Why planned ‘Demon’ Finn Balor vs. GUNTHER Crown Jewel 2026 match was scrapped: WWE reportedly felt four match card was enough for the event

An update has emerged regarding WWE’s reasoning for pulling a planned “Demon” Finn Balor vs. GUNTHER match from the Crown Jewel 2026 card.

Despite all the controversy surrounding the event, WWE Crown Jewel 2026 went ahead as planned in Riyadh on Saturday night, with the only change to the company’s plans being a shift from the Riyadh Season Stadium to the smaller ANB Arena.

Before the venue change was announced, footage circulated online of Riyadh Season Stadium being prepared for the event, and it was noticed that one of the gates outside the venue featured promotional material for a match between GUNTHER and Finn Balor – seemingly confirming that the rivals were set to face off at the PLE.

Even before promotional material for Balor vs. GUNTHER was spotted, there were suspicions about the match being added to the card after Balor was pulled from a planned appearance at Zuffa Boxing 12 in London on the same night as Crown Jewel (November 7).

But despite all the mounting evidence and reports suggesting that the match was set for Crown Jewel, Balor vs. GUNTHER was never announced for the show, and it remained a very light four match card.

In the aftermath of the show, WRKD Wrestling shared an update on WWE’s reasoning behind scrapping the match, posting the following on Twitter:

Despite promotional materials being produced, “The Demon” Finn Balor vs. Gunther did not take place at Crown Jewel, as people within the company felt the match would be better suited with a further build and felt the four match card was enough for the event.

It’s worth noting that the Crown Jewel promotional materials that were seen outside Riyadh Season Stadium featured Balor in his normal attire, rather than “The Demon.”

However, this report, and another from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter stated that it was planned to be “Demon” Balor taking on GUNTHER at Crown Jewel.

Balor did bring back “The Demon” during the October 30 episode of SmackDown, delivering a Coup de Grâce on GUNTHER through the commentary table (see below).

When is the right time for “Demon” Finn Balor vs. GUNTHER?

So, with WWE postponing Finn Balor vs. GUNTHER partly in order to give it more build, when would be an appropriate time for the match to take place?

Survivor Series 2026 is happening in Houston, TX in just under three weeks time, and the event is in need of some singles bouts given the two planned WarGames matches and the recently announced Team USA vs. Team Mexico five vs. five traditional Survivor Series elimination tag team match.

While Survivor Series would be a fitting stage for the return of “The Demon,” there is also going to be a lot of competition for what could end up being the one free spot on that card.

As we saw with Raw, SmackDown and NXT last week, WWE are not afraid to load up their weekly programming, so it’s probably more likely we see Balor vs. GUNTHER take place on an upcoming episode of SmackDown rather than Survivor Series.

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