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From 2014 - 2019, Finn Bálor occasionally wrestled as “The Demon”. This involved body paint and a head dress, and was usually saved for big matches. It made for an memorable entrance, and almost always led to victories. But he wrestled the same style, it was never explained very well, and it gradually lost its cool factor as Bálor languished on the main roster.
Finn’s been re-energized since returning to NXT in 2019, ditching The Demon to become a cold, calculating Prince. And in explaining to his TakeOver: Stand & Deliver challenger Karrion Kross how his new approach helped him win gold - and how Kross’ attachment to his partner Scarlett will prevent him from taking that gold from him - Bálor just casually explained his demon.
“Last week Kross, you took your best shot, and The Prince is still standing.
“But what you really done last week, is you showed me your weakness. You see when a man’s young, he fights with emotion, uncontrollable emotion. Some people call it demons, but really, it’s just emotion. It wasn’t until I learned to control my emotion, to be cold, that I became untouchable in this ring. You? You still fight with emotion. Everything you do is a reaction, and in those moments, you’re sloppy. In those moments, you’re vulnerable. At Takeover Stand & Deliver, I’m gonna push you to the point where you only have two options. One — you surprise everyone and you master your emotions, or two — what I believe will happen, is a repeat of last week and your emotions master you. And when they do? I’m gonna drag you into the cold, deep water, and with no emotion, I’m gonna drown you.”
It’s not much, but it’s more than WWE did for years. The body paint, etc. being a youthful manifestation of Finn’s emotional approach to wrestling that he’s since outgrown is actually a really smart explanation.
And yet another reason why The Prince > The Demon.
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