As expected, Finn Balor made his return on Friday’s episode of SmackDown on FOX.
The former Universal Champion did so when he interrupted Sami Zayn on the show that was held from Houston, Texas. Zayn was in the ring talking about conspiracy theories and he tried to get the fans to rally behind him. Zayn tried to attack him but Balor countered and hit the coup de grace.
Balor returned to NXT in October 2019. This came after he asked for time off after he lost to Bray Wyatt at the SummerSlam pay-per-view event. WWE never intended for Balor to continue his feud with Wyatt. Instead, Balor was supposed to be moved from Raw to SmackDown once he returned after taking time off.
However, plans changed when NXT moved from the WWE Network to the USA Network in September 2019. After getting beat in the ratings when they went head-to-head with AEW Dynamite on TNT in the same time slot, WWE decided to move him to NXT with the idea that his star power could make more of a difference there.
Balor won the NXT Title for a second time in September 2020 by beating Adam Cole for the vacant title. Balor lost the NXT Championship to Karrion Kross at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver in April and then lost the rematch a few weeks later.
Another speculated WWE return has surfaced, this time rumored to happen during Friday’s SmackDown.
A tweet posted by WrestleVotes on Friday hints at the possible return of Finn Balor for Friday’s episode of Smackdown in Houston. The tweet states Friday’s “SmackDown will be #2Sweet & #4Everyone“, referencing Balor.
Balor returned to NXT in October 2019 for a stint, winning the WWE NXT Championship from Adam Cole almost a year later in September 2020. Balor successfully defended the title several times before losing it to the current WWE NXT Champion Karrion Kross in April at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver.
Now it appears Balor is back to the main roster as WWE returns to the road during the big push to SummerSlam.
The rumor of Balor’s SmackDown return joins several others during the final weeks leading up to August’s event.
According to a report on Thursday from PWInsider, Becky Lynch is set to make her return from maternity leave this weekend at Money In The Bank.
Also on Thursday, Fightful reported that WWE had plans in place for Goldberg to return to challenge WWE Champion Bobby Lashley in a title match at SummerSlam. Additionally, Fightful reported on Tuesday that John Cena was to appear on WWE programming over the next two weeks.
All of the reports and rumored returns line up with Stephanie McMahon’s promise in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated that the company had surprises in store for their return to the road.
Finn Balor has spent the last year and a half rebuilding himself in NXT. After dropping the NXT title to Karrian Kross last month, the former universal champion now feels he is ready for his return to the main roster.
The NXT star recently spoke to Ryan Satin of Fox Sports where he opened up about the ups and downs of his run with the company so far.
Balor admitted that he feels like he wasn’t doing justice to himself in his last run in the main roster. He explained that returning to NXT has helped him figure out who he was and he is now hopeful for a main roster return:
“I grew up as a wrestling fan watching WWE, and that’s, essentially, where I want to be performing, I feel like in my last run there, I wasn’t doing myself justice. I needed to change something, and the change came with NXT to kinda figure out who I was again.
I’ve managed to do that to some level,” claimed Finn Balor, “And I’m definitely hopeful that a return to RAW or SmackDown will happen in the future.”
The former NJPW star was called up to main roster back in July 2016. While his run started with a big universal title win, an injury forced him to relinquish the title. Many believe that he got lost in the shuffle after that.
Finn Balor returned to NXT in October 2019 and turned heel. He has rebuilt himself since then and has had another successful run with the NXT championship.
The highly anticipated rematch between NXT Champion Karrion Kross and Finn Balor took place on Wednesday’s episode of WWE NXT.
Kross put the title on the line in the main event of the show against the former champion. Kross worked over the spine of Balor throughout while Balor targeted the ribs. After being beaten down for a few minutes, Balor tried to make a comeback. Kross locked in the rear-naked choke for the win.
Their first match took place at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver last month where Balor was dethroned by Kross as NXT Champion. Just three weeks ago, Kross was interrupted by Kyle O’Reilly, Pete Dunne, and Balor during a promo segment. Once a brawl broke out, Johnny Gargano and Austin Theory ambushed Kross and laid him out.
