Should Balor turn heel on Samoa Joe?

[TheMainEvent]

Everyone is assuming that Samoa Joe is going to turn heel on Finn Balor following the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Tournament to setup a feud and match for the NXT Title. That is the obvious route and most likely what the WWE are going to do, but after seeing Smackdown this weekend and Finn coming out with his leather jacket and a little bit of that "Rock 'n Rolla Prince Devitt" swagger I started to think about a heel turn for the champ.

It could work if Finn starts to adopt a bit more of the cocky heel tendancies on a weekly basis and start to butt heads with Joe during their tag matches. Could even have Balor walk out on the final match claiming "I'm dont need this, I'm already the NXT champion". Finally have an official heel turn a few weeks later after attacking Joe from behind. If they really wanted to turn up the heat have him align with someone like The Mechanics to create a "Balor Club" to help take out a now super monster face pissed off Samoa Joe. This creates a new heel group in NXT, Balor as the cocky heel champion, and sets Joe up to be the top face hell bent on destroying Balor but having to deal with the Balor Club in the process. Plus when Hideo returns Balor has a built in feud if they prove he attacked Hideo to get the title shot in Japan and claims he is the greatest wrestler to come from Japan, etc. Thoughts on this? Should Balor turn heel in a month or so and essentially mix up the dynamic in NXT?

 

[Sexcellence of Sexecution]

No.

This is a case where the obvious move is definitely the right move. Balor is over big time as a babyface, and has become the face of NXT in many ways. His body paint look is much more suited to a babyface, and his entrance has great crowd involvement. Now is not the time to turn him. Joe on the other hand could easily work as a heel. He's over, but he's not the top guy by any stretch. So I think either Joe should turn or they just go the face vs face route where it's simply two high level competitors that can't co-exist as a team. They have their match to settle their differences and could shake hands at the end. Either way, Balor stays babyface.

 

[Vanilla Midget]

I couldn't agree with you more, insofar as a Balor heel turn is concerned. I've been saying since Hideo was written off TV that the obvious man in Owens wouldn't be the culprit. Couple that with the fact that KO is now a main roster talent and you've got yourself a hanging plot thread.

Who benefited the most from Hideo being on the shelf? He missed a number one contenders match featuring Breeze, and Finn Balor. Balor won, went on to win the NXT title in Japan, Itami's home country and Balor's adopted.

Breeze is too obvious, he's a heel and he already feuded with Itami. The Balor heel turn just makes sense, but VS Joe is too soon. Why the heel turn, just because they lose the tag team tournament? Because they win? Neither makes any sense.

I'd have Joe and Balor enter a feud together as a direct result of the tournament. Friends can and have feuded, and I expect the two men to feud as a result of their pairing, but why bother with a heel turn? I would certainly tease one, but what's the long term payoff?

The longterm payoff is Itami should be ready to return come the Januray to February timeframe. The next Takeover is October, that will feature the culmination of the Dusty tag team tournament, the next Takeover is December. That will be Joe vs Balor.

If Finn is to be revealed as the man who took out Hideo, the blow is going to be soften if Hideo returns to an already revealed villian in Balor. Talk about boring? "oh the guy who was an evil dick to Samoa Joe is an evil dick to to Hideo Itami too and took his thunder in his own country which is just pure good storytelling and will be surprising although only make sense?" Yeah.

Hideo returns for a little game of "Who ran down Stone Cold?" only it's, "Who attacked Itami?" Hideo conveiniently won't rememeber the attack (despite being shelved for a shoulder injury) and he and likely Regal will launch an investigation. Eventually a fan film will reveal the attack, then another will reveal Balor fleeing the scene. Massive shock as the hugely over babyface NXT champion is revealed as being a sadistic traitor and you set up your big spring feud for the NXT title. Balor VS Itami may even be the first NXT title match to take place at a Mania (even if only on the preshow, It'd be better on a Saturday Takeover rather Mania preshow).

This would make a great story that only just writes itself. WWE may swerve because there are so many of us predicting this outcome, but who cares? It would make a fantastic story and position the two men as hard rivals for years to come in either NXT or the main roster.

