FOCUS YOUR FEUD: Colohue evaluates the Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor feud, the history and the highs and lows so far

The one constant in all of WWE programming is that there will always be feuds. Sometimes over titles, sometimes over prestige and sometimes over coffee. Here, we celebrate the highs and lows of WWE feudage and, hopefully, will only ever focus on a feud once.

I’m Tom Colohue and this is Focus Your Feud.

Follow Tom Colohue at @Colohue for updates.

Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor

Most WWE feuds are brief affairs that last two or three months, even then often feeling drawn out and bloated. Others last longer, with continued escalation of the contest. This includes Styles vs. Nakamura in what became no disqualification and will soon become Last Man Standing.

Others however are career defining. Steve Austin’s rivalry with Vince McMahon made a company. The Rock’s rivalry with Triple H produced the finest baby face of a generation and the finest heel and who can forget that Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels had a rivalry so intense that it took over a decade for them to finally put it to bed.

Seth Rollins and Finn Balor could be that same defining rivalry.

Finn Balor’s debut matches on Raw, firstly in a fatal four way and secondly against Roman Reigns, defined him as being the guy in Seth’s way. Finn’s clean win over Reigns was only the second time Roman Reigns had been beaten clean since before his Rumble win over a year and a half previous. It was the opening night of the brand split and it well and truly shocked the system. Finn Balor was announced on the big stage with no hint of patience.

The other man to have beaten Reigns clean in that time? Seth Rollins, just over a month beforehand at the Money In The Bank pay per view.

This placed Balor against Rollins one on one for the debuting Universal championship at that year’s Summerslam. Let’s examine for a moment how things have developed since.

Balor won that match, picked up an unfortunate injury and wasn’t seen again for more than half a year. His return? He was Seth Rollins’ surprise tag team partner. Clearly, things were unfinished.

Recently though, this rivalry has really picked up.

On January first, The Balor Club and Shield Alpha would tangle. Two weeks later, Rollins and Balor went one on one, setting in motion their very well received triple threat feud with The Miz. On February twelfth the two would share the ring again, this time both coming out the winner in a fatal 5 way to qualify for the Elimination Chamber.

But wait, there’s more. The two would go one on one twice on the road to Wrestlemania. They would tangle in the triple threat at Wrestlemania that opened the show, wrestle as a tag team in the weeks following and just last week would go one on one for the Intercontinental title in the go home show for Backlash.

And yet, I’m still far from bored of this feud.

Week on week these two deliver new and interesting matches, despite often using similar moves and combinations. Their history is rich; with Seth Rollins teasing his outside the ring buckle bomb on a number of occasions despite it being the move that injured Balor and robbed him of the Universal Championship.

It is during this long term feud that both men have reached new heights of popularity. Balor is nearing the end of only his second year with the company, less if you discount his time injured, but the man is over in a big way. Rollins meanwhile has recently hit a vein of form that is taking him beyond over and into the territory of being a big money draw. People love Balor. People will travel for miles to see Rollins.

The new pay-per-view format will change the way talent is used. We’re already seeing it on Raw and Smackdown, with many faces appearing either sporadically, in brief selfie style promos stacked together or vanishing for several weeks with no explanation. Where are The Usos exactly? When will Sanity debut? Baron Corbin will likely be stuck in 6 man tag matches until the end of time, especially once we see the return of the part timers.

Finn Balor was one of the names to miss out. That said, he featured in the best match of either go home show and were it not for Rollins and The Miz putting on something spectacular, he might have been in the best match of the week.

We can afford to see less of these two competing. There is also no downside to more matches at this time. These two could live in their own little bubble, as competitors or as a tag team, for as long as they want.

This rivalry will be the best of both of them.

NOW CHECK OUT THIS PREVIOUS COLUMN: FOCUS YOUR FEUD: Colohue evaluates the Nia Jax vs. Alexa Bliss feud, the highs and lows headed into Backlash