Demon is undefeated on the main roster while Balor has lost to Bray Wyatt, Kane, Samoa Joe and Elias in recent months. Gallows and Anderson may give more credibility to Balor without the paint, but they could take away from what made Balor popular.

Recent rumors—originally from The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer—have suggested that Vince McMahon does not see Balor as a top star, at least not without The Demon paint. It has even been suggested that the original plan for Royal Rumble 2018 was Balor vs. WWE universal champion Brock Lesnar, but Vince decided against that due to his concerns about Balor.

It is certainly possible that Balor Club was formed precisely because there are no plans for Balor as a solo act. However, it is also possible that this alliance is only setting up Balor to win the Royal Rumble match and challenge AJ Styles at WrestleMania.

Balor Club is a cool addition to Raw right now because it is fresh and has a proven track record. Balor has looked more excited to wrestle in the past two weeks than he looked almost all of 2017. That certainly gives fans many reasons to believe this is the right move for Balor, but this could just as easily fall apart.

If WWE grows bored with the trio or it takes a few too many losses, it will cripple the credibility it still needs to build up. Gallows and Anderson have nowhere to go but up right now, but Balor was on the edge of main-event relevance. Balor Club failing could ruin his chances of ever being a top star in WWE.