NXT Champion Finn Bálor was recently interviewed by Brian Fritz of SportingNews.com. Check out the full interview below or at this link.

It was just over a year ago when Prince Devitt (Fergal Devitt) decided to take a big leap of faith.

 

After making a name for himself in New Japan Pro Wrestling, he made the decision to leave his comfort zone and join the WWE. With it came a lot of changes for the Irishman: a new country with a different lifestyle, a new form of wrestling along with a new identity.

 

Now as Finn Balor with NXT, he hasn’t disappointed with his exciting in-ring style coupled with a captivating ring entrance that he breaks out for big shows, painting his body as he transforms into the demon he sees in himself.

 

WWE and Balor are pairing up with professional athletes and Hollywood celebrities in an online auction at Charitybuzz.com to support “Answer the Call” with proceeds helping provide assistance for the families of fallen first-responders in New York City.

 

BRIAN FRITZ: How is life treating you these days Finn?

 

FINN BALOR: Brian, life is incredible. It’s been a bit of a roller coaster over the last year. The roller coaster is only going up so it’s pretty cool.

 

FRITZ: Yeah, you’ve been with WWE for just over a year now. What’s been the biggest surprise so far for you?

 

BALOR: Biggest surprise? I think the biggest surprise has to be how helpful everyone has been, helping me adapt to a new company, a new country, a new working environment and kind of a new style of wrestling. The powers that be have bent over backwards to make sure I’ve settled in which is very humbling.
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A Superstar that slinks into battle donning nightmare-inducing body paint and calls himself “The Demon” doesn’t exactly seem like the embodiment of “Hustle, Loyalty and Respect.” Yet, Finn Bálor is just the type of indomitable competitor who can carry John Cena’s torch into a new era.

 

Ensnaring the collective imagination of the WWE Universe with spellbinding entrance theatrics, Bálor supplements his dichotomous personas with intense athleticism between the ropes, making this enigmatic warrior a bona fide Raw main-eventer in the not-too-distant future. Need proof? Just watch his stunning NXT Championship victory over Kevin Owens at

 

The Champ is here in WWE, for sure, but NXT’s Demon is coming. — JAMES WORTMAN

There’s a new demon in town and his name is Finn Bálor. NXT’s newest champion —a hybrid grappler with a hellish split personality — is a peerless competitor with the unique ability to completely and utterly transform himself. Once Bálor encases himself in the scales and fangs of “The Demon” he’s all but unbeatable, not to mention unrecognizable as the gentle soul showcased in his WWE Network documentary. Thanks to that dark side, he’s only the second Superstar to ever pin Kevin Owens, and Bálor’s coronation as NXT Champion in Japan was a transcontinental event.

 

But how would Bálor do against the original demon, the one from Death Valley? Now that The Undertaker has risen, a grudge match against The Demon himself would be more than fitting for a figure who once called himself The Lord of Darkness. Hell, if you really want to up the stakes, make it a Loser Leaves Town Match. After all, this yard ain’t big enough for the both of them.

The new NXT Champion Finn Bálor makes his way to the ring.

 

Greg Hamilton is in the ring with Finn and he congratulates Finn Bálor on his victory two weeks ago when he defeated Kevin Owens. He asks Finn how does it feel now that he is back in the NXT Arena. Finn says he has been doing this for fifteen years in Europe, Mexico, and eight years in Japan. There were a lot of difficult decisions and hard choices and sacrifices made. One of those decisions was whether to come to NXT. The moment he was handed the title belt, every one of those decisions, choices, and sacrifices were worth it to be able to hold up the title.

 

Greg mentions the rematch against Kevin Owens at Takeover in Brooklyn and he brings up the contract signing.

 

Finn says that Kevin has made a huge impact. He became NXT Champion, he sidelines Sami Zayn, he sidelined Hideo Itami, he beat Neville, he beat Cesaro, he beat Rusev, and he beat John Cena. However, he did not beat Finn Bálor in Tokyo. At the Barclays Center, Finn says that he will walk in as NXT Champion and he will walk out as the champion.

