Finn Balor has again missed out on winning World Championship gold, in no small part thanks to Damian Priest.
The spectre of their match seven years earlier at the same event hung heavy, with Seth Rollins coming to the ring in the same vest he wore in 2026. While Balor had the word “seven” painted across the shoulder he injured in that contest.
Throughout the match, Balor targeted Rollins’ own shoulder, hitting hit into the ring post and even hitting a buckle-bomb on the outside — this was the move that injured the Irish star seven years ago.
Despite this, Rollins did what Seth Rollins always does, he found a way to keep fighting, busting open Balor’s lip in the process.
The match turned with the arrival to ringside of Damian Priest and the Money In The Bank briefcase. Priest smashed Rollins with a huge right hand, as Balor followed up with a Pedigree, but somehow Rollins kicked out.
This brought out Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio, and Priest tried to get in the ring with the briefcase, but all he did was open the door for Rollins to hit a stomp. Incredibly, Balor kicked out, and after Rollins took out Priest and Mysterio, the champion was attacked once again, but kicked out of Coupe de grace.
With pandemonium in the stands, Priest threw the briefcase in the ring again as the tension increased between himself and Rollins stepped up a few more notches. Balor was quick to go after the briefcase, but as Priest distracted the referee Rollins hit a stomp on Balor onto the briefcase to sneak a win.
As the bell rang, Priest looked on emotionless despite the disgust of Balor in the ring. Was Priest trying to help or trying to cash in the briefcase?
Has Finn Balor Been World Champion Before?
Back at SummerSlam 2016, Finn Balor defeated Seth Rollins to become the first-ever Universal Champion.
However, Balor was forced to give up the gold just 24 hours later due to an injury suffered in the match. Since then, the Irish star has flirted with the main event and the World Championship but was never firmly established as a main event star. Balor even returned to NXT in 2019 in an effort to establish himself.
Finn Balor has previously enjoyed significant success outside of WWE, winning the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title three times and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles six times. Balor also triumphed in the Best of the Super Juniors tournament twice.