WWE's Finn Balor Pitched NXT UK Run Before Heading to SmackDown

Finn Balor recently made his return to SmackDown after a successful Championship run in NXT, and [...]

By Matthew Aguilar

Finn Balor recently made his return to SmackDown after a successful Championship run in NXT, and many expected him to either head to Raw or SmackDown after his epic 2nd run on the black and gold brand came to end. After coming to SmackDown he entered into a program with the Tribal Chief himself Roman Reigns (with some interference from John Cena and Baron Corbin), but it could've turned out differently if WWE had run with the idea Balor initially pitched them. In a new interview with BT Sport, Balor revealed he pitched the idea of heading to NXT UK for a run before heading to SmackDown, and it wouldn't be just for Walter (via Fightful).

"The surprise appearance at NXT UK about two years ago was something that I was really excited about. It wasn't going to be a one-off," Balor said. "It was going to be a regular thing. We were building towards a match with WALTER, it got taken away from us by the pandemic. It's something I'm still super invested in. Believe it or not, before I returned to SmackDown, I could feel the run at NXT coming to an end and I'd kind of exhausted all the resources there too. The guys that I could wrestle against and that I actually pitched the idea of moving to NXT UK, and obviously him, that might've been a little bit of a bold move on maybe a bold pitch, but I felt like, you know, not only like challenge myself against guys like Ilja, WALTER, A-Kid, Jordan, but you know, help the brand the same way I tried to help NXT… But, the office had a different opinion on that. They wanted me on SmackDown."

WWE didn't go that route, of course, opting to have Balor on SmackDown, and you can understand why. Balor brings in a fresh face to the blue brand that can be involved in several feuds with the stars there, and as for NXT UK, while he could still have a number of big matches there, his major target Walter was soon to lose against Dragunov, and he could end up in NXT or Raw or SmackDown sooner than later.

Balor's enjoyed watching NXT UK grow though, and is excited to see where they can go from here.

"Seeing that brand grow, it's incredible. Some of those guys are some of the best in the world on that, like you said, it's a more, I don't want to use the word 'pure,' but it's a more, definitely a raw or mat-wrestling based on that. Some of these guys are really talented that have a huge team. So, it's great to see the ground grow at the seat of breath and grow," Balor said. "And then, you know, hopefully, we'll get the funds back in the UK soon too, and that no offense to the BT studios, but if we can get, feel that having people will get us back in places like Blackpool, or Wembley and, you know, be incredible."

Do you wish Balor would have gone to NXT UK? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things WWE and NXT with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!

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