I don't think there is anything about Balor that screams too babyface. The paint can be worked into a heel character, just as easily as it can be shelved if he still receives a pop. The man has the face of master planner, there's something that says schemer in those eyes, that glare. That and his heel work as Price Devitt, we need heels like that in WWE more than we need faces.

As far as an eventual stable for Balor? I'd say WWE will go there. They need stables for the Wyatt family and an eventual Shield reunion to feud with. Stables often sell merchandise, nothing like crowd mentallity built into the content to move t-shirts. It won't feature the words Balor, bullet, or club though. WWE won't retread angles that other promotions have run, unless their names are WCW or ECW, and that's only after they own them. Anything that occurred in NJPW or ROH won't occur exactly as it did in WWE.

I'd book a stable of NXT guys to join Balor, let that be the modern NXT stable. Put Breeze, Bull, Joe, maybe even Apollo in it, but that's it. 3-4 tops. I would have said Itami before this feud but yeah.

Yes, Balor should turn heel and be revealed as Hideo's attacker. He should feud with Joe, but neither should leave the side of the angels, if anything just tease.

 

[Stan Hansen]

No.

Finn doesn't make sense as a heel. His ring entrance, his body paint, the crowd interaction, none of it fits a heel. He's a babyface and probably will be for a long time.

Keep it simple and either make it face vs face or turn Joe heel. It would be much easier for Joe to turn heel and I think they have even hinted at it slightly since he's debuted.

 

[JamJam]

Glad I wasn't the only one thinking this when I saw Balor and his new jacket. While it could work, I think WWE will keep him face. I have no idea what storyline they'll do with Balor/Joe but it can definitely be a face/face feud. NXT has been doing things that they don't do on the main shows, such as having their next PPV's main event be the divas match, so a face/face feud wouldn't be a long shot. I get why you'd think this way though, Balor can definitely play a heel. I also like the stable idea, haven't had that in NXT yet I believe.

But overall, I think WWE should keep Balor a face. Not sure how much longer he'll be on NXT as the main roster is calling his name at this very moment but NXT needs him more. If they do go the heel route, then I wouldn't mind.

 

[King502]

That would be best for business he should turn heel drop the body paint thing and just be a vicious old school heel that cheats to win attacks from behind (and yes he should be kenta attacker) he should even retreat when the situation doesn't suit him and I wouldn't mind if he is the heel that eventually slaps around the authority as well

 

[WarroBODFan]

I don't see why you can't have a face v face feud. It worked for Zayn V Neville, albeit Neville did some heel things but didn't change his character as such. Neither turned on the other. I can enjoy a Balor/Joe rivalry feud without having to turn either. But if one has to turn heel, it's going to be Joe. Balor is the money maker right now, and it'll only grow more once he's on the main roster.

 

[OYDK]

Meh, I could go either way but I think Joe would make the better heel in this feud if someone has to turn. In my opinion, Joe is one of those guys that just works better as a heel than a face. Everything about Joe screams "bad guy" and the best work of his career has been done when he goes into monster heel mode. Throw in Finn Balor, who is the the perfect babyface for Joe to play off of and it's a no-brainer.

I'm with Vanilla Midget in thinking that Balor's heel turn should be put off until Itami comes back. That would be a great showcase feud for both involved; Balor in his first feud as a heel and a great underdog story for Itami. Maybe Itami could even win as Balor will probably be on his way up around that time, or I would assume.

I'm hoping someone turns as I don't really dig the face vs face, "I respect you" feud at all. I'm also amazed that it's taken this long for them to even turn Joe... maybe they hoped he was going to be a marketing machine?

 

[Blade]

Finn is really good as a heel from what I've seen in Japan. However, with Zayn out injured, he's the biggest babyface in NXT, and they need him to stay that way. At least, until Zayn is back, or someone like Crews steps up.

Samoa Joe is underrated as a heel. There's something about him. Possibly his punchable face. But he's definitely better suited to be the heel here.

If Balor is to turn heel, it should probably be on Zayn. Because that would be a glorious feud, and Zayn is too damn likeable to be the heel in that scenario.