Finn Balor only made three appearances in NXT UK – but there could have been a lot more for him in the now-defunct brand.
Finn Balor’s first of three NXT UK outings came vs. protege Jordan Devlin at the inaugural TakeOver for the brand in January 2019. Replacing an injured Travis Banks, who had been laid out by Devlin beforehand, ‘The Prince’ ultimately pinned the now-JD McDonagh in a well-received 12-minute clash.
Speaking exclusively to Inside The Ropes’ Kenny McIntosh, however, Finn noted how he was originally planned for more NXT UK appearances, with the end goal being to face WALTER:
“Yeah, the idea with NXT UK was to get to Finn vs. WALTER. Now it looks like we could, and that’s what we were working towards and obviously, COVID put a stop to that. But you know, that match can still happen now, whether it’s Raw or SmackDown, or possibly NXT Europe. It’s something that I’ve already expressed to the boss that I’m very eager to be involved in. And you know, if the opportunity arises, I’ll be there at NXT Europe.”
Finn Balor only worked two other contests for the United Kingdom division during the brand’s history, defeating Alexander Wolfe and Kenny Williams, respectively. Additionally, he wrestled Ilja Dragunov on the inaugural edition of Worlds Collide over Royal Rumble weekend in 2020.
The one-time Intercontinental Champion transitioned to the main roster in the summer of 2016, though he went back to NXT for a two-year spell, during which time he began his second run as NXT Champion. He’s been back on the main roster, officially, since the 17 July SmackDown.
Finn had spoken previously about moving to NXT UK full-time on Ryan Satin’s Out Of Character podcast, though this was ultimately scrapped as budget restrictions would have caused contract renegotiations.