NXT- 24th June
I have to admit it's a lot easier doing this when I can just say the dates rather than the Week Commencing and go through multiple days.
I haven't read the Spoilers for next week so I'm not sure if this is a Spoiler Alert- but it's pretty much a given that Joe v Owens next week won't have a definitive finish, whether it's a Double DQ, Double Countout, No Contest etc. I can't see it being a clean finish. With that in mind I'd have Joe cut a Promo saying his business with Owens has only just begun before Balor comes out and says Owens has to face the Demon at the Sumo Hall in 2 Weeks time and after it Joe won't need to go after Owens for the Title before they square up which'll no doubt pop the crowd. We then get Regal coming out and because He's a Man (Such a Man) he'll book Joe & Finn in a Tag Match "and it's next". This is where the seed will be sewn for the angle. Joe & Finn will win pretty comfortably- it'll most likely be a Jobber team maybe furthering along the Chad Gable storyline with Jason Jordan in the process. Joe will get the win with the Muscle Buster which has been renamed the Canadian Destroyer but Finn will stay on the Apron looking really zoned out for a second before he joins Joe for the Celebrations.
NXT- 1st July
Nothing special this week on NXT- just a Replay of this.
July 4th Special
I think it's fairly safe to assume that with Balor's track record with "Special Events" and the Vignette they released on this weeks NXT that Finn will be bringing out the Paint for the Supercard in Sumo Hall. Usually my Booking Posts end with a Title win- but given the way Owens is feuding with Cena I think it's safe to assume he's going to be in the thoughts of the Main Roster- as such and to give these "Special Events" some jeopardy, and unless I'm mistaken Cena's on the Card I'd have Finn win with help from Cena. You'll see it in my Predictions in a couple of days but I think or rather hope Cena isn't going to get his win back (yet) and Owens will win, but this time with Shenanigans- which'll in turn further their feud and also be the fuel for this match. After this and Owens has rolled out I'd have Itami show up and raise his arm to close the show, because after all he's the one who brought him to NXT so he's happy for one of his best mates. REMEMBER THIS.
From a Finn perspective in terms of the Paint I'd have him in even more than he was at the last special- maybe add more detail to the "Eye of Balor" or something the purpose of this being that the Paint or in other terms the "Demon" is taking him over even more so every time he puts it on- in a sort of Venom way and the Black Suited Spiderman.
NXT- July 8th
The money feud for the next Takeover is Balor v Joe- I haven't forgotten about Joe and Owens, but it's too early in both their respective runs for either of them to lose so I'd let that simmer for a while. But for this episode it'd just be a Replay from the July 4th Special, I can't imagine they'd tape beyond the July 4th Special until after it to at the very least keep the suspense that a Title change may happen up so I doubt Finn will feature much if at all in the next month or so's worth of tapings. So I'd have Replays of the July 4th Title Switch and then have Regal set-up a Tournament to be contested over the next few weeks which'll have Joe, Breeze, Corbin, Dempsey, Adam Rose, Rhyno, Crowe and Scott Dawson with these Brackets expertly drawn up by yours truly.
I'd have these matches come at 2 a week for what is in essence the Quarter Finals- and then one a week before we get the Final in approximately 5 weeks which is roughly the number of weeks they tape in one go. With the first two matches being Joe v Bull Dempsey and Baron Corbin v Scott Dawson. I'd essentially have these as two long(ish) matches either side of a Middle Segment it almost goes without saying who'll win these two- but here's my expert attempt at highlighting who's progressed from the Brackets.
NXT- July 15th
We're in week two of the Tournament and we've got two more interesting matches with regard to both dynamic and outcome in Adam Rose v Rhyno and Solomon Crowe v Tyler Breeze. For the purposes of the story being told I'd definitely have Rhyno go over because you've got the tangent of the Rhyno and Balor feud from the last couple of NXTs and then I'd have Solomon Crowe go over on Tyler Breeze because Crowe needs the win a lot more than Breeze does and Breeze has proven from previous tournaments that the odd loss won't harm him. MORE COLOURING IN OF BRACKETS! AREN'T YOU LUCKY!
