With the return of the Demon on tonight’s WWE SmackDown show, does Finn Balor now stand a chance against Gunther at Crown Jewel?
Over the past few months, issues have continued to escalate between Finn Balor and Gunther on SmackDown as they both chase the WWE Championship.
However, Gunther has also found himself getting into it with Danhausen of all people recently, and with tonight’s episode of SmackDown being Danhausen’s ‘Very Nice, Very Evil’ episode of the show, Gunther promised to ruin Halloween for Danhausen.
The Demon’s return on Halloween SmackDown
On the show, Danhausen had come to the ring to announce his ‘Most Evil Experiment’, which was instantly interrupted by Gunther, who took the fight to Danhausen.
After teasing that the return of the Minihausens was his experiment, the lights would then go off, and the Demon Finn Balor would make his return to WWE television, where he took out Gunther.
The Demon has not appeared on WWE television since WrestleMania 42, where he defeated Dominik Mysterio on the show.
The 50/50 booking of the Demon on the main roster
Advertising for WWE Crown Jewel in Riyadh has featured both Balor and Gunther, which would lead to one assuming that a match between the two men was set to take place on the show.
It was reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that a match between Gunther and Balor was on the initial rundown for Crown Jewel.
However, the advertising spotted in Riyadh features Finn Balor as himself rather than as the Demon, which would seemingly make tonight’s angle counterproductive if that was the case.
If Balor enters a match at Crown Jewel as the Demon, he may actually have a shot to beat Gunther, whereas him entering as himself would likely only lead to Gunther picking up the win.
Gunther’s real nightmare in 2026
While the commentators referred to the Demon’s return as ‘Gunther’s nightmare’ on tonight’s SmackDown, Gunther’s real nightmare and the scariest thing he’s had to face this year is his booking since retiring John Cena.
With the careers of Goldberg, John Cena and AJ Styles on his resume, Gunther has spent the better part of this year being an afterthought, including several failed attempts to win the WWE Championship and an extended feud with Danhausen.
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