From 2014 to 2019, Finn Bálor occasionally fought as “The Devil”. This involved body painting and a headdress, and was usually kept for big games. It was a memorable entry and almost always led to victories. But he fought in the same style, it was never very well explained, and he gradually lost his coldness factor as Bálor languished in the main cast.
Finn has been reenergized since returning to NXT in 2019, abandoning The Demon to become a cold and calculating Prince. And when explaining to your TakeOver: Stand & Deliver challenger Karrion Kross how his new approach helped him win gold – and how Kross’s attachment to his partner Scarlett will prevent him from taking his gold – Bálor just casually explained his demon.
“Last week, Kross, you did your best, and the Prince is still standing.
“But what you really did last week was to show me your weakness. You see when a young man, he struggles with emotion, uncontrollable emotion. Some people call this Devils, but really, it’s just emotion. Only after I learned to control my emotions, to be cold, did I become untouchable in this ring. You? You still struggle with emotion. Everything you do is a reaction, and in those moments, you are sloppy. In those moments, you are vulnerable. At Takeover Stand & Deliver, I’m going to push you to the point where you only have two options. One – you surprise everyone and dominate your emotions, or two – which I believe will happen, is a repeat of last week and your emotions dominate you. And when do they do? I will drag you into the cold, deep waters and, without emotion, I will drown you. “
It’s not much, but it’s more than what WWE has done for years. Body painting, etc. being a youthful manifestation of Finn’s emotional approach to wrestling, which he has since overcome, is actually a very clever explanation.
And one more reason why The Prince> The Demon.
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