Once again these matches will be either side of a Middle Segment whether that be The Dubsteppers v Enzo & Big Cass, The NXT Women furthering their stories or whatever it may be.
NXT- July 22nd
The Tournament is now in it's 3rd Week and that means Semi-Final time and just one match a week- which'll of course Main Event both of the coming weeks. Joe v Corbin is an interesting dynamic and depending on how long Joe is down in NXT is one I would like and can see them exploring, but this match is just a means to an end and Joe would go over in a really competitive match. MORE BIRO COLOURING IN!
NXT- July 29th
Into the 4th Week of the Tournament and it's the second Semi-Final of the week with another interesting dynamic of Rhyno and Crowe. This doesn't really matter because as I've said the money match is Balor v Joe and that's what I'd be going with. However purely from a "who needs the win more" perspective I'd have Crowe going over- because it's a good win for Crowe to get and it'd have Rhyno completing his intended purpose. MORE BIRO COLOURING IN! (It was at this point I lost my Black Biro).
NXT- August 5th
Hey, It's my Birthday tomorrow! Buy me Stuff! I've made that joke in every one so far and I'm not stopping now. This is the week of the Final and it's Samoe Joe v Solomon Crowe- place your bets. Two Men Enter, and after a very competitive match that I'd have take up 20mins if not more Solomone Crowe is getting the dreaded Biro colouring in and Samoa Joe is #1 Contender.
That's the Tournament over- I know I promised a Finn Balor blog and I've gone off on somewhat of a tangent- but Balor is kept relevant throughout by proxy of him holding the Belt and all these stars wanting said belt and the commentators would put over them wanting to win the Tournament to face Balor. Anyway, this is when we get to the really good stuff...
NXT- August 12th
As I said before this I'm working under the assumption that there'll be 5 weeks worth of tapings at a time- however I'm also going to work on the assumption of when the next Takeover is going to be from the Dates last year (to the nearest Wednesday) in this case the 9th of September so I'm going to work to that as the date for the next Takeover and the "big match". So we've got 4 weeks to build the Joe match- so there's no time to waste.
The first of the 4 week build is going to be pretty simple, Balor comes out for a Promo "boy, is it good to be back" summarising what's happened over "the last five weeks" and saying that he is a fighting champion and he welcomes all comers. Samoa Joe comes out and does the usual thing when it's babyface v babyface of "I Respect You, But I'll Beat You". Regal comes out and says in weeks time you two will be opponents but tonight you'll be Tag Partners- and they're facing The Dubsteppers for the Main Event.
The actual Main Event would be as you'd expect it to go up until the crescendo where Joe is feeling the Hot Tag on the Apron- Finn is crawling over for said Hot Tag, when his whole Body locks up and he has the zoned out look he had in the Previous tag match featuring these two which enables The Dubsteppers to get the Win. We then end the show with Joe checking on Finn asking What Happened.
NXT- August 19th
For this we'll simply get a Replay of what happened the prior week and then a commentary discussion over what happened as well- before they trail that next week is the Contract Signing for these two.
NXT- August 26th
The contract signing for these two will be interesting. Balor will come out in a suit and they'll do the usual back and forth before Balor says to Joe "On September the 9th, you're not facing Finn Balor you're facing the Demon" (Quick Side Point: I can't remember where, But I heard somewhere from Finn that because it's an Alcohol based paint it doesn't smudge or something like that so this should work). Before in the Spiderman way pulling his Shirt to either side to Reveal the "Eye of Balor" on his Chest before Jumping Joe and ending the show by using the Coup de Grace.
NXT- September 2nd
Samoa Joe will come out for a Promo and say he doesn't care if he's facing Finn Balor or the Demon next week he's leaving with the Title. Then the lights will go out and we'll get a Replay of what I've dubbed the Transformation Vignette for Finn in preparation for the July 4th Vignette but obviously with the July 4th bit- and it ends with Finn with the Paint on as opposed to in his "normal" state- and it ends with the words "The Demon is Awake".
