Finn Balor reveals Seth Rollins turned down a major WWE match finish change after injury.
Speaking on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet, Balor reflected on dislocating his shoulder during the inaugural WWE Universal Championship match at SummerSlam 2016. While he said the injury wasn’t particularly painful, he immediately knew something was wrong.
“No pain, but I knew there was a big issue,” Balor said. “It had actually come out like three more times in the match because anytime I lifted my arm to hit the ropes, it had come out. I got whipped into the buckle one time, and it came out.”
Balor explained that he was fortunate to be sharing the ring with Rollins, whom he described as a consummate professional. After informing Rollins that he was hurt, the two began calling the match on the fly and altering planned sequences.
“I was very lucky to be in there with Seth when it happened because Seth is an absolute pro. We were able to communicate, and I was able to tell him, ‘Hey, I’m hurt.’ We were kind of calling the match on the fly, editing spots and changing spots and talking the whole time. The match that we did wasn’t actually the match that we’d laid out.”
Finn Balor Told Seth Rollins To Change Their WWE SummerSlam 2016 Match Finish
Balor then revealed that he even offered Rollins the opportunity to change the finish, believing he would be sidelined for an extended period after the match.
“We were outside the ring, and I was rolling him back into the ring. I said, ‘Dude, I’m hurt. I don’t think I’m going to be wrestling for a while. Do you want to switch the finish?’ And he said, ‘No, stick to the plan.’ I just rolled him back in, and we stuck to the plan.”
Although Balor defeated Rollins to become the inaugural Universal Champion, he was forced to relinquish the title the following night on RAW due to the injury. Looking back, Balor admitted he sometimes wonders how things might have unfolded had the finish been changed.
“I often think, ‘I wonder what that would have done for my career if we had switched the finish.'”
Seth Rollins is set to challenge Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship at WWE SummerSlam 2026, where he will look to capture the title in one of the event’s marquee matches.
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