Finn Balor says "Demon" character held him back in WWE
Finn Balor has reignited rivalry with Seth Rollins seven years after The Prince won his WWE Universal Championship, donning the role of the Demon. Fatefully, he has not won a world championship since.
Balor attempted to dethrone Roman Reigns at Extreme Rules in 2021 as the Demon in a losing effort. This marked his first loss with the gimmick. He came up short again earlier this year against The Rated-R Superstar Edge at WrestleMania 39.
For fans hoping The Judgment Day star brings back the gimmick against Seth Rollins this weekend, perhaps there is disappointing news. Speaking on WWE After The Bell, Finn Balor called The Demon a "crutch" because of the lack of a conceivable story behind him:
"It became a crutch. I'll hold my hand up and say I'm guilty of trying to please too many people and not please myself. The thing with that character, or even a lot of the stuff that I was doing in WWE in general, was a result of trying to please too many people, be it the creative team, the writing team, the merchandise team, the promotions team, the tickets team and not really pleasing myself." [H/T: WrestlingNews.co]
Finn Balor beat Seth Rollins to win his first world title at Summerslam 2016. Rollins also injured Balor & took it all away from him.
Balor has held this grudge for over 7 years & he hasn't been the same since then. This rivalry has been excellent. https://t.co/u8z74xA4G1
Seth Rollins broke character recently to praise his on-screen rival's impeccable efforts over the years. You can read more here.
Finn Balor details why the "Demon" character failed in WWE
After joining The Judgment Day in 2022, Finn Balor's career improved. He was embroiled in a deeply personal feud against Edge for an entire calendar year.
The Prince continued about The Demon on After The Bell, recalling when it was first conceived in Japan. While it had no "rhyme or reason," it helped Balor tap into a darker side of himself:
"When you bring it into the WWE Universe, it has to become something, or it has to have a reason why this happens, why this transformation happens, and I feel like the more you try and explain something, the less sense that actually makes and the more ridiculous it becomes. For me, that was the crutch that I felt."
He concluded:
"It wasn't necessarily the process of the paint or the creative part of trying to execute a different unique design every time, it was to try to keep so many people happy and not really staying true to myself and why I was doing it in the first place." [H/T: WrestlingNews.co]
WrestleMania 34 - The Miz vs Finn Bálor vs Seth Rollins
WrestleMania 35 - Bobby Lashley vs Finn Bálor
2 matches with Irishman Finn Bálor representing Europe. Europe’s losing streak continued at 34, but was broken at 35 by a combination of athleticism and paint. https://t.co/9Hozt5YQ7g
Balor has sporadically brought back The Demon during his run in WWE, most notably during his time in NXT, and against the likes of Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt and Bobby Lashley.