NXT Takeover: ???
Similar to the Itami thing we'll find Samoa Joe beaten up in the Parking Lot "earlier in the day"- but because Joe isn't "actually" injured there'll simply be a debate over his physical state and whether he'll be physically able to compete, and it'll be sort of implied that it was Kevin Owens because of their history and his seeming form for doing such a thing.
The match will come around- Joe will enter first, but he's clearly hurt from the attack and not at 100%- Balor will enter 2nd and he'll be completely decked out in the Paint. You may have noticed the scratch marks he had on his Legs for Unstoppable- and he'll have kept those for the July 4th Special but they'd have added more scratches and they'll be a lot bigger and have more definition. However the Paint for Takeover won't have any of the scratches or anything like that it'll just be Demon Paint across his whole body.
After a valiant effort Joe will succumb to his previous attack and Finn will win. This is the best way to protect Joe but at the same time progress the story and keep the Belt on Balor for the main payoff of the story.
NXT- September 16th
Finn won't have a massive presence at this next set of tapings- the next set of Tapings will be somewhat of a whodunnit with the blame seemingly being at Kevin Owens' door despite him not being a presence on NXT TV for a couple of months. Joe will cut a Promo where he's irate that someone attacked him but he'll also go on to say that Balor still beat one of the best wrestlers in the world "last week" and for that he respects him. But Balor won't come out and that's the end of the segment.
NXT- September 23rd
This is when we'll start to get right to the business end of the angle because I'm aiming for the Takeover in early December to be when we get the big pay-off, and with just one slot a week it's not easy to pack everything in.
We're going to start running Vignettes when Balor is effectively talking to himself to sell a Split-Personality he won't be in any of the Paint or anything but the end of the first vignette will be a zoom in on Balor's eyes and he'll open them and he'll have the Demon Contact Lenses in when he opens them.
NXT- September 30th
Second of the vignettes and it'll start with the camera placed on his eyes with the Contact Lenses in and then it'll zoom out with Balor going over to a mirror and pulling his collar down to see for want of a better word veins appearing on his neck that'll be a Black and very pronounced. Looking something like this in terms of design.
Running alongside this story we'll get a story of Samoa Joe wanting to fight but him not being cleared by Regal with which to do so- just bare that in mind for now.
NXT- October 7th
Another vignette starting when the last one ended and Balor will open his shirt up to see all the Black Veins all over his torso before looking back into the mirror to see a "normal" Balor looking back at him.
NXT- October 14th
Another vignette starting when the last one ended with Balor now with his shirt open and veins all over him with a "normal" Balor looking back and unless I'm mistaken Balor hasn't spoken with his Demon Persona yet so I'd use some sort of voice modifier to get Finn's voice a lot deeper and he'll simply say "You can't get the Job Done, It's my Title- and it's not going anywhere", before he smashes the mirror and leaves. With the "normal" Balor all distorted and stuff in the cracked mirror. With the vignette ending with the words "Finn Balor is Dead, He is Here, He Can't be Stopped".
NXT- October 21st
Samoa Joe's return match and Regal's promised that it'll be a #1 Contender Match, it doesn't really matter who it'll be against because he'll win it of course and the proposition of a 100% Joe is a lot different. Balor will come out with all the veins and stuff over him like he's just left the "vignette world"- he'll look conflicted for a second and put his arm out to shake Joe's hand, but when Joe reaches out to shake his hand Balor will take his arm away then completely brutalise Joe with the end shot of the Episode being a close up on Balor's eyes where he'll have the contact lenses in and one of the commentators saying "He is Awake".
NXT- October 28th
There won't be much in the way of in-ring action, just speculation over Samoa Joe's condition and announcing that the match for Joe will be on December the 9th.