Two weeks ago, the match was made official as Kross defeated Theory in a non-title bout. Post-match, Balor confronted Kross in the ring and told Kross that he doesn’t wait in lines, but rather he wanted his rematch. Kross responded by telling him that he wanted the match just as much as Balor.
Many fans had thought WWE would’ve saved this match for the upcoming NXT TakeOver: In Your House show that goes down on Sunday, June 13, 2021. Next week on NXT, Kross’ opponent at this show will be decided with the winner of a triple threat match between Pete Dunne, Kyle O’Reilly and Johnny Gargano.
Fans are still wanting Finn Balor to bring back his Demon character on WWE NXT TV.
Balor started painting himself for big matches in Japan and the independent scene. This was done for him to have different personas and he carried it over to WWE when he signed with the company.
He used the character for some big matches, but hasn’t used it since working a match at WWE Super ShowDown 2019.
Balor discussed about the persona while speaking with Ryan Satin on Out of Character. This is where he recalled talking with Triple H about it and how “The Game” wanted to build a backstory as to why he transforms from himself to the character.
“That’s when we developed the dark side of the Balor character and Finn being the good side of the character. It was an evolution and I’m not really sure, looking back, if that’s how I wanted it to be handled or if it got too far from where it was or if it made it better, I don’t really know. In ten years’ time, looking back, I might go ‘we did it right’ or ‘we messed it up,’ I don’t know yet. There’s still some life left in the Demon character, but right now I’m happy being the Prince and I feel like this is my most true self in my WWE tenure.”
Balor is set to challenge Karrion Kross for the NXT Championship on Tuesday’s episode of NXT, which is a rematch from NXT TakeOver: Stand and Deliver where Karrion beat Balor for the strap.
The rematch that fans have been waiting for has been booked as Karrion Kross will make his first defense of the NXT Title against Finn Balor.
It will happen on the May 26th edition of WWE NXT from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center on the USA Network. On this week’s episode, Kross beat Austin Theory in the opening contest and it was mostly a one-sided affair.
After the match, Balor appeared and told Kross that he doesn’t wait in line. He wanted the title match and Kross agreed to it. It was only until later in the show that WWE actually confirmed it.
Last week, WWE did a segment where Balor, Pete Dunne, and Kyle O’Reilly made their cases as to why they should get the next title shot.
Kross beat Balor last month on the second night of NXT TakeOver: Stand and Deliver special to become the champion for the second time.
WWE also confirmed that next week’s episode will see Johnny Gargano will defend his NXT North American Title against Bronson Reed, who became the new #1 contender by defeating Theory on the April 27th edition of NXT.
This is also a rematch from the latest TakeOver special as Gargano was able to retain after interference from Theory.
WWE Superstar and the United Kingdom Champion WALTER recently appeared on Corey Graves’ After The Bell podcast. The Austrian performer discussed a number of topics during the interview, including the three names in WWE that would be ‘dream’ matches for him.
“When I first got into watching other wrestling, I was watching Ring of Honor” WALTER began, somewhat giving a clue as to the performers he wants to go up against. “A lot of those guys are the top guys in WWE right now.”
WALTER Talks Dream Matches
“Daniel Bryan is a match I would want to do” WALTER noted. “Obviously, Cesaro. I’ve never worked with (Cesaro). He’s a great role model for all of us German-speaking talent. He’s always been super supportive.”
“As soon as we stepped foot in WWE, he reached his hand out to all of us” WALTER revealed of the Swiss Superstar. “He’s a fantastic wrestler. Regarding NXT, the one match I wanted before COVID was Finn Balor. Those are the three.”
The biggest reason that we have not seen WALTER appear more on the main roster is his want to stay in Europe. Reports have indicated that WALTER is settled and happy to perform in the UK/Europe; so he isn’t looking to relocate to the United States anytime soon.
