Less than 24 hours after becoming the first ever WWE Universal Champion, Finn Balor had to relinquish the championship belt due to an injury suffered in the championship match at Summerslam against his opponent, Seth Rollins.
Balor will miss approximately up to six months of action with a torn labrum.
The injury occurred when Rollins buckle-bombed Balor onto the barricades during the match. Balor extended his arm during the movie and dislocated his shoulder. Moments later, he was able to pop his shoulder back into place and finish the match and win the title.
“It’s a release powerbomb, you’re supposed to run with them and release them, obviously,” former WWE wrestler Matt Morgan said after watching the match. “He [Balor] shouldn’t have put his arm out, but Finn is a hell of a worker so I’m sure there was a reason for it. It’s one of those things that happen, bad timing.”
“It’s one of those crazy things,” Morgan added. “Lord I hope he doesn’t slow anything down because of it. He’s one of my favorite guys to watch – him and Kevin Owens. I love watching Rollins, I think he’s the complete package. I think he’s still improving on the mic and feeling himself out as a character, but I love watching him work. I hope that this doesn’t make him start to taper back with what he does out there.
Balor did have successful shoulder surgery, sharing photos on his Instagram following the procedure.
“Finn’s injury was pretty severe, more severe than normal,” Dr. Jeffrey Dugas said. “A really high energy injury, it did more damage than a standard shoulder dislocation where you simply tear the labrum. The prognosis is excellent, however. We were able to fix it all and put it back where it came from. I’m anticipating him getting back at full speed.”
Last year, WWE Hall of Famer Sting suffered an injury when selling the same move wrong in a match against Rollins. Due to the injury, Sting retired from in-ring action after over 20 years.
