By Matthew Klink (@klinkmatt)

August 14, 2018

Boy oh boy, what an exciting match to write about…

Well, you’ve got Constable Corbin (easily the best work he’s done while on the main roster and NXT) vs the Demon, Finn Balor (easily the most boring feud for Balor since joining the main roster or on NXT). As the days, weeks, and months go on, I keep wondering if things will ever turn around for Finn. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you see it), they may have hit rock bottom. And if I ever had to guess, I would’ve never thought that Corbin would find a place to shine. The ironic thing is, it’s happening while they are working together.

This feud and character for Corbin is absolute bronze (I’m not really ready to say gold yet). Constable Corbin is a douche. Plain and simple. And for whatever reason, it didn’t work when he was trying to be a wrestler douche. But god damn! Does it work well when he’s trying to be an authority figure douche.

We’ve had douche managers and commissioner before, but not like this. Even compared to the mayor of Knox County, Kane (tee hee, I mean Glenn Jacobs), the corporate version of his character never came off as douchey as Corbin’s. But there’s something about Corbin’s style. Being a douche that could bully you, legitimately, makes me think back to High School and shitty gym teachers. They weren’t all bad, but gym teachers definitely came with a pre-packaged character-flaw, that dorks like me created for them. And regardless if they mastered our respect or not, they had the authority to tell us what to do (Dodgeball and all).

I’ll end it there before this turns into a therapy session (to steal a line from Seth Rollins) and get back to why this has been successful for Corbin.

When you’re tough, as Corbin is, you need to have a tough voice to pull off being a bully. Or at least be intimidating. For Corbin, at no fault of his own, his voice is not entirely intimidating. And his acting chops never did his voice any favors either. Even when he was trying to be mean, it came off as laughable. One: he was losing every match, meaning we didn’t believe him or have to worry about his threats. Two: His voice didn’t create fear. If Undertaker lost a match, you’d still fear him because of his incredible and scary persona.

Constable Corbin doesn’t need to win. He’ll have the power and authority whether we respect him or not. He’ll be able to come out on a weekly basis and bully the faces and befriend the heels. He can even come with a litany of excuse for any shortcomings and whether we care or not, his status as Constable means we’ll have to listen. It’s a win-win for Corbin at SummerSlam.

That brings us to Finn.

Oh how the mighty have become WWE main roster superstars and fallen.

It’s not a unique story that Finn Balor is living. A former NXT star, who can’t get a title shot to save his life. The truth is, NXT is a short term situation for WWE superstars and talent. It’s a performance center that is used to help nurture and grow the future of the WWE. Finn couldn’t stay there forever and while some might argue he never wanted to leave, I’m sure the money might be reason enough. The scary thing for Balor and his fans is how much worse it could look if Corbin wins at SummerSlam.

While Balor got the victory over Corbin at the last Pay-Per-View, he still needs the win here. A loss erases the victory last month and puts Balor in some sort of storyline limbo, where he’ll have to fend off Corbin for another month. Balor needs something to help him look strong and getting as far away from Corbin would do that. To get far away he’ll need that second straight win to solidify himself as the better man. Don't even make it a question worth asking. Finn needs to look better than Corbin.

Being pitted against the Constable for two straight Pay-Per-Views is almost criminal…but three…it’ll be one hell of a climb to become legitimate again.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I know that Finn Balor is one pin away, in a number one contenders match, from being back in the title picture. But that isn’t what we should hope for. All year, these wrestlers take us on different journeys. These journeys need to mean something. Sometimes it means you are truly great and sometimes it means you’re headed for a hell turn. It can mean so many things, but its better if follows along some sort of path with purpose. Not just aimless storylines that offer a chance to make everyone look good.

For Finn Balor's storyline with Corbin to have meaning, he needs to show the WWE Universe that he is above this squabbling. His character is on the roster to be in the main event and his two-straight victories over Corbin should prove he is worth paying attention to. At least from the perspective of hitting that proverbial "next rung of the ladder".

This decision is obvious to me. Some of it biased, being that I am a huge Balor fan. But like I said, the Constable is on a different path and will be able to keep his douchey character in tact even if he were to lose convincingly. His character has no potential for earning gold. His character (if he ever gets gold) will just up and take it. Finn needs the win to be a legitimate contender. And he should get it.

T

We are fully booked booked for SummerSlam! I am loving this card. If you haven't made plans yet, don't forget to be on your couch on August 19th for the biggest show of the summer! Catch up with the Brothers of Discussion Analysis of every match here on BODPodcast.com

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Sunday, August 19th, 7PM EST

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