WWE had fans wait to see what would happen when Karrion Kross would challenge Finn Balor for the NXT Title and it didn’t disappoint.
This title match served as the co-main event of WWE NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver event on Thursday night. A last-minute decision to put this in the co-headliner spot was made. The match had a slow build and increasingly picked up the action. Throughout it, Balor got small bursts of offense and when he did, he targeted the left shoulder of Kross.
There was a span of several minutes where Kross sold. In the end, it was Kross standing tall with the NXT Title after hitting his forearm strike finisher.
They had a confrontation that set up this contest. WWE later booked them as a tag team for a one-off as they challenged NXT Tag Team Champions Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch, but when Balor knocked Scarlett off the apron, things took a turn for the worse as Kross attacked Balor as a result.
This gave Kross the chance to reclaim the title that he never lost as he had beat Keith Lee to win the NXT Championship at TakeOver XXX last August. Unfortunately, Kross suffered a separated shoulder during the match and had to relinquish the title.
WWE needed to crown a new champion so there was a fatal 4-way match that resulted in Balor pinning Adam Cole last September to win the vacant NXT Championship.
The WWENXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver event is taking place over the course of two nights. Night 1 took place yesterday, Wednesday April 7th (airing on USA Network).
Tonight’s show, Thursday, April 8th will be available to watch via Peacock and WWE Network for International fans.
WWE had already announced the main events of both nights that take place in Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center. WWENXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai vs. Raquel Gonzalez headlined the first night, with Gonzalez winning the Championship for the first time in her career.
WWE NXT Champion Finn Balor vs. Karrion Kross will main event tonight, with Balor putting his Championship on the line.
This show marks the second special for the yellow brand in 2021, which features a stacked lineup. As a reminder, we will be providing ongoing coverage of tonight’s show throughout.
Here’s the full card for Night 2 of the event:
NXT Takeover Stand & Deliver: Night 2
Unsanctioned Match – Kyle O’Reilly vs Adam Cole
NXT Championship Match – Finn Balor (c) vs Karrion Kross
Undisputed NXT Cruiserweight Championship Ladder Match – Jordan Devlin vs Santos Escobar
NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship Match – Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon vs The Way
NXT North American Championship Match – Johnny Gargano (c) vs Bronson Reed
Here are Jake’s predictions for the second night of WWE NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver:
What would you like to see us produce for video content on YouTube going forward? Let us know in the comments
Finn Balor is hoping to see Becky Lynch return to WWE soon. He was interviewed recently on WWE Now India and spoke about Lynch’s pending return to the company.
“I think she has exceeded everybody’s expectations in what she has done and how she has performed over the last couple of years,” Balor said. “I’m very excited to see her back, hopefully soon.”
Balor then hinted that it’s a great time of year for surprises in wrestling. He’s hoping to see a surprise return of Becky Lynch soon.
“So, I think it’s a great time for returns in this business, so hopefully there’ll be a surprise return of Becky Lynch and we can all celebrate together.”
Balor will defend his NXT Championship on Night 2 of Stand and Deliver. He’ll face former champion Karrion Kross.
“There’ going to be no demon but there is going to be a very, very dark side of the Prince that is going to meticulously take apart Karrion Kross,” Balor said.
The full interview with Balor can be viewed in the player below:
NXT Tag Team Champion Danny Burch was reportedly injured during last night’s episode of NXT. Burch and Oney Lorcan defended their tag titles against Karrion Kross and NXT Champion Finn Balor in the main event of the show.
Danny Burch was removed from the match just past the halfway point. Lorcan and Burch attempted a double suplex on Kross, but Kross reversed the move and it saw Burch take a bad landing on his neck/shoulder.
There is currently no official update on what injury Burch sustained. PWInsider have reported that the Englishman sustained a separated shoulder. Burch was reportedly still being evaluated as of late last night.
