Finn Balor’s recent marquee matches have drawn a lot of praise. These bouts feel like grueling wars rather than flashy in-ring contests. “The Prince of NXT” recently described how this change in his in-ring style is a reflection of how he’s truly expressing himself in the ring now.
In an appearance on WWE After The Bell with Corey Graves, Balor explained that at previous points in his WWE career, he was trying to please everyone by wrestling WWE’s typical style. But now, Balor states that he’s wrestling for himself.
” I was guilty of trying to please way too many people, you know, and not please myself in, you know, past versions of the Finn character and what I was doing in the ring,” said Balor. “And I feel like I’ve gone back to pleasing myself, you know, inside and outside the ring and kinda trying to you know, deliver a style of wrestling that I enjoy to watch, and also I enjoy to execute and something that I feel that I’m better at than the classic, traditional WWE style.
“And I tried to, maybe for too long, fit into a box that I didn’t really fit, and now [I] just try to go out there and express myself truly as how I feel wrestling should be expressed.”
Balor also looked back on his return to NXT. He admitted that he didn’t know what to expect from the significant change in his career. The NXT Champion revealed that he initially thought he was heading back to the black-and-gold brand for a brief stint to reboot his character.
“I was kinda under the impression it was gonna be like a three-month deal and kinda reboot Finn and reset, and go back to RAW or go back to SmackDown and kinda go back to things as normal,” said Balor. “But it’s kinda evolved into something that I don’t think anyone expected, and I think it’s thanks to how NXT is also evolving, and [it’s] really truly it’s own brand now.
“So I don’t know what to expect going forward, I don’t know how long it’s gonna last. But I have to say, I’m super happy in NXT. There’s no reason for me to want to move anywhere in my career at this point. I feel like I’m still growing, and I think that’s one of the best things I’ve done in my career is knowing when to move and knowing when there’s something to change.”
The full episode is available here:
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