WWE Superstar and World Tag Team Champion Finn Bálor recently discussed how he was at a low point in his life during the pandemic and working with Dominik Mysterio and his philosophy on high-risk spots. Bálor was a huge star in NXT and it looked like that would continue on the main roster. He was the first-ever Universal Champion but had to relinquish the championship the next night because of injury.
All that momentum that Finn Bálor had gathered in NXT and getting called up on the main roster stopped when he went out with an injury. When he returned he was put on the mid-card and never really rose back up to his previous spot on the card.
Finn Bálor was not happy with his position on the card and it was a low point in his career. He was recently a guest on the What’s The Story and talked about being in a low just before he made his heel turn and joined the Judgement Day in 2022. Finn Balor stated:
“I haven’t said this publicly ever, but the two months before I turned heel was probably the lowest I’d been in my career, with respect to personal investment. I was just like showing up. I was like ‘Yeah, who do you want me to lose to today?’ It was just kind of the same s*** that had been done over and over again. I was doing the same act for so long, and I just felt like I had so much more to give.”
H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription
Finn Balor Discusses Battling Personal Demons
Bálor went on to explain it wasn’t just his booking that brought him down, but also complications due to the pandemic. During the pandemic, his Green Card got messed up and it caused him a lot of stress. He had to go back to Ireland for the two months leading up to WrestleMania. That caused him to be left off the WrestleMania card because there was no time to build a match for the event.
Being left off the WrestleMania card made him doubt himself and if he was good enough. It took two years for his Green Card issues to finally work itself out. Bálor revealed that it was Edge who brought up him joining the Judgement Day because he saw WWE not utilizing Bálor. WWE put him with Liv Morgan and AJ Styles so he would have someone to do a heel turn on.
Another thing that has made Bálor feel valuable and proud is how much Dominik Mysterio has improved. He revealed how Mysterio had a tough road in front of him and had to learn on the fly, but has done amazing. At first, he was not looking forward to guiding Mysterio but did it as a favor for Dom’s dad, Rey Mysterio. However, his reservations were quickly resolved. Finn Balor stated:
“You never think that it’s going to lead to what it f***ing led to. Then I start doing the team with The Judgement Day … Then it’s me and Damian [Priest’s] job to kind of help Dom … Here’s me naively thinking that… me, Damien, and Rhea are supposed to be helping Dominik. In reality, it’s Dominik helping us get heat and making us more of a believable heel unit.”
H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription
Bálor also revealed that Dom’s first promo as part of Judgement Day was not pre-rehearsed and Dom came up with it live in the ring. Dom has continued to show that he is the heart and soul of the faction. He is currently caught in a love triangle with Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley.
Bálor has continued to show his potential to be in any position on the card. He is a viable threat for any mid-card guy, main event match with a world champion or even a tag team match. He along with JD McDonagh are the current World Tag Team champions and Bálor has held the tag team titles three times.
Part of what has made Finn Bálor a go-to guy for WWE is his ability to stay healthy. He explained that one way that he ensures he is healthy is by making sure high-risk moves are worth the risk of injury. Finn Bálor talked about a time in NXT when WWE wanted him to do his Double Stomp finisher, Coup de Grace, from the top of a cage. He turned them down and he is happy he did explaining his philosophy on high-risk moves.
“When I was in my first run in NXT in a cage match against Samoa Joe, they wanted me to jump off the top of the cage and do the foot stomp. I said no. This is Michael Hayes, like the main producer, he’s like, ‘What do you mean you don’t wanna do your finish off the top of the cage?’ And I said, ‘Well, A, I might get hurt. B, it’s my finisher and I’m losing the match so why would I do that off the cage?’ He goes, ‘Hmm, good point.’
“In my mind, I’m thinking, hang on, this is NXT. This is the training ground to get me to WWE. I’m not gonna risk getting hurt here to then jeopardize going there. I’ve kind of kept that philosophy now, saying, ‘Hey, I’m not gonna risk getting hurt today because then I won’t be able to wrestle tomorrow.'”
H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription
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The evidence of how risky that move is is not theoretical. We recently saw Edge, who is in AEW and going by his real name, Adam Copeland, do it in a match. The result was a broken leg and is off TV. Currently Bálor is caught in the middle of the drama surrounding Dirty Dom’s love triangle. Ripley is back and we will see how her presence will affect the faction. They could lose their two most popular members tonight on RAW.
Do you think Finn Bálor was at a low point before joining Judgement Day? Did joining Judgement Day help him leave that low point? Do you think Judgement Day would be as popular without Dirty Dom? What do you think will happen with Dom, Ripley, and Morgan tonight on RAW? Let us know on social media if you think Bálor not taking high-risk moves is what is holding him back from a world championship.
SOURCE: Wrestling Inc., What’s The Story, Wrestling Inc., Wrestling Inc.
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