With no official statement coming from WWE, it’s unknown what will happen with the NXT Tag Team Championships. Burch and Lorcan are currently in an alliance with former WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne; WWE may opt to run with the ‘Freebird’ rule for the Tag Team Championships until Danny Burch is fit to return.
Adam Cole stepped up to the plate to challenge Finn Balor for the NXT Championship but fell short.
The title match happened in the main event of Wednesday’s episode of NXT TV on the USA Network in Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center. The match was hard-hitting with them even using the steel steps as a weapon, but it was legal.
Kyle O’Reilly showed up and stood at ringside. Balor won with the double foot stomp off the top rope. After the match, Cole tried to apologize then went for a low blow to Kyle, but O’Reilly blocked it and attacked Cole. The show ended up with Karrion Kross standing behind Balor and they had a staredown.
Balor made his previous title defense against Pete Dunne at TakeOver: Vengeance Day. Post-match, WWE started a new feud as Balor was beaten down by Oney Lorcan, Danny Burch, and Dunne until Undisputed Era ran out to make the save. This led to Cole taking out Balor with a superkick and turning heel by attacking fellow UE member Kyle O’Reilly.
Since that time, Cole has laid out Balor two more times. During a segment on last week’s show, Balor announced during a segment with Roderick Strong that he would face Cole on this episode. Later in the show, Balor defeated Strong in the non-title main event. Post-match, Cole and Balor had a staredown.
Balor actually started his most recent title reign by beating Cole in September of last year after the title was vacated by Karrion Kross due to injury.
Finn Balor was accused by Roderick Strong of being the reason behind The Undisputed Era’s breakup on this week’s episode of NXT. Adam Cole has been going against all his former teammates, with Strong suffering an attack from his hands last week. Before that, it was Kyle O’Reilly that was knocked out by him. Tonight when Strong came out to the ring demanding to see Cole, he was instead greeted by Balor instead.
Roderick Strong blamed Finn Balor for the chaos and said that everything was fine until Balor showed up to NXT. Balor countered and said that it wasn’t him who turned Adam Cole to the dark side, but it was the gold on the champion’s shoulder. We then saw Balor challenge Cole for the NXT title for next week’s episode to get him out of hiding.
Finn Balor told Roderick Strong that he would never be a leader, he would always be a follower and until he gets a little more greedy and selfish like the prince, he would never… Balor couldn’t finish the statement as he got attacked by Strong. Balor got the better of it and then referees came out to break them up. The two then met in the ring in the main event on NXT in a non-title bout. Balor was able to get the upper hand and won the match. More importantly, though, Adam Cole has been challenged officially by Balor and the match would be a must-watch for NXT fans as both stars are on the top of their game currently.
After the match, Adam Cole came out and had a very heated confrontation with Finn Balor in the ring. The intense stare-down was broken up by the multiple referees present. You can check out the segment in the embedded video below:
Conor McGregor, the former UFC Champion has expressed interest in pro wrestling and working with WWE over the years, with many wrestlers offering their takes on whether he would be a good fit at the company or how he would fare as a champion with some even expressing their desire to work with him in the squared circle. While it doesn’t appear that McGregor has any plans of walking away from MMA for pro wrestling yet, he teased another possible link-up with WWE involving none other than current NXT Champion Finn Balor.
On Friday, Finn Balor uploaded a photo on Twitter of action figures of himself with the NXT Championship, Conor McGregor with the UFC titles, and Triple H in the center of both inside a toy WWE ring. McGregor took notice of the post, and retweeted it with the quote, “No more mr. nice guy!”
This caught the attention of Triple H, who responded by saying, “Just say when.” Triple H has talked about Conor McGregor working with the company many times before.
Triple H has always been interested with the idea of Conor McGregor working with WWE. Speaking on how he would be a good fit with the company, Triple H said: “I think Conor McGregor versus Vince McMahon with the billion-dollar walk on the line, I think that’s a match made in heaven.” Triple H joked. “I think the nature of what we do — even being entertainment — it lends itself to combat sports. It lends itself to people like Conor McGregor or Ronda [Rousey], as it does with Tyson Fury. It did in the past with Mike Tyson and Floyd [Mayweather]. Entertaining people are what makes those fights, a lot of times.”