 

We are back and William Regal is in the ring with the contract signing table. He says that NXT continues to raise the bar. On August 22nd at the Barclays Center that bar will continue its meteoric rise. The largest NXT crowd will witness the rematch .

 

Kevin Owens makes his way to the ring.

 

William brings out Finn Bálor.

 

William asks Finn to sign the contract, but Kevin stops him. Kevin asks how does it feel? How does it feel to be the NXT Champion? Kevin asks how does it feel to know that you are going to defend your title in the biggest main event in the history of NXT that will take place in BROOKLYN. How does it feel to know that you are going into that match as champion, but still as the underdog? All of those things you talked about earlier that Kevin did. You are right. He won that title two months after his debut. What were you doing two months after your debut? It wasn’t winning the title because that was him.

 

He did cripple Sami Zayn more than once. He sent Neville out of NXT. He beat Cesaro, he dropped Rusev on his head, and he did beat John Cena. That is just in his first six months. He is going to tell Finn what he is going to do in Brooklyn. He is going to show you and all of these idiots that Japan was nothing but a fluke when he becomes the first ever two time NXT Champion and take Finn Balor out for good.

 

Finn tells Kevin he has heard it all before and he knows that Kevin likes to talk. He will take Kevin’s words and shove them down his throat in Brooklyn.

 

Finn signs the contract. William gives Kevin a pen to sign the contract and Kevin signs the contract. Regal says that it is official that on August 22nd, Finn Bálor will face Kevin Owens for the NXT Championship.

 

Owens pushes over the table and pushes it at Bálor. Owens knocks Regal over and then he goes after Bálor. Bálor with a forearm and drop kick to Owens.

Related Links, Photos & More:

»FINNishing TOUCH: World Wrestling Entertainment > Live Event Digitals > NXT > 2015 > July 22nd
»FINNishing TOUCH: Screen Captures > World Wrestling Entertainment > NXT > 2015 > July 22nd

[spoiler]July 22, 2015:

Finn kicks off the show for an interview to talk about winning the NXT Championship in Japan. It sets up a contract signing between him and Kevin Owens for Takeover: Brooklyn later in the show.

August 12, 2015:

Finn def. Marcus Louis. Marcus is still doing his weird crazy person thing.

 [/spoiler]

A huge main event has been confirmed for NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, as newly crowned NXT Champion Finn Bálor will defend his title against former champion Kevin Owens at the Barclays Center on Saturday, Aug. 22 as part of a special that will be broadcast live on the award-winning WWE Network.

 

The rematch was announced by NXT General Manager William Regal at San Diego Comic-Con International, where both Bálor and Owens took part in a packed panel presented by Mattel, featuring the unveiling of both Superstars’ first WWE action figures.

 

The announcement comes hot on the heels of Bálor’s stunning championship victory in Tokyo. Just days after becoming the first competitor to pin Owens inside an NXT ring, Bálor returned to Japan, the country where he first made a name for himself as a competitor, donning his demonic war paint as he charged into battle against the brutish Owens. While Owens sought to slow down his otherworldly opposition, Bálor withstood Owens’ onslaught and crushed him with the Coup de Grace to become the NXT Champion.

 

Since the Tokyo throwdown, Owens has turned his attention to capturing John Cena’s United States Championship, but don’t think for a moment that the bruiser won’t relish the opportunity to reclaim the title that propelled him to Superstardom and embarrass Bálor in the process.

 

Will Finn Bálor prove that his victory in Tokyo wasn’t a fluke, or will Owens send The Demon back to the netherworlds and reassert his dominance over NXT? Find out at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn on Saturday, Aug. 22! Tickets will be available for this monumental event starting Saturday, July 18 at 12 p.m. ET. If you can’t make it to Brooklyn, don’t worry, as the event will be broadcast live on the award-winning WWE Network!