Finn Balor has wrestled on numerous continents, for numerous companies, against some of the best and most highly regarded performers on the planet.
However, he has now revealed that there is one moment from his long and illustrious career that stands out above the rest.
After achieving incredible success in Japan, latterly with New Japan Pro Wrestling, Finn Balor signed with WWE in May 2014. Balor debuted on NXT a handful of months later, before going on to win the NXT Championship at the Beast In The East special in Japan.
Balor, who pinned Kevin Owens to win the title in his home away from home, described the win as a “really cool moment” in a new interview with Ryan Satin on Out of Character.
“What was really cool for me is that in Japan, the company I was working for, we weren’t allowed to use the streamers for safety issues. That night in Tokyo at the WWE show, when they did the announcements and the streamers came in, I was like, ‘Oh man, this is super cool,'”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWpmBD_3urA
Reflecting further, Balor praised former rival Samoa Joe, describing how the former WWE Superstar helped elevate him. After holding the NXT Title for nearly a year, The Prince lost the championship to Joe at a house show to the shock and amazement of the wrestling world. Recalling that moment, Balor described the loss as the favourite moment of his career.
“I really feel like he brought the best out of Finn Balor. I was a technical wrestler and considered smooth and would have a match a certain way. Joe taught me to have a match in a different way. It was more of a battle or a fight or a scrap. That really helped elevate Finn to the next level. My favorite and most memorable moment of my career was losing the title to Joe at the house show. I remember just laying on the mat and the crowd was completely blown away and surprised. Someone who I had wrestled pretty much every night for a year straight got his hand raised and I’m watching and it was such a cool moment to share that with Joe and experience it as a fan because so much is predictable in this business and that night I feel was one of the most unpredictable moments I’ve experienced,”
In recent weeks, Balor once again challenged for the NXT Title against Karrion Kross. While victory would have seen him become the black and gold brand’s first ever three time champion, the Irishman came up just short.
This defeat coupled with comments from Balor himself led to speculation that he may be about to return to the main roster.
It has been reported that the RAW creative team have been asking for Balor “for months.” However, the report also notes that there are currently no plans for him to move from NXT.
H/t to Fightful for the transcription.