Back in 2016, Triple H said Conor McGregor could come to the WWE anytime he wants to, stating that one doesn’t need to be huge to be a big star anymore. “He could come over, he’s got it all, man — he’s got the personality, the skills, the talk. He’s an entertainer, for sure. What does he walk around at? 180lbs? I have smaller guys now in the WWE. We have 200lb guys who are stars. You don’t need to be 300lbs anymore,” The Game said of McGregor.
WWE has seen many MMA stars join the company in the past — namely Brock Lesnar, Ronda Rousey, Shayna Baszler and Matt Riddle. Conor McGregor could also have a good stint at the company with someone like Finn Balor who has expressed interest in working with him before too.
Karrion Kross says he wants to fight WWE NXT Champion Finn Balor at WrestleMania 37 for the title. This was in response to Balor saying in an interview that Kross deserves a title shot.
Finn Balor proposed the idea of defending the NXT Championship against Karrion Kross while appearing on After The Bell. He said that a dream scenario for him would be to defend the title one night on TakeOver and the next night at WrestleMania.
“The Prince” empathized with Kross and said that he really feels for him, in regards to Kross having to relinquish his title. Balor said that Kross deserves a title shot, whether it’s at TakeOver or at WrestleMania. Karrion Kross was asked about Finn Balor’s comments and if he would be down to have this hypothetical match.
“100 percent. Yes, I would,” Karrion Kross told FOX Sports. “I don’t know where that began — whether it was online or if it was Finn’s suggestion through another interview — but people have been creating these pictures where they post the both of us with the WrestleMania background for weeks now. I hope the company is listening to that because there seems to be an interest and a demand for that.”
Karrion Kross added that he hoped fans get what they’re looking for as he would be more than happy to step up on “The Grandest Stage of Them All.”
Returning from injury in December, Karrion Kross would then go on to feud with Damian Priest and Santos Escobar. Meanwhile, the NXT Championship has been wrapped around Finn Balor’s waist who has defended the title against the likes of Kyle O’Reilly and Pete Dunne. When Kross was asked if Balor has been a worthy champion, he vehemently agreed.
“Absolutely. Yes, he has. He’s gone through virtually every single major name in NXT. He’s had killer matches. And that’s what this company is all about. When someone is not able to carry the ball for one reason or another, we’ve got the best guys in the world ready to step up, and he did that. If the situation were reversed, I would have done it as well, and I’m looking forward to eventually stepping into the ring to compete with him,” Karrion Kross said of Finn Balor.
NXT Champion Finn Balor was this week’s guest on the WWE After The Bell podcast.
Balor discussed his current run in NXT and revealed he initially thought he’d be there for just a few months. “I didn’t know what to expect,” Balor said of his time in NXT. “I was kind of under the impression that it was going to be a 3 month deal. Reboot Finn, reset and go back to RAW or go back to SmackDown, go back to things as normal.”
He added that things just evolved into something nobody expected, similar to how NXT has evolved as a brand. Sometimes, you have to know when to move from one chapter of your career to the next. Balor did this with his time wrestling in Europe, in Japan and in WWE.
“I don’t know what to expect going forward, I don’t know how long it’s going to last but I have to say, I’m super happy in NXT and there’s no reason for me to want to move anywhere in my career at this point.”
Randy Orton In NXT
Finn Balor was also asked which WWE Superstars he’d like to see in NXT. He said some fans might expect him to say Kevin Owens or Ricochet. However, he’d like to see Randy Orton on WWE’s black and gold brand.
“I feel like Randy could really bring NXT to the next level, with regards to the effect he’d have on the people around him in the locker room and in the ring, with his professionalism and his experience.”
Balor spoke fondly of his time working with Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe, noting that he leaerned a lot from both of them during his first NXT run.
Edge had the chance a few weeks ago to share the ring with WWE NXT Champion Finn Balor during an episode of NXT.
