Finn Balor has opened up on his decision to take time off from WWE last summer before deciding to make a return to NXT.
Balor was destroyed by the debuting ‘Fiend’ Bray Wyatt at the 2019 SummerSlam pay-per-view event. He had requested time off before the contest and disappeared from television after the bout.
Balor did so while talking with Dan Matha on Spark in the Dark. He started out by talking about how he had been working since 2000 without a break unless it was due to injury. Even when he had his shoulder injury, he was working harder than ever by doing rehab three times a day to get back and get going.
He stated that the stress of the injury and the pressure to come back, that felt harder than when you’re actually working.
“I had been going for 19 years straight and I came to a point where I needed a break, not just physically, it was more mentally to be by myself and be away from the boys. I love the boys, but it gets to a point where it’s just too intense. When you’re around them all the time, you just need some space. I needed space from everything; the business, bookers, writers, schedules, everything. It had become too intense. I was turning into a different person that I didn’t like.
I was snapping at people, I wasn’t giving people time in conversations. I was turning into a bitter dick and I could feel it building and building. Thankfully, the company gave me some time to get my head straight and get better. When I came back, the idea was pitched around to go to NXT.”
Balor took a few months off before he returned to television on October 2, 2019 under the NXT banner where he confronted Adam Cole.
He stated that moving back to NXT has been great for him because he went from working 172 matches a year and traveling to only doing 50 matches a year and doesn’t have to travel as much in NXT.
