NXT star Finn Balor recently appeared on AfterBuzz TV to discuss his current run in WWE. Below are some highlights from the interview.
On which NXT talent he feels is underrated and people should look out for: “There’s a lot of guys you know, obviously for different reasons. One guy you know I think doesn’t get the credit he deserves is Scott Dawson. He’s a tremendous, tremendous competitor and I would love to get in there one-on-one with him. I’m also a big fan of Enzo and Cass. I don’t know how that would work with teaming up with them in a six man tag team, but I’m a big fan of their work too.”
On whether he offered any advice to CJ Parker before he headed back to the independent scene: “We spoke about it….CJ was someone I was fortunate enough to get to work with when he was still here. He’s a tremendous competitor…The indie circuit is a tough circuit, but you know there’s a lot of good people out there. There is a lot of places you can learn. There’s a lot of people you can learn from and I’m sure that he’ll spend a year or two there growing himself not only personally, but as a performer and I’m sure he’ll be back in the future even better.”
On whether there is anyone on the indie scene you think WWE should have their eye on: “I’m a little bit biased because this fella, he started in the same gym as me in England…and hopefully he’ll be able to make the transition some day into WWE, Zack Sabre Jr. He’s doing tremendous in the independents, not only in Europe but in America you know, but he’s holding his own in Japan.”
On working live events in front of his home crowd: “It was quite surreal. It was only less than a year ago that I said goodbye to everyone back home in Ireland and within 10 months to be returning with the WWE main roster. Going to the 3Arena in Dublin which was an arena I used to go and watch WWE when I was a kid. To walk up through the curtain and hear the roar of the hometown crowd, that was incredible.”
On rumors that he accept John Cena’s open challenge for the U.S. Title: “Well, Believe it or not, in London when John was in the ring making the open challenge, I was actually putting my gear on trying to get into the ring…but I just got beat to the punch.”
On where he sees himself in years and whether he he has a plan for life after wrestling: “I live by the motto “Take one step at a time.” Obviously, there are a lot of short-term goals that I want to achieve, both at NXT and WWE. In 10 years time, maybe I’ll be Triple H’s right hand man, pulling the strings up in the office and helping coordinate this incredible company.”
Check out the complete interview at AfterBuzzTV.com.