The WWE Hall of Famer finds himself in an interesting spot kayfabe wise as he can pick which title he wants to challenge for at WrestleMania 37 after winning the Men’s Royal Rumble Match.
He could go after the WWE Title, held by Drew McIntyre, Universal Championship, currently held by Roman Reigns, or Balor’s prestigious belt. However, WWE already has plans in place for him at the biggest event of the year.
Edge did a promo segment on that NXT episode with Balor and Pete Dunne to further promote their match at the NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day special.
While doing an interview with Sports Illustrated, the former WWE Champion gave some high praise to Balor.
“You need to start with Finn Bálor. He’s operating on an entirely different level in the ring right now than I’ve ever seen him perform. I love what he’s doing. With Finn, the story would be two guys who have wrestled all over the world, but never been in the same place at the same time. That’s very appealing to me.”
Edge also talked about Christian’s in-ring return, Reigns, and more. The full interview can be found here.
With NXT now on a major cable network as opposed to just the WWE Network, many fans have wondered how much wrestlers from the brand are paid. The range that NXT wrestlers are paid was recently addressed on an episode of Wrestling Observer Radio.
“They are above that,” Meltzer said when asked if top stars in NXT are making in the $50-75 grand a year range. “They are not getting $250-300K or anything like that. Balor I’m sure is but I don’t think anyone else is.”
“They’re probably in the low-1s ($100K),” Meltzer continued to say about top NXT talent.
“I know of one of the top people in NXT who has been there for a long time who should be making a tonne, and he’s making $130K. So they’re making $130-150K. Adam Cole, maybe he’s making a little more, he should be. That’s the range.”
How much newly signed talent to NXT are paid was also addressed.
“NXT usually to start is maybe $60k maybe $50k depending who you are. If you are a guy who was like a football player, you’ll get more and you’ll get raises up to a certain point. There might be guys (getting) more than that, but not much more. It’s not like they are paying $250K to guys in NXT other than Balor.”
After a tough battle, Finn Balor has walked out of the latest special for the black and yellow brand as the top champion.
Balor made his latest title defense against Pete Dunne at the WWE NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day event The match had a slow build with a lot of grappling and selling by Balor. Things picked up and they traded moves and near falls.
In the end, Balor connected with a double foot stomp off the top rope then hit 1916 to successfully retain the NXT Title. Post-match, Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan attacked Balor until Undisputed Era ran down to make the save. Kyle O’Reilly offered his hand to Balor, who answered and they shook hands. Adam Cole took out Balor with a superkick then one to Kyle O’Reilly.
On the February 3rd edition of NXT, Balor and Dunne took part in a segment that was interrupted by men’s Royal Rumble winner Edge, which led to him doing a promo about how he’s allowed to challenge any champion in the company. He put them over for being two of the best and said he’d be watching their match at TakeOver.
He noted that if he hasn’t decided which title he’ll be challenging for at WrestleMania then he would be watching this match closely and the outcome may make him decide his choice.
WrestleVotes reported last week that WWE officials have talked about the title being defended on one of the nights of WrestleMania 37. Those talks have not been finalized and there’s no word yet on the competitors in the match.
WWE NXT Champion Finn Balor recently spoke on the concept of ‘cross-promoting’ multiple pro wrestling companies. 2021 has already been a big year for promotions outside of WWE; with NJPW, AEW, IMPACT and AAA all seemingly looking to trade talent over 2021 (at least).
Speaking to Bleacher Report’s Graham Matthews, Balor said “I know there’s a lot of cross-brand work going on, which is something I’ve been an advocate for for years. I don’t feel like we should be limited to what our contract says or what company we work for.”
“I feel like wrestling on the whole can be better if we all worked together” Finn Balor continued. “So if that means me going to Japan or me going to Europe or me going to Mexico? I’m down to do that. I’m all for the open-border policy, not just between countries but companies as well.”
