Finn Balor became the first WWE superstar to win a major title in his first pay-per-view appearance when he captured the inaugural WWE Universal Championship in a match for the vacant title against Seth Rollins at SummerSlam on Sunday night in Brooklyn.
Unfortunately for Balor, he suffered a serious shoulder injury in the match when he was powerbombed into the barricade outside the ring. As such, he will miss up to six months of action with a torn labrum and has been forced to relinquish his title less than 24 hours after winning it.
Raw general manager Mick Foley announced the news Monday evening on Twitter.
Due to his injury, @StephMcMahon and I jointly accept @FinnBalor relinquishing of the @WWE Universal Championship. #Raw
— Mick Foley (@RealMickFoley) August 22, 2016
Balor showed his toughness in completing the match after taking this bad bump off the barricade. You can see Balor's right shoulder land awkwardly and then you can see him grab his arm and try to pop his shoulder back into place.
EXCLUSIVE: See the exact moment @FinnBalor suffered an injury during his @WWE@SummerSlam match against @wwerollins! https://t.co/TSKBZ7qJxS
— WWE (@WWE) August 22, 2016
WWE's ringside doctor confirmed on WWE.com that Balor popped his shoulder back in and said that, along with the dislocated shoulder, Balor had a possible labrum tear.
"He hit the wall during the match, dislocated his shoulder and was able to put it back in himself in a split second," said ringside physician Dr. Chris Robinson. Bálor was able to finish the match, but Dr. Robinson noted that an MRI yielded results earlier today showing "a possible labrum tear."
The injury is extremely unfortunate for the former NXT champion, who was an immediate fan favorite as soon as he arrived on the main roster following the WWE Draft and brand split. It's also a blow to Raw's plans for the new universal title, as they were already trying to get the belt to be popular with fans (who voiced their displeasure with the bright red appearance of the strap).
With Balor, they had a champion fans would get behind, but now creative must figure out a new direction to go in with the belt. Rollins, whom Balor beat in an underrated match Sunday night, makes the most sense to take the title. It would set up a potential money rematch between Balor, who never lost the belt, and Rollins at an upcoming pay-per-view.
