Every Finn Balor Championship Reign In WWE, Ranked Worst To Best

Finn Balor’s WWE career has been full of many ups and downs since he joined the company back in 2014. In his nearly eight years in WWE, he has had six championship reigns. Whilst that is more than some, it is perhaps not enough considering his immense quality inside the ropes, and a star power which he has showcased numerous times over the years.

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Some of Balor’s reigns have been great, providing brilliant matches for the fans, while others have been forgettable, pointless, and a waste of time. This spread of quality in his reigns is down to a variety of reasons, which will all be explored here.

6 United States Championship

This was Finn Balor’s most recent championship reign, as he surprisingly defeated Damian Priest to become the United States Champion in late February in 2022. This looked to be a fresh start for Balor, who had been wandering about the card without doing too much. However, he would lose several televised non-title matches, looking weak.

He would miss WrestleMania despite holding gold, and after nearly two months with the belt, he lost it in his first televised defense. This was one of the worst booked reigns in recent memory, damaging Balor’s standing even more. This reign may have lasted for nearly 50 days, but nothing good happened in that time, making it even worse than Balor’s one-day reign as Universal Champion.

5 Universal Championship

To claim that Finn Balor’s Universal Title reign wasn’t his worst, just goes to show how poor the United States one was. Finn Balor became the inaugural Universal Champion at SummerSlam 2016, defeating Seth Rollins in a great match, which was a good way to kick off a brand-new World Title belt. Unfortunately, Balor would receive a devastating injury during the match, ruling him out for up to nine months.

He would relinquish the title the next day, but at the very least, he made history by becoming the first ever champion of this prize, capping that off with a strong match. Unfortunately, Balor would never reclaim the title, making this reign sting even more, with him never having a proper run with the belt. This will forever hold a feeling of regret and missed opportunity.

4 Intercontinental Championship (First)

At the 2019 Elimination Chamber PPV, Finn Balor claimed his first main roster title by defeating Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush in a handicap match. He would pin Rush, making his win feel cheap, with him not gaining the win over the former champion. He would successfully defend the belt against Rush on an episode of Raw, but that would be it, as after just a few weeks, he dropped the title straight back to Lashley.

This was such a pointless reign for Balor, with it only serving to make him look like an unworthy titleholder. It felt even more pointless when considering that he won the title back from Lashley at WrestleMania 35, just a few weeks later. It would have been much more impactful had he won the title for the first time at the Grandest Stage of Them All, but WWE decided to instead produce some baffling booking for Balor.

3 Intercontinental Championship (Second)

At WrestleMania 35, Finn Balor swept past Bobby Lashley under his “Demon” persona, winning the Intercontinental Championship for a second time. This was much better than the first, with it actually having some substance. His performance at WrestleMania was a dominant display, with him looking strong.

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From there, Balor would have some strong defenses against the likes of Sami Zayn on the Raw after WrestleMania, and Andrade at Super ShowDown, which was one of the matches of the night. Unfortunately, his reign came to an end at the hands of Shinsuke Nakamura. The reign lasted 98 days, but it didn’t feature enough defenses by any means. Balor would have been the perfect candidate to be a long-term workhorse champion, but this didn’t come to fruition.

2 NXT Championship (Second)

In 2019, Finn Balor moved back to NXT to give the brand a boost upon its move to TV. He was immediately presented as a top name, with a new attitude that gave him an edge – different to anything fans had seen from him in WWE prior. He would eventually become NXT Champion for a second time, defeating Adam Cole.

Over the course of his reign, he had some of his best matches in years, facing the likes of Kyle O’Reilly, Pete Dunne, Adam Cole, and Karrion Kross, with each of those matches being highlights of the title reign. This reign lasted 212 days, and it contained great moments, with him being such a polished performer.

1 NXT Championship (First)

When Balor made his debut in NXT back in 2014, he immediately felt like the biggest star on the developmental brand, with him being hugely over with audience. His “Demon” alter ego was handled with respect, and it led to his climb to winning the NXT Championship at the main roster Beast In The East event in Japan, which produced a truly special moment as he overcame Kevin Owens.

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During his reign, Balor rarely lost, only passing out to Samoa Joe in a tag team match to push him as a threat. During his 292-day reign as champion, he defeated several opponents, such as Kevin Owens (this time in a ladder match), Tyler Breeze, and Baron Corbin, whilst also surviving against Samoa Joe at two separate TakeOver events, before finally losing on an NXT Live Event. His reign wasn’t jam-packed full of defenses, but he felt like a real star during this time, and his run as champion helped to turn NXT into a touring brand, with him as the centrepiece.