With All Elite Wrestling dominating the Wednesday Night ratings most weeks? It may be time for NXT to pursue other options to generate more buzz around the brand. NXT/WWE have worked with other promotions in the past, with the likes of Hideo Itami (now in NJPW) going to Pro Wrestling NOAH for an appearance. WWE also has strong links with the likes of PROGRESS, ICW, OTT, EVOLVE and wXw; although these are of course not on the level of an IMPACT, AEW or NJPW.
The only other major promotions that WWE seemingly could work with are CMLL, AJPW, NOAH or Ring of Honor; although it would be extremely unlikely, especially in ROH’s case, as they are owned by Sinclair Broadcasting in their own right.
Whilst Finn Balor does make an intriguing point, there’s probably a very slim chance that WWE will operate with other major promotions going forward.
NXT Champion Finn Balor spoke to the New York Post to promote NXT Takeover: Vengeance Day, which airs live this Sunday on the WWE Network. Balor spoke about defending the NXT Championship against Pete Dunne, recovering from a broken jaw and more.
Balor feels like he’s working on ‘a little different frequency’ lately, when talking about his ring work. He says NXT matches feel like real fights, which is the way he was trained to wrestle in the UK.
“It’s something that kind of suits my style more,” Balor said. “I feel like maybe I was guilty of trying to please too many people at once and not really please myself in the past with some of my performances and I’ve gone back to what I really like in the ring, which is kind of like scrappy, gritty, mat wrestling, not too much high flying, not too much outside the ring and really get back to basics. That’s really what I’ve been focusing on is going back to.”
WWE presents a very specific type of wrestling on Raw and SmackDown. The wrestlers have to be hyper-aware of the fact that they are on television, play to the camera and strive for that “fight forever” moment. NXT is more of a “back to basics” style. Finn Balor says he made a conscious effort to get back to his technical roots and he feels more comfortable.
NXT Champion Finn Balor
Finn Balor on His Perfect Opponent
Balor defends the NXT Championship against Pete Dunne this Sunday at NXT Takeover: Vengeance Day. Balor says Pete Dunne is a great matchup for him, but he considers everyone his perfect opponent.
“I’ll find a way or I’ll work around regardless of their style, whether it’s Damian Priest who has a very distinct style, Gargano has a distinct style, Matt Riddle, Timothy Thatcher who has a completely different style and we tore it up. I feel like for me the real challenge has been being able to adapt and kind of swim in the current of these guys’ different styles.”
Pete’s style is kind of very similar to where I’m at right now in the ring. So I think it’s either gonna be a clash or it’s gonna complement each other (laughs). So I don’t how the match is gonna look. It could either be great or it could be terrible. But Pete is someone who I’ve respected in the ring for a long time.”
Lasting Effects of his Broken Jaw
Finn Balor says he’s still dealing with the lasting effects of breaking his jaw last year. He is still in pain, grinds his teeth a lot and is very reluctant to take any strikes to the face.
“One thing that still hasn’t come back is the feeling in my bottom lip,” said Balor “It’s still numb. It’s like I’ve been to the dentist and you get that shot. Pretty much my bottom lip down to my chin I’ve still got no feeling, but the doctors are a little hopeful that might come back in a couple of months. They say nerves take a little longer to heal. Sometimes you’ll see me out there now if I’m doing a promo licking my bottom lip more or I’ll be rubbing it a little bit. It still feels like there’s Novocain in there and it’s numb.”
Finn Balor fractured his jaw in October 2020
Finally, Finn Balor discussed the possibility of defending the NXT Championship at WrestleMania. It sounds like a cool idea, but NXT typically holds Takeover events during WrestleMania. If it means that the NXT Championship match would have to take place at WrestleMania instead of Takeover, he’d rather not do that.
“Once we’re protecting the NXT brand without having it diluted by the big show at WrestleMania it’s something I’d be willing to do. If there’s the possibility of defending the title back to back nights, TakeOver and WrestleMania, then I’m all for it.”
