Projecting Finn Balor's Long-Term Outlook After Move to WWE SmackDown Live

One of the more pleasant surprises coming out of WWE's 2019 Superstar Shake-up was Finn Balor's move to SmackDown Live and how he brought the Intercontinental Championship with him.

Balor has been a member of the Monday night roster since his main-roster debut in the summer of 2016. There, he became the inaugural Universal champion as well as a two-time holder of the Intercontinental title.

However, Raw never felt like the right fit for him. He was always playing second fiddle to the likes of Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman, meaning there wasn't much of a chance he'd return to the main-event scene where he belongs.

Thankfully, SmackDown will provide Balor with a much-needed change of scenery as well as an opportunity to switch up his stagnant gimmick. Don't let his current status as the Intercontinental champion distract you from how he has hardly evolved as a character over the past three years.

To WWE's credit, they were determined to make him a major deal from the get-go by having him beat Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins in clean fashion within weeks. The injury he suffered at SummerSlam 2016 halted his momentum indefinitely, and unfortunately, he was never able to regain that same steam upon his eventual return.

Balor spun his wheels for years in pointless programs with Bray Wyatt and Baron Corbin before finally capturing the Intercontinental title in February. It's a good spot for him to be in for the time being, but SmackDown will need more main-event players long-term, and Balor can help fill that void.

Credit: WWE.com

With AJ Styles, Samoa Joe and Rey Mysterio all switching shows in the Shake-up, this summer would be an ideal time for Balor to enter the WWE Championship picture, once he wraps up his run with the Intercontinental title, that is.

The blue brand needs main-event level babyfaces to make up for those who made the move to Raw. There's no telling when Kofi Kingston will drop the WWE Championship, and Kevin Owens is a natural heel, so Balor is bound to receive more focus in the coming months.

He'll have plenty of fresh feuds waiting for him with Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton and Buddy Murphy. He wasn't given many chances to rip it up on Raw, but with opponents of that caliber, he could end up earning the title of SmackDown's resident workhorse before long.

There is also the possibility of Balor reuniting with his buddies Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson after the trio known as Balor Club was broken up in the 2018 Superstar Shake-up.

All of them were worse off because of the split, but they can reunite now that they're on the same show again. Although Gallows and Anderson are reportedly on their way out of the promotion, a Balor Club reunion might be enough to convince them to stick around, especially if they were positioned more prominently on the blue brand.

Their first stint as a stable was fun, but the three of them could take SmackDown by storm if they were to turn heel. They did their best work together as villains while with Bullet Club in New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Balor has been a babyface for his entire tenure in WWE, so him going rogue at some point could be what he needs to rejuvenate his career. Not only would Balor Club be a fantastic foil for The New Day, a rivalry between the two factions could lead to Kingston vs. Balor for the WWE title.

Balor winning the prestigious prize by the end of 2019 isn't far-fetched if he's able to maintain momentum and remains on the road to super stardom. He must first lose the Intercontinental title and escape the midcard scene as quickly as possible so he can begin his ascent toward the top of the card.

Considering SmackDown isn't stacked with star power the same way Raw is at the moment, Balor will be better off on the blue brand going forward.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is an Endicott College alumnus and aspiring journalist. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling, and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.