Finn Balor joins WWE SmackDown in Superstar Shake-up
Finn Balor — and the Intercontinental Championship — are now on SmackDown.
Balor was the first wrestler to move from Raw to SmackDown in this year’s Superstar Shake-up. He made his SmackDown debut tonight, defeating Ali in a non-title match.
On last night’s Raw, Balor lost a non-title match to Andrade. Andrade & Zelina Vega both joined Raw in the Shake-up.
Samoa Joe is the current United States Champion. Dave Meltzer reported that a segment written for Joe on last night’s Raw was removed from the show due to him being sick.
The announcement for “The Shield’s Last Chapter,” which will air live on the WWE Network at 9:30 p.m. Eastern time from Raw’s house show in Moline, Illinois on Sunday night (April 21), noted that the broadcast will also include an Intercontinental title defense by Balor. His opponent has yet to be announced.
WWE is promoting that the Last Chapter special will be The Shield’s final match as a trio, with Dean Ambrose leaving the company when his contract expires this month.
The Superstar Shake-up began on Monday, with AJ Styles, The Miz, NXT Tag Team Champions The Viking Experience, Cedric Alexander, Andrade & Vega, Rey Mysterio, The Usos, Naomi, Eric Young, Lacey Evans, Ricochet, Aleister Black, EC3, and Lars Sullivan joining the Raw roster.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.