Rumor: Seth Rollins to Face Finn Balor at WWE SummerSlam 2023
Seth Rollins is reportedly expected to face Finn Balor in a rematch at WWE SummerSlam 2023 to defend his World Heavyweight title.
Rollins and Balor clashed earlier this month at Money in the Bank also where Rollins was able to successfully defend his title. If this new report is to be believed, they will end up clashing again at SummerSlam.
Dave Meltzer talked about WWE’s plans for Seth Rollins on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio and mentioned that Finn Balor is getting ready as Rollins’ challenge for SummerSlam. He said that Balor pinning NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes this week on NXT was to build-up Balor for Rollins.
NEWS: Seth Rollins SummerSlam Opponent REVEALED.
— Wrestlebuddy (@Wrestle_buddy) July 13, 2023
"Finn is wrestling Seth, that’s for SummerSlam. Finn’s being protected right now. Finn’s beating everyone because they’ve got to get Finn back ready for Seth".
– WON pic.twitter.com/yZ4rCYMp5x
Balor and Rollins faced off for the first time at SummerSlam 2016 where Balor beat Rollins to become the inaugural WWE Universal Champion. However, Balor suffered a torn labrum during that match and had to relinquish the title the very next day. Balor invoked the same thing when he challenged Rollins for World Heavyweight title at Money in the Bank.
The clash between Rollins and Balor was their second one this year. Rollins also defeated Balor in the semifinal of World Heavyweight Championship tournament. Apart from his win at SummerSlam 2016, Balor has not defeated Rollins in a televised singles match after that. Rollins has won 8 matches against Balor which includes matches for the Intercontinental title and United States title.
There is another angle being built up as part of the storyline for Balor with his stablemate Damian Priest. Priest currently holds Money in the Bank briefcase and teased it using during Balor vs Rollins match at MITB. This caused a bit of tension between Balor and Priest which was resolved this week on RAW.
WWE SummerSlam 2023 is scheduled for August 5 in Detroit, MI. Brock Lesnar vs Cody Rhodes, and Roman Reigns vs Jey Uso are some of the matches rumored for the show.
