NXT Champion Finn Balor recently spoke to The Poughkeepsie Journal to promote the upcoming live event at the Mid Hudson Civic Center on April 23. You can check out the full interview here along with some highlights below. During the interview Finn was asked how he feels about leaving NXT for the main roster and he emphasized that the main roster is still his goal, he’s just not done with NXT yet.
“Absolutely. I came to WWE to be on WrestleMania and to be in a WrestleMania main event. I won’t say I got sidetracked, but I took a different direction. I get to work with NXT and be a part of something I can consider incredibly special. I stumbled upon this little pot of gold with NXT. It wasn’t the plan when I came here, but it’s all of my focus. I’m proud to be the standard-bearer for NXT. I believe I will get the call up eventually, but I want to leave NXT in better condition than I found it. I want to leave the best footprint I can with NXT possible. With a third brand, at the end of the day, it’s great for wrestling fans. The more wrestling we have, the better. The better job I do, the more possibility of that coming true.”
Balor also added that although he had a lot of experience when he signed with WWE, he feels that the WWE Performance Center has helped him become a better wrestler.
“People will say, ‘Finn, you’ve been stuck down at NXT for two years. When are you getting the callup?’ I’ve had the opportunity to be at NXT for the last few years. Every day, I’ve gone to the Performance Center with Matt Bloom, Terry Taylor, Norman Smiley, Robbie Brookside, Sara Amato – some of the greatest minds in the business and get to work with them one on one. If anyone thinks that me as a performer and a person isn’t benefiting, it’s insane.
“If you think I was ready to be called up when I first came from New Japan Pro Wrestling, imagine how much better I am now. I’ve been here two years and this is incredible. Two years ago, there was a guy who transferred out of college football who started the same day as me and now I believe less than 2 years later, Riddick Moss is on the verge of becoming one of the best in the business in the next five years with hard work and the hard work of the coaches and an effective training facility. He’s going to take the world by storm in the next five years. Looking at NXT in the future is like looking in a crystal ball. I’ve been around the world and seen talent. Seeing Jason Jordan and Chad Gable, straight away I said those guys have talent. I saw Enzo and Cass and said these guys are going to be superstars. A year and a half later, they are on the verge of breaking out. That’s not something that’s going to stop. The future is in good hands. You have Raw on Monday and SmackDown on Tuesday, but at the Performance Center, every single day it’s working and everyone’s grinding with the opportunity to train there every day.”