As advertised, Edge made an appearance on Wednesday’s episode of WWE NXT.
He did so to interrupt a promo segment at the top of the second hour involving WWE NXT Champion Finn Balor and Pete Dunne. This is where it was revealed that Balor will defend the title against the top contender at the next TakeOver special.
Edge did a promo about how he watched NXT as a fan for years and by doing so it helped him find the passion to make a return. This is where he teased challenging for the NXT Title at WrestleMania 37 as he won the Men’s Royal Rumble Match, which allows him to challenge for any title that he wants. It should be noted that WWE reportedly already has their plans lined up for him at Mania.
Also confirmed on this show was a new title match for TakeOver, which will see Johnny Gargano put the NXT North American Title on the line when he defends against Kushida as the two stars have been feuding over the past few weeks.
WWE presents the NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day event on Sunday, February 14, 2021 in Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center and will air on the WWE Network.
NXT Champion Finn Balor returned to the black-and-gold brand back in late 2019 following a main roster run. In a recent interview with Digital Spy, Balor revealed how it’s a decision he doesn’t regret.
According to Balor, the sheer wealth of talented Superstars he’s been able to compete against is justification enough for his choice.
“You can make a lot of decisions in this business that you regret, but I feel like the thing that affirms that I made the right decision is the different talent I’ve gotten to work with since I’ve been in NXT, people I’ve never worked with before in the past.”
He pointed to notable NXT Superstars such as Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, Damien Priest, and current Raw Superstar, Riddle.
Balor also revealed how returning to NXT helped push himself “to the limit.” According to him, his NXT return forced him out of the “comfort zone” he found himself in during his time on Raw and SmackDown.
Couple this with the wealth of fresh feuds and matchups he’s enjoyed since his NXT return, Balor has no doubt he made the right decision.
Finn Balor recently competed against Undisputed Era’s Kyle O’Reilly at NXT New Year’s Evil. Like their first vicious encounter, which left Balor with a broken jaw, the two faced off in another hard-hitting affair. Balor would defeat O’Reilly, retaining his NXT Championship in the process.
WWE NXT Champion Finn Balor was recently interviewed by Vicente Beltran of the ViBe & Wrestling podcast. The Irish Superstar would discuss a number of topics during his time on the show, including working with Triple H and Shawn Michaels in the ‘developmental’ brand.
“For me? I feel very fortunate that I’ve gotten to work very closely with some of my heroes in the wrestling business” Finn Balor began. “Shawn Michaels and Triple H being two. Obviously, I’ve worked very closely with Triple H for many years since I began at NXT. And of course William Regal.”
“Then more recently in the second run with NXT? Shawn Michaels is heavily involved behind the scenes” Finn Balor then continued. “So, getting to know him and learn from him and pick his brain on what he feels is a good direction to take the business? I’ve learned so much from.”
Balor finished by talking about how surreal it has been to work work with some of the wrestling legends he grew up idolizing.
“It’s always very surreal to be working with these guys that you idolized or you grew up watching and had their t-shirts or had their action figures. Now you’re having a discussion or debate on what you think is a good direction to go. I feel very fortunate to have that kind of environment in NXT.”
The big rematch between Finn Balor and Kyle O’Reilly was just as memorable as their first encounter.
The contest took place in the main event of Wednesday’s episode of WWE NXT on the USA Network, which was touted as New Year’s Evil. It served as the main event of the show that was the first 2021 episode from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
The match went long as they had no commercials and about 20 minutes. It was building off what they did in their first match. Balor worked over the jaw of Kyle throughout the match so the finish had Balor get O’Reilly in a chin/arm submission.
WWE set up this contest on the December 16th episode as the company held a singles match between Pete Dunne and O’Reilly. Because O’Reilly was victorious, he earned the right to challenge Balor for the NXT Title.
Their first bout took place at the TakeOver 31 event this past October. Although Balor successfully retained the title at this show, both stars walked away with injuries as Balor broke his jaw in two places in the match. O’Reilly reportedly suffered a concussion.
