WWE superstar and new U.S. champion Finn Balor was the latest guest on the After The Bell podcast to discuss a wide range of topics, which include the Demon Prince revealing what opponents he hopes to face now that he once again carries WWE gold. Highlights from the interview can be found below.
Talks winning the U.S. championship:
“My immediate reaction to becoming US Champion is I was completely surprised by the physical weight of the belt itself. It’s literally the heaviest belt I’ve ever carried in my life. Heavier than all the Japanese belts, Universal Championship, all the NXT titles [laughs]. I can barely get my bag up in the overhead on the way home.”
Who he hopes to face as champion:
“Obviously, there’s a lot of unfinished business with Damian Priest after what happened on Raw last week. The depth in the roster is incredible. People like Seth Rollins, I would love to get in the ring with him again. Kevin Owens, Apollo Crews is someone I admired for a long time in NXT and before that – someone who I think has untapped potential and is still on the rise and hasn’t peaked yet. There are so many guys who I really think should want to get in the ring with me because I’ve been proving for 20 years that I belong here. A lot of people still doubt [me], but somehow I keep winning gold everywhere I go, whether it’s Japan, Europe, NXT, Raw, or SmackDown. I really like people should want to step up to the plate and challenge me, not the other way around at this point in my career.”
Hopes to prove his critics wrong going forward:
“I think there’s definitely an aspect of that. If we’re super honest, any time in life if someone doubts you, you want to prove them wrong. You want to show them they’re wrong and I’m right. I am this good, or I am able to do that or can succeed. No matter how much success I’ve had, whether it’s inside the ring or outside the ring, some people still doubt, question, or don’t fully buy into it. I haven’t fully psychoanalyzed myself, but I’m sure that’s part of the driving factor – wanting to prove to people that I can do it. I think if you lose that feeling, why else would you be doing it? For money? I’ll be honest, the money is not that good for the amount of pain we go through and being away from my family for 20 years. I wrestled with myself the whole time like, ‘Is this money worth being able from Ireland for 20 years?’ Is the money gonna be worth the sacrifice I’ve given up? I’ve got 12 nieces and nephews. I love them, but they don’t know me as Finn Balor, they don’t know me as Fergil. They don’t know their uncle the real person, they just know their uncle on TV. I wrestle with these things all the time.”
(H/T and transcribed by 411 Mania)