Add as a preferred source on Google Finn Bálor is back in the hunt for WWE‘s top championship. On this week’s Friday Night SmackDown, the Irishman won a Fatal 4-Way match to lock in a shot at Sami Zayn at SummerSlam.
Bálor beat Damian Priest, Trick Williams and Royce Keys in the show’s main event at the Oakland Arena in Oakland, California. In the match’s final moments, Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu, Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso and LA Knight swarmed ringside, creating total chaos.
Down the stretch, Bálor escaped Priest’s South of Heaven, connected with a Sling Blade and finished him off with the Coup de Grace for the win.
The match was set up by Adam Pearce at the top of the show after Zayn complained about what happened on Saturday Night’s Main Event.
Zayn had demanded to be added to the Undisputed WWE Championship match, arguing he had been wronged. Pearce rejected the request, but offered Zayn a shot at the Fatal 4-Way winner in a No. 1 contender’s match for a title opportunity.
Zayn won the Undisputed WWE Championship at Night of Champions but lost the title to CM Punk just nine days later on Raw in Chicago. Punk will defend the title against Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam.
For Bálor, the return to SummerSlam carries special meaning. In 2016, he beat Seth Rollins to become the first WWE Universal Champion in history, but had to give up the title less than 24 hours later due to a serious shoulder injury.
The head-to-head record also favors Bálor. He won all three of their previous WWE matches, in 2019 and 2021. The SummerSlam bout will be their first meeting since the 2021 King of the Ring semifinal.