Before he was the main roster’s Head of Creative, Triple H headed NXT and revolutionized wrestling. Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura were some of his prized possessions during his time heading the developmental program/third brand. Yet, they never translated their success to the main roster. HHH was supposed to change their booking, but nothing such happened when he became the main roster’s Head of Creative. So what took place before that made their main roster booking like this? Why haven’t these two broken out despite a regime change?
Finn Balor- From Triple H’s gem in NXT to a perennial loser in the main roster
Finn Balor was one of HHH’s biggest acquisitions when he was heading NXT. Balor was used like one as well. He had prominent feuds and won the NXT title within a year of his debut. His reign was long(292 days) and he felt like a big star. Yet, at that time, there were fears, too, because Vince McMahon might just misuse him.
Vince surprised many when Finn Balor was made the first Universal Champion at SummerSlam 2016 and was propelled straight to the moon. The reign, however, was short-lived as he had to give up the title the following night on Raw due to an injury he had acquired during the title bout.
In the years that followed, he recovered from his injury but found it difficult to restore the lost momentum. Aside from his brief stints as the “Demon King,” a couple of unsuccessful mid-card title reigns, and a brief stint back in NXT, his career in WWE was brought back to life by the Judgement Day faction.
Balor has had three notable title reigns during this time, including two that lasted more than 170 days, and the faction has been a major staple on WWE programming for the previous two years.
He still lost too many times during this period. Balor has just two wins in singles matches since September 2023. He lost important matches against Seth Rollins, Edge, Damien Priest, Bronn Breakker, etc.
With the number of losses he has had, his name has become Pin Balor. Despite a regime change, HHH has also somewhat misused his acquisition in the main roster. Yet, there is still hope that Balor will rise with his new storyline with Dominik Mysterio. This other gentleman, though, was a lost cause.
Shinsuke Nakamura- NXT rockstar turned directionless heel
Shinsuke Nakamura was another Triple H acquisition for the NXT brand in 2016. He was already a well-known name with three IWGP Heavyweight Championships. He also brought the NJPW’s IC title to the fore. In NXT, he started with a banger against Sami Zayn. Then, won the NXT title two times and was swiftly called up.
When Shinsuke Nakamura was called up to the main roster in 2017, wrestling fans were terrified for their sanity because they were convinced that Vince McMahon was waiting to spoil another NXT success story. When McMahon booked “The King of Strong Style” to win the 2018 Royal Rumble match and secure a dream matchup with AJ Styles at WrestleMania 34, they exhaled with relief.
However, when Nakamura lost the WWE title fight vs. Styles, it was a punch to the gut(or rather a punch to the groins). He wouldn’t regain that momentum ever again. He has had a few midcard titles but none of them have been very good. The defenses have been few and far between and a lot of the matches were lackluster.
Some hoped that under Triple H, Nakamura would be booked better but it was no different. Other than a character change, it has been the same.
He even won the US title recently but had a lackluster reign. Now, his status with the company is unknown after losing the belt.
Nakamura’s time with WWE has been really mediocre compared to the expectations of the audience. Triple H didn’t change any of that.
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