Finn Balor on Triple H taking over WWE creative, recalls when he found out he was joining The Judgment Day, praises Dominik Mysterio and explains how he hopes to help him, looks back on the rope break finish to his match with Roman Reigns at Extreme Rules 2021

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

CBS Sports interview with Finn Balor
Host: Shakiel Mahjouri
Story available via CBSSports.com
Video footage available at SHAK Wrestling YouTube Page

What Finn Balor is most excited about working under Triple H’s creative direction: “We obviously worked very closely together for a long time and both runs in NXT. For me, the most exciting thing is it feels more like a collaboration working with this new leadership. Certainly the availability to exchange ideas and compromise and come to an agreement on something or just get a face-to-face explanation of what the direction is. The way things were set up before there were many layers of management.

“Sometimes it was very hard to get a straight answer or, at least, a straight answer in a short time, which is needed for live television. But I feel like now the channels of communication are a lot more direct for everyone. I feel like that has certainly helped people stress less about the direction and focus more on executing the ideas as opposed to the ping-pong back and forth that was between all the different layers of management and creative writers and writers and writers’ assistants and writers’ assistants’ assistants’ assistants’ before you got an answer.

“Triple H is very hands-on in that respect and very easily accessible. He’s ringside before every show. Any queries that you have can be dealt with very quickly and ironed out pretty smoothly. I also feel like maybe in the past we’ve been guilty of overproducing things and it doesn’t feel as natural… If I look back and watch an old WCW episode and there is a backstage scene, promo or beatdown, I’ll see people leave the building if they have already finished their match or enter the building if they haven’t performed yet. That was natural. I feel like that element needs to really be emphasized in wrestling. This is live TV, it shouldn’t really be as produced as perhaps it was in the past. I feel maybe the rougher, edgier it is, the more authentic it can be.”

When Finn Balor found out he was joining Judgment Day: “The day before. And that was an advance notice at that time. I was really smartened up and clued in and I was in the know and, ‘Don’t tell me this has happening tomorrow.’ In WWE, you always have to be ready to adapt. A lot of things change on very short notice. Even when I was told that news about what was going to happen tomorrow, I wasn’t entirely convinced until I got there.

“You just kind of take it and go, ‘Okay, if that happens, that will be interesting and we’ll see tomorrow if it actually happens.’ I feel like now things have been a little bit more stable in the last couple of weeks, the last couple of months. Perhaps the storyline arcs are evolving as predicted. A lot of things change: people get hurt and people come back from injuries. There are obviously those elements that we can’t predict. But I feel like and right now, things are moving pretty smoothly.”

Finn Balor’s goals for helping Dominick Mysterio in Judgment Day: “I just want to make Dominik feel more comfortable. He’s a young guy in a cutthroat industry that probably has a lot of people jealous of him, given the fact that his opportunity was maybe rushed due to who his father was. He has adapted and overcome and fitted into that role in the tag team with his father. Just as he’s getting comfortable in that role, he then has to completely change direction and adapt and fit into a new role.

“So really, if I can just make him feel in any way more comfortable within himself and the ring, that’s my objective. I feel like he’s far exceeded anyone’s expectations already, not only as a babyface but as a heel. He’s really touched the heartstrings of people that truly seem to dislike him right now, which is the hardest thing to achieve being a heel character. He’s got a huge future ahead of him. He has an incredible amount of potential and obviously, his family lineage speaks for itself. I have no doubt that in the future he will step out and exceed his father’s shadow.”

Finn Balor reacts to Roman Reigns rope break angle at Extreme Rules 2021: “It was definitely a water cooler moment with regard to what people were talking about for the next couple of days. We’re still talking about a year later. I feel like the finish left the story open-ended a little bit. I feel like we definitely need to readdress that and revisit what happened that night. Going back to how fast things change in WWE, there was a plan to continue that storyline. Obviously, things changed with Brock’s return. That was kind of that was the focus. As a performer, you have to understand that we’re all cogs in the wheel. There’s definitely a lot of mileage left in the Finn Balor-Demon-Roman Reigns storyline that needs to be addressed.”