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Finn Bálor Panel Recap From Wizard World Tulsa

Posted: Oct 23rd 2016 By: CMBurnham

Finn says he is doing great and is excited to be part of his first Wizard World.

Q: How long does it take to do the Demon makeup? It can take 3-4 hours depending on the detail and the time they have. Everyone thinks it is planned out in advance, but sometimes they have to figure out the fastest way to do something cool. The ideal situation would be 6 hours, but right now it is very much a spur of the moment thing.

Q: Do you have a make-up team? The first time he did it in Japan, he had 4 people. On the independent federations in Europe, he only had 1 helper. Most recently in WWE, he has had 2.

Q: When do you think you will be back? Finn says it is hard to say. The doctors said his progress is going great. His personal target date is Wrestle Mania. He would like to be back sooner, but he has to listen to the doctors. If the next couple of weeks turn out well, he might be back earlier.

Q: What do you consider your biggest match in Japan? Finn says he had lots of great moments. His favourite match is probably his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title match against Gedo. That was when he felt that what they were doing with Bullet Club really started to come together.

Q: When you get back, is there any chance of a Bullet Club reunion with Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows since they are all on the RAW brand? Finn says absolutely. A couple of issues have to be settled first with Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens. His dream match would be against the Undertaker at WrestleMania and the window is closing on that opportunity, so right now, that is what he wants the most.

Q: After a long career in Japan and then coming to WWE, what was the biggest transition of style for him? Finn says that it was a huge transition to living in America. He was used to living in Ireland and going back and forth to Japan, so having to find a new life in America was his main transition. The system of heirarchy in WWE was bigger, so that was also an adjustment, but WWE has been great. He could not have asked for a better welcome. They helped him adapt to living in Florida and getting into the Training Centre. His brief time in WWE made him feel like he as grown ten-fold. Terry Taylor is an unbelievable asset to the business and Matt Bloom totally changed the mood of NXT. Lots of people will give Balor, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens and Neville credit for that, but he credits Taylor and Bloom the most.

Q: If Finn teamed with Sinsuke Nakamura and challenged the New Day for the WWE RAW World Tag Team Titles, who would win? After figuring out that it would be Kofi Kingston and Big E representing The New Day, Finn said that Nakamura is so badass that he could probably beat them himself. He and Nakamura have been friends for a long time. Nakamura helped him open up in Japan and he feels fortunate to be able to return the favour.

Q: Do you wish you had someone like Bad Luck Fale to carry you to the ring? And what is your regular ab regiment? Finn would love to have Fale and Tama Tonga to be there, but they are doing their thing in IWGP. It is actually the perfect opportunity for them as they might have been overshadowed if they came to WWE with him. It has been two months since he has been able to train his abs, so he is not sure what the regiment is anymore.

Q: After your surgery, you posted a video of being cleared to play with Legos again and showed a model you said you were about halfway done with. Is it finished? Finn says he his about 3/4 of the way done with it.

Q: What are you going to be for Bálor-ween? Finn says he is not sure. He is headed to Ireland Sunday to see his family, then to Paris on Tuesday to promote the WWE video game. Then he comes back to New York to promote the new WWE action figures. He pitched the idea of dressing up as a terrible version of the Demon and going to office parties to find people dressed as better versions, but that did not get much approval.

Q: How does it make you feel to see people dress up as you? Finn says it is humbling. His parents in Ireland have old him stories of them opening the door for trick-or-treaters and seeing children dressed as him.

Q: Who scouted him to bring him to the WWE? Bálor and Neville had a match at the Best of the Super 8 and rumour has it that Triple H saw that match and wanted both of them. Personally, his first point of contact was always William Regal.

Q: When he was drafted to RAW and given the Universal Title, how did he feel? Finn makes it clear that he was not given the title. He WON the title. The events of that match never gave him a chance to enjoy that moment. When he hit the board and his shoulder popped out, he thought he could either be stretchered out and be the guy in SummerSlam who could not finish his match or he could pop it back in and get through the match. After the 3 count, all he could think about was going to the hospital, getting scanned, how long he would be out, letting everyone down, Vince and Triple H being mad, etc. He did not realise he had won the title until the segment on RAW where he gave the title back. Hopefully when he gets back, he will get a rematch and experience that joy.

Q: How do you feel about independent wrestling? He is a huge supporter of independent wrestling. It is not easy. He wrestled for 6 years in England out on a bubble. He could push himself in that bubble, but only get so far. When you put yourself out there more, you will get further. You have to take a risk. People need to push themselves further. If that means paying for your own flights to get your name out there, then do it. If you work hard enough, you will get what you deserve. If you work hard at something, you will either get good enough to do it yourself or you will make enough friends to help you .

Q: Lots of new names have come in to WWE recently due to the Cruiserweight Classic. Who does he look forward to wrestling when he comes back? Bálor jokingly says Brock Lesnar. He then says that the cruiserweight talent is awesome, specifically mentioning T. J. Perkins, but his focus is on Kevin Owens and the Universal Title

Q: In the 2K17 video game, how hard was it to incorporate all his entrances into the game? Finn says 2K called him and said he had too many entrances and they were eating up too much data, so he had to pick just one. He likened that to picking a child. Last year, he went out and did the motion capture for the video game, but this year, he thinks they just copied and pasted some things from that. They may also have brought in Low-Ki to double for Bálor.

Q: Are there any funny moments of culture shock Finn can share between Ireland and Japan? Finn says some of it is language. The biggest was probably arriving in Japan and never having used chopsticks before.

Q: Are there any independent wrestlers that Finn hopes to wrestle soon? Jay White is someone he is keeping an eye on. He thinks White will be in the WWE soon.

Q: Is there any chance of a match between him, A. J. Styles and Kenny Omega in the WWE? A year ago, he would have said there was no way. But now, he says it is absolutely a real possibility as a WWE match.

Q: What are his thoughts on facing Randy Orton and Johnny Gargano? Oton would be a huge marquee match. The love and support for Johnny Gargano would work for him as a heel.

Q: Do you like playing heel more than face? Finn says it is not playing a part to him. It has to be rooted in reality. When he came up with The Bullet Club, it came out of frustration of not being happy and being bored. He took it out on Japanese wrestling. It is not a matter of preference. He has to be true to how he feels at the moment. He has never been happier than the past two months, so he does not see a heel turn coming soon.

Q: What is the story of his finisher, The 1916? In 2009, he says Shinya Hashimoto do a Brain Buster and he wanted to do a twist on it. Initially, the Japanese called it Bloody Sunday, but the WWE would not allow that name under their PG philosophy. So he changed it to The 1916, which was the year of the Irish independence revolution.