Meet Finn Bálor: Athletic, charismatic, occasionally demonic, and a bonafide worldwide sensation.

 

The WWE Universe may know Bálor for his exploits in NXT or his first-round status in the 2016 WWE Brand Extension Draft, but the mysterious Irishman’s legend spanned across countries and continents long before he ever stepped onto the WWE stage. After competing in his first match at 18 and achieving success in his homeland, Bálor relocated to Japan to hone his skills in the notorious dojo system of the Far East. Unsurprisingly, he thrived, winning multiple championships and marshalling several foot soldiers to support him (some even called him a prince). With The Land of the Rising Sun annexed to the Bálor Club, he relocated to America to ply his trade in NXT.

 

Choosing to honor his heritage by taking the names of two Irish myths — the warrior Finn MacCumhail and the Fomorian king Bálor — the dynamic Superstar quickly rose in the ranks of NXT, achieving a record-setting run with the NXT Championship as well as becoming one of the first winners of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic along with Samoa Joe.

 

The combination of his quiet, deadly precision and his periodic transformation into the terrifying “Demon King” made Bálor one of the hottest WWE commodities in over a decade, so it came as little surprise when he was the first NXT graduate to be taken in the 2016 WWE Brand Extension Draft, going fifth overall to Raw.

 

Then, at SummerSlam 2016, Finn Bálor reached his greatest achievement to date when he pinned Seth Rollins to become the first-ever WWE Universal Champion.