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Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Shouldering the blame


Giving up the gold
Courtesy: WWE
By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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Even though professional wrestling is scripted, the action is quite real. Yesterday I shared a post about the WWE Superstars injured while in action over SummerSlam weekend. The worst of those injures as we know now is Finn Balor. Less than 24 hours after winning the first WWE Universal Championship, the Demon King had to relinquish the belt.


Point of impact
Courtesy: WWE
Early in the match against Seth Rollins, Balor suffered a dislocated shoulder. It's after Rollins performed a running powerbomb on Balor and tossed him into the ringside barricade. You can see the exact moment, but little did fans know at the time that blow would put Balor out of action for potentially six months. 

Courtesy: WWE
Within seconds of the announcement, many fans blamed Rollins for the accident. But if you look closely at the replay, Balor's body doesn't seem to be positioned right before the blow. I've only wrestled once and it was a low bumping affair, so I don't know how Finn was supposed to actually hit. Despite other injuries seemingly at the hands of Rollins (Sting and John Cena), I still chalk this up to an unfortunate accident. 

Courtesy: WWE
It's unfortunate for a number of reasons. Balor has finally reached the promise land after years of toiling around the world. His championship victory was historic because Balor is the first Universal Champion. He's also (according to Michael Cole and I think he's right) the first WWE Superstar to win the world title (or it's equivalent) in a pay per view debut.

Here's to hoping for a speedy recovery and another shot at redemption when he returns. How cool would it be to see Balor return at WrestleMania 33 in Orlando? It'll be very close to the six months mark. But whatever happens, I hope the Demon King is back stronger than ever before. 

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