Current NXT Champion Finn Balor recently spoke with Sporting News‘ Brian Fritz in promoting NXT Takeover: Brooklyn. You can read a few excerpts below:
On His Transition From The Indies To NXT:
Well, I’m not sure who it looks from the outside but for me personally it’s been very difficult. There’s a lot of subtle differences that go into changing your style up and adapting to a new style of work here in WWE. It’s something that I’ve very grateful for the help I’ve been given by the company. It’s not just in the ring but outside and in the back and life. It’s been a bit of a struggle getting used to life in the states, adapting to a new lifestyle. I was used to getting home maybe once a month while I was in Japan. Trying to battle a bit of home sickness at the moment but professionally it’s been going great. I feel like I’ve been improving every day and learning. I thought that maybe I peaked in Japan. I feel like now I’m starting at the bottom again and working my way up. I had to apply myself differently to different things. It’s been a real learning experience over the last year and I’m looking forward to the next couple of years.
On Winning The NXT Title In Japan Against Kevin Owens
It was kind of like the meeting of two chapters in my life. It was a place that became a second home for me. I had a lot of friends, a lot of incredible memories there that I kind of stepped away from and left behind and I was never sure if I was going to return. To return a year later to challenge for the NXT Championship was very kind of a surreal experience. It was almost like the storyline couldn’t have been any better with the location. It was the same building (Sumo Hall) that I had my last match for New Japan. To return there with WWE to wrestle Kevin Owens who is someone who came into NXT at the same time as me. We kind of experienced a lot of the same difficulties of battling with a new style. We kind of went through that struggle together. And to be in a championship match with someone who has become a very close friend of mine, it couldn’t have been any better. It’s a night that I’ll never ever forget for the rest of my life. It’s definitely a milestone night in my career for more than just the fact that I won the NXT Championship but for many personal reasons too.
