Finn Balor discusses recent heel turn.
On the Oct. 23 episode of NXT, Finn Balor shocked the wrestling world when he turned on Johnny Gargano to close the show. The heel turn reminded fans of Balor's days with The Bullet Club and Balor even stated that "The Prince is back" during his interview on WWE Backstage.
However, in an interview with Sports Illustrated, Balor reveals that his new character is more than just a return to Prince Devitt.
"People still talk about Bullet Club, but Bullet Club, for me, that was like six years ago. You know how much I’ve done in six years? Last year alone I wrestled 172 matches. I’ve evolved far beyond what I was doing in Japan," he said. "This is a new version of Finn. This is the combination of the squeaky clean babyface in Japan, the Bullet Club heel in Japan, the squeaky clean babyface in NXT that carried the company for 292 days on his back, the guy who won the Universal title on his first pay per view, the guy who beat Roman Reigns on his first night, The Demon and every Demon entrance I’ve ever done, it’s a combination of everything I’ve ever done for the last 20 years. To call it a return to Prince Devitt/Bullet Club is an understatement."
Despite helping out Undisputed Era by taking out Gargano, there was no official alignment between Balor and the Undisputed Era. Having been the leader of Bullet Club in Japan, Balor is no stranger to leading a group. And should Balor Club form in NXT, Finn has two men in mind to fill some spots.
"There are a couple people I’ve been thinking about. I don’t know if it’s possible, but I’m very, very, very interested in AOP. Those two guys are two of the meanest guys in this business. If I have a chance to create a Balor Club in any brand, I’d want those guys backing me up," he said.
With Balor being back in NXT, there is a chance that he won't be on WrestleMania in 2020. NXT TakeOver will be held the night before WrestleMania, and even though TakeOver is a big event in its own right, Finn sees no reason why NXT shouldn't have a presence at the biggest show of the year.
"I don’t know if I’ll be on SmackDown this Friday night or Raw next Monday night. The way WWE works is a machine that is beyond my comprehension. All I know is that, right now, I’m with NXT. I don’t know how long it’s going to last," he said. "NXT is its own brand. SmackDown is on WrestleMania, Raw is on WrestleMania, I don’t see why NXT shouldn’t be part of WrestleMania. Obviously, we have our own unique TakeOver events, and those are a completely different atmosphere from WWE pay-per-views, but I don’t see any reason why an NXT championship match cannot be held at WrestleMania."
Balor is advertised as appearing in some capacity on Wednesday's episode of NXT.
Fightful will have live coverage of NXT beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