Later on in the Night we'll get a "Demon Vignette" where he's simply cutting a Promo saying nothing can take "my" title away from me in front of a Blacked Out Background, but his hand will be bandaged it'll be a nuance but a noticeable one and the words "HELP ME" will be written in "Blood" behind him.
NXT- November 4th
Another Promo with the "Help Me" on the background and Balor will still have the veins all over him etc. but they'll have gone all over his neck and starting to rise up over his cheeks near to his eyes. This is the "Everything Makes Sense Now" bit because Balor will explain how he was the one who took out Itami and he was the one who took out Joe before their match in September- but he isn't Balor he's the "alter-ego" saying how "Balor couldn't get the Job done" referencing his Title match with Owens at the Arnold Classic (?) and how Balor needed him in order to get this far.
NXT- November 11th
Another Promo from Balor but the Veins will have reached his eyes now he'll be looking up for the whole Promo basically hyping the Match at the Takeover on December 9th and the whole time the camera will be slowly zooming in on his face so when he finishes he looks square at the camera and he'll have Black Contact Lenses in so it looks like the Black Veins have somewhat taken over his eyes and infected them so it's continuing the transformation.
NXT- November 18th
We've got 3 Weeks to get the Takeover Match with Joe hyped and ready- and crucially at least from where I'm standing they won't touch once in the build for this. This'll make it mean more when Joe does get his hands on Balor and help to hype the Balor character. For this episode we'll just get a Samoa Joe sit-down interview with Maggle asking him out Balor's transformation and what he can expect from Balor in a few weeks time and of course his physical condition after the two Brutal Balor attacks which took him out for as long as he did. To which you'll get the usual babyface answers of "I don't know what to expect but I'm ready, I'm not 100% but I'll come out swinging" that sort of stuff.
NXT- November 25th
The Balor transformation is nearly complete now- with them simply doing a vignette for Balor where it pans over different parts of his new (or is it new?) Paint Design which is with no words spoken and it ending with "December 9th, NXT ???, He Arrives".
NXT- December 2nd
Aside from Commentary references and general hyping for Takeover neither guy will have a presence on the Episode.
NXT Takeover: ???
This is when we get the Payoff- it's been a Long Ol' Build but I hope you've stuck with it and I hope it's worth it. Joe comes out first- I hope by this point he has new music. Then we get it- the Arena Lights go out- We hear somewhat of a hissing noise instead of the Heartbeat and the way the use the audio it makes it sound like he's all over the Arena, Get Surround Sound folks. Then Balor comes out with this design- but maxed out all over him.
That's right Venom Balor is here. I've tried my best to sell the Transformation of Balor bit by bit and we're here now and it's Venom Balor as his new persona (I don't think using Venom is an issue- I think they're cool with the Marvel guys) and I'd use this as his Heel persona so you have a defined boundary between the two sides of Balor "fighting for control"- and after a well fought match Balor will win by choking Joe out- HE WON'T TAP but the Ref will rule him unable to continue.
We'll have Venom Balor in the ring with the Title when Hideo Itami makes his grand return unloads on Balor- and to end the show (do you know what's coming, I think you know what's coming) Hits the GTS on Balor and ends the show posing with the Belt. I remember seeing Itami's injury update was 6-8 Months at the End of May and usually with Wrestlers it's the former rather than the latter with time-frames sometimes to their own detriment as such I don't think it's a stretch to say Itami will be back by Early December.
I always like to try and leave my Booking Posts with an obvious direction to go after- and I've done that here with the Itami v Balor feud and it's at this stage I'd also be looking at bringing Joe to the Main Roster if as the rumours suggest when he signed his Full-Time deal he was going to be Fast-Tracked, so it works for everyone.
Thanks for reading as always, I know these Booking Posts are long ones so I hope you enjoy them and feel like they're worth the read. I've tried my best to describe the transformation of Balor but it being obviously a visual thing I accept some of you may not have liked this- and some of you may just think the idea is stupid. Either way feedback is appreciated- we're heading into Money in the Bank Weekend now so stay tuned for the Predictions/Review and have a Good Weekend.
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