Former WWE Head Writer Road Dogg has discussed Finn Balor’s ‘Demon’ persona and why it hasn’t been used for some time.
Before joining WWE in 2014, Finn Balor – then known as Prince Devitt – had become known for using bodypaint as part of his act for big matches. The designs were often themed after comic characters such as Venom, Carnage, and Spawn.
Balor brought the bodypaint look to NXT at Takeover: R-Evolution in December 2014 when he teamed up with KENTA – named Hideo Itami in WWE – to defeat The Ascension.
However, rather than just being aesthetic, Balor explained that donning bodypaint meant changing into his alter-ego, The Demon King, a more aggressive persona he used for his biggest matches.
Over the following years, Finn Balor won multiple matches as The Demon King including capturing the NXT Championship, the Intercontinental Championship, and becoming the inaugural Universal Champion.
Out of 15 matches under the make-up, Balor has only lost twice, first to Samoa Joe at NXT TakeOver: The End in June 2016 and, more recently, when he unsuccessfully challenged Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at Extreme Rules in September 2021.
Speaking on The Wrestling Outlaws podcast, former SmackDown Head Writer and current Senior Vice President of Live Events, Road Dogg, spoke about the issues around booking The Demon King persona.
According to the WWE Hall of Famer, there are “speedbumps” around the character as he feels he shouldn’t lose.
“Look, I think one of the problems that arose is, can you beat The Demon? I think there are booking speedbumps in The Demon. If he’s always The Demon, ‘can he lose’ is a legitimate question. And I guess he can if he’s not supernatural. I think like Undertaker lost; it was horrible.”
Since losing to Roman Reigns, Finn Balor has refrained from bringing back The Demon King, it remains to be seen when the character will resurface.
H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the above transcription.