Finn Balor: We profile the Irish ace ahead of WWE SummerSlam
Balor to fight Seth Rollins for WWE Universal Championship
Monday 22 August 2016 01:05, UK
Finn Balor has wrestled all over the world and claimed a catalogue of titles - but he will compete in arguably the biggest match of his career on Sunday night.
The Irishman will go one-on-one with Seth Rollins at SummerSlam - live on Sky Sports Box Office - with the winner becoming the inaugural WWE Universal Champion.
But what do you need to know about the man who could soon be the top dog on Monday Night Raw? Read on for the lowdown on Balor…
Ring name: Finn Balor
Birth name: Fergal Devitt
Twitter handle: @FinnBalor
Finishing Move: Coup de Grace
WWE main roster debut: July 2016
Brand: Monday Night Raw
He proved he was the Best of British…
Balor, born in County Wicklow in 1981, enjoyed immediate success in the wrestling world, winning the NWA British Commonwealth Heavyweight Title, the pinnacle belt in NWA UK Hammerlock, while still a teenager.
His initial stint with the championship only lasted three days but his second was a lot lengthier at 155, ending when he lost to current fellow Raw Superstar Karl Anderson. During his early career, Balor also set up NWA Ireland in his homeland, where he trained wrestlers including Rebecca Quin, who is now competing in WWE as Becky Lynch.
He thrived in Japan
The Irishman wrestled as Prince Devitt and Pegasus Kid in New Japan Pro Wrestling after inking a deal with the promotion in 2006, the latter guise seeing him perform in a mask. Balor became a three-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion in Asia, enjoying reigns of 364, 227 and 419 days respectively and defeating the likes of Taka Michinoku and Davey Richards.
Balor tasted tag-team success, too, claiming the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles on six occasions, four times with Apollo 55 comrade Ryusuke Taguchi and twice with Minoru.
He helped found Bullet Club
Balor has played a fan favourite for much of his career but developed a cockier persona during his final year in Japan, ditching Taguchi and joining Anderson and Samoans Bad Luck Fale and Tama Tonga in Bullet Club - Luke Gallows would enter the stable later on.
Balor led the faction by example, taking his third stint with the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship into a second year, but his association with Bullet Club ended in April 2014 when he was attacked by the group's newest members, The Young Bucks, and left the company.
Bullet Club survived without Balor, though, and soon had a new recruit in AJ Styles, the now Smackdown Superstar winning the IWGP Heavyweight Championship prior to following Balor into WWE, shortly before fellow Bullet Club members Anderson and Gallows.
He is the longest reigning NXT Champion
No stranger to lengthy title reigns, Balor kept hold of his NXT gold for 292 days after winning the brand's top title from Kevin Owens at The Beast in the East show in Japan in July 2015 - Balor's spell with the strap narrowly eclipsing Neville's 287 days and far exceeding the 133 days his SummerSlam rival Seth Rollins managed during the second half of 2012.
Balor retained the title by beating Owens in NXT's inaugural Ladder Match at TakeOver: Brooklyn last year and added the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic trophy to his list of accolades when he joined forces with Samoa Joe, the duo knocking off Baron Corbin and Rhyno in the final.
Balor and Joe soon became rivals for the NXT Title after the latter turned on the former - the Irishman held on to the championship during matches in London and Dallas but lost it to Joe at a live event in Massachusetts in April and then failed to regain it inside a steel cage at TakeOver: The End in June.
He is the Demon King
Balor's steel cage defeat to Joe marked the first time in WWE he had lost while donning his signature face and body paint. The 35-year-old coats himself in red, black and white for his big matches - and also, as it turns out, to give Rollins a pre-SummerSlam scare! Balor first dabbled with paint in Japan and the headdress he wears to the ring only adds to the mystique.
He supports Tottenham Hotspur
Balor's football jersey of choice, though, is white, with the WWE man a fan of Tottenham Hotspur. "I personally became a Spurs fan from a young age," said Balor, while visiting Spurs' training ground in December. "Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s my brother Colin was a Spurs fan and of course we had a great team then with the likes of [Gary] Lineker and [Paul] Gascoigne and the FA Cup victory of 1991. That era really sucked me in."
Balor was presented with a personalised Tottenham shirt during his trip to north London and also met up with full-back Kyle Walker. "Kyle's been here a long time and I'm a big fan," he added. "I'm obviously a big Harry Kane supporter and a huge Jan Vertonghen fan as well. He's rock solid!" Balor's out-of-ring interests also include building, of sorts... "Some people like doodling or jigsaws, I've never grown out of the old Lego thing."
He has made an immediate impact on Raw
Balor's success in NXT did not go unnoticed - he was selected as the fifth pick in the 2016 WWE Draft by Raw bosses Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley. Balor then enjoyed a dream Monday night debut, beating Cesaro, Owens and Rusev in a Fatal Four-Way before edging Roman Reigns in a rip-roaring one-on-one encounter to earn a SummerSlam showdown with Rollins for the red brand's newly-established world title.
Will Balor leave SummerSlam with the gold? Find out by watching the show from midnight on Sunday on Sky Sports Box Office.
WWE SummerSlam booking details
WWE SummerSlam will be shown on Sky Sports Box Office (channel 491) AND Sky Sports HD Box Office (492) at midnight on Sunday, August 21 (Monday morning).
WWE SummerSlam will be repeated on Sky Sports Box Office (channel 491) BUT NOT Sky Sports HD Box Office (492) between 10am on Monday, August 22 and 8pm on Thursday, August 25.
Repeat showings will air at 10am, 3pm, 8pm and 1am, with THE FINAL PLAYOUT starting at 8pm on Thursday, August 25.
The event is priced at £19.95 for UK customers, €24.95 for viewers in the Republic of Ireland.
UK viewers can call 03442 410 888 to book WWE SummerSlam NOW, while customers in the Republic of Ireland should call 0818 220 225. (There may be an additional charge for telephone bookings).
You can also book WWE SummerSlam online NOW by visiting this link: https://my.sky.com/orderboxoffice/
Viewers can also book using their Sky TV remote by pressing the 'Box office' button, scrolling across to the sports tab and following on-screen instructions. (Only bookings via Sky TV remote are recordable using Sky Plus).
Sky TV residential customers only. Commercial customers contact Sky for price and to order. Sky Box Office terms apply. Cable customers should contact their local cable operator.
