Finn Balor couldn’t get cleared to return to WWE recently but he’s still expected for WrestleMania 33

There was some belief, however misguided it may have been, that Finn Balor would be a big surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble match. To be fair, he fanned those flames himself.

As it turns out, he was evaluated just last week and, according to the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (subscription required but recommended), he was not cleared to return to WWE. As noted there, it’s entirely possible he was never actually considered for the Royal Rumble.

He is, however, still expected to make the WrestleMania 33 event on April 2, 2017, in Orlando, Florida. That doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be working a match but the timeline for his recovery would line up for it.

And the card did just lose Seth Rollins (assuming he doesn’t recover faster than expected).

Now that Samoa Joe is on the main roster and aligned with Triple H, there’s a ready made story for him assuming he can be back by early next month as the Observer indicates is possible. Either way, we can expect him to at least make an appearance at the biggest show of the year.