Friday 25 January 2019 06:17, UK
If Finn Balor is to prise the Universal title away from Brock Lesnar this Sunday at the Royal Rumble, the leader of the Balor Club may have to tap into a place that virtually makes him unstoppable every time he delivers his special attraction.
His jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring Demon character hasn't seen the light of day since SummerSlam last August where he destroyed Baron Corbin in one minute and 35 seconds.
Balor has always talked of how when he becomes the Demon he allows him to channel an inner power within, that takes his performances to a different level. Considering the record, who can disagree with that?
The Demon is undefeated on the main roster having seen off the likes of AJ Styles and Seth Rollins, who he ironically beat as the Demon to become the first Universal champion three years ago at SummerSlam.
But it was at NXT where Balor took this character through the stratosphere to a point where every NXT TakeOver special led to the eager anticipation of the spectacle of his entrance - not to mention the face paint.
It would only seem right for Balor to unleash the Demon against Lesnar at the Royal Rumble as he seeks his second Universal championship. Lesnar has already shown in the past that he is well equipped in dealing with smaller men; Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles gave The Beast a run for his money but Lesnar still left those contests standing tall.
In this situation though, Balor could get a head start on Lesnar with the shock value. As Lesnar's advocate Paul Heyman mentioned on Raw, Lesnar had been training to defend his title against Braun Strowman and now on short notice he has to prepare for Balor who has a totally different style.
This is the perfect opportunity for Balor to keep his cards close to his chest and present to Lesnar a character the like of which he has never seen before.
It would give him the best chance of pulling off the upset and walking away with the title at the Royal Rumble but perhaps Balor's quest to establish himself as the underdog version of his character is in fact the best way to go full-steam ahead at Lesnar on Sunday.
Balor has done a tremendous job of taking on the underdog role with the odds being stacked against him time and time again, before ultimately prevailing.
Having to pull double-duty on Raw last week and with the chairman of WWE, Vince McMahon, questioning if he really had what it took to be champion again, Balor put himself in a position where he had everyone in the arena and watching at home fully behind him. Balor has got fans believing that he can get the job done this Sunday even if it means not being the Demon, which on his part is a job very well done.
On paper you would look at the match-up and pick Lesnar to walk out as champion without any hesitation but Balor through his brilliant work recently has made believers out of everyone.
If Balor was to be the Demon this Sunday and lose, the character loses its appeal. It perhaps even cheapens the character, especially as the unbeaten record on the main roster would be gone.
There is also a point to be made that the character should be protected at all costs and go on an unbeaten run on the similar to The Undertaker's undefeated streak at WrestleMania - every time Balor becomes the Demon it's a formality, he wins.
Balor may have struck gold with his underdog character making believers out of everyone and even Vince McMahon. But a valiant effort against Lesnar on Sunday, and still going down in defeat as Finn Balor, would still be a victory as he has established this character to the point where he doesn't have to rely on the Demon persona.
