When Finn Balor first arrived in WWE NXT back in 2014, the former New Japan Pro Wrestling star who became famous by the name of Prince Detitt had to do something to distinguish himself under his new persona. Though he had worn paint prior to his time in WWE, he stepped it up another level when he created the Demon King version of the Balor character, an edgier and darker alter ego that would come out for big matches.
It’s been over a year since we last saw Balor put on the Demon face paint, and it sounds like it could be quite some time until we see it again. During an interview with Bleacher Report, Balor addressed the Demon’s disappearance and when we might see him put on the face and body paint once again.
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“I feel like The Demon is something that’s very personal to me,” Balor said. “I’d definitely like to get back to The Demon vs. The Fiend. I definitely want The Demon vs. Brock Lesnar. I want The Demon vs. Braun Strowman. But right now, I feel with the position I’m in, it would be a step backward. I’m riding the momentum of the work I’ve done as The Prince for the last 11 months, and I want to continue to ride that momentum. I feel like there will be an opportunity to bring The Demon back in the future, but that could be three, four years from now.”
He continued, “There’s a lot of other things I want to invest my creative juices in, and creatively The Demon takes a lot out of you. It’s something that can sometimes limit me as far as what I’m able to do, and right now I want to focus all my creative energy on when the bell rings what I’m doing in the ring. I don’t want to jeopardize that right now.
“I’m really proud of the matches I’ve been involved over the last 11 months since I returned to NXT and the variety of styles I’ve been able to adapt to. I don’t want to jeopardize that for any reason. Right now, I’m very much focused on Finn Balor the Prince.”
Balor’s time with NXT since returning to the brand last October has been up and down, but he turned that around this past week when he defeated Adam Cole to become NXT Champion once again. Earlier this year, Balor was set for a feud with NXT UK star WALTER which was highly anticipated. However, the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to that.
“WALTER, for me, is an absolute enigma in this business,” Balor said. “I’d put him in the same group as [Brock] Lesnar. That was the match that I wanted, and obviously, the world kind of went against us in a sense.
“I definitely feel like that match hasn’t gone away. With the travel restrictions between Europe and U.S. right now, we’re not able to travel. I think in the future, we’ll definitely get back to that match. But right now, whether it’s WALTER or someone else, I’m ready to defend the title.”
