Finn Balor to Face Brock Lesnar at WWE Royal Rumble 2019 After Fatal 4-Way Win

Finn Balor will challenge for the Universal Championship at the 2019 WWE Royal Rumble.

The Irishman won a Fatal 4-Way match on Raw Monday to earn a shot at universal champion Brock Lesnar. He hit John Cena with the Coup de Grace to secure the pinfall. After the match, the veteran put Balor over big in front of the WWE Universe.

Balor was the first-ever universal champion, but his reign lasted fewer than 24 hours after he suffered a shoulder injury in his win over Seth Rollins at SummerSlam 2016.

Coincidentally, an injury to another star likely precipitated his move up the Royal Rumble card. WWE Chairman Vince McMahon removed Braun Strowman from the match against Lesnar after The Monster Among Men ripped off a door to his limousine.

That was almost certainly cover for the fact Strowman hasn't fully recovered from elbow surgery.

WWE never seemed to fully get behind Balor once he got back inside the ring after nearly a year out injured. Even his contractually obligated return match for the Universal Championship happened on the Aug. 20, 2018, edition of Raw and ended with him losing to Roman Reigns.

Pitting him against Lesnar could be a sign McMahon is ready to let Balor carry the flag for the red brand.

Balor competed at NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool over the weekend and beat Jordan Devlin in what was a well-received match. McMahon tweeted that he witnessed the event and that it was "awesome."

While WWE wouldn't elevate Balor to a title match based solely on TakeOver, it may have been the last hurdle necessary for him to get back into the major title scene.