Finn Balor explains why he didn’t take too many risks during his time in NXT.
During a recent interview with “What’s The Story” (H/T to WrestlingInc), Finn Balor spoke about his cage match with Samoa Joe at NXT TakeOver: The End. They competed in a cage match for the NXT Championship. This is where Samoa Joe became the first person to beat “The Demon” Finn Balor in a match.
He explained that they wanted him to do his Coup de Grace from the top of the cage. However, Balor argued that he was losing the match, so didn’t want to risk getting injured on such a big spot for nothing.
He also didn’t want to risk getting hurt and missing out on the main roster. Finn Balor thought the point of NXT for to get to the main roster. Injuring himself would put that in jeopardy.
‘Hmm, good point.’
“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.” Finn Balor said. “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. 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,” Balor added. “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.'”
Finn Balor On Losing The NXT Championship At A Live Event
Finn Balor famously lost the NXT Championship at an untelevised live event. This ended his 292-day reign as champion of the promotion.
WrestleZone spoke with Finn Balor about the title loss to Samoa Joe, which took place at an April 21, 2016 live event in Lowell, Massachusetts. Despite losing the match, Balor revealed that it is one of his favorite matches of all time. He said it was because of how it made him feel alive in the ring, and the emotion of the match.
“Great question. I’m just gonna go with my favorite match of my career. I don’t know if it necessarily represents my work the best, but the emotion I felt in the match in Lowell, Massachusetts on a house show against Samoa Joe where I lost the NXT Championship was one of the most alive feelings I have felt in a ring. That for me certainly sticks out about one of my favorite moments from my career.”
