Finn Balor believes he’s tapped into the best version of himself in WWE since joining The Judgment Day faction with Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest in June. It’s led him to his first-ever singles match with WWE Hall of Famer Edge in an “I Quit” match at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday (8 p.m., Peacock). He will also be part of the season premiere of “Monday Night Raw” at Barclays Center on Oct. 10 (8 p.m., USA Network). Before the big stretch, Balor took time for some Q&A with The Post’s Joseph Staszewski.
(Edited for clarity and length)
Q: You’ve said this match with Edge is something you’ve been dying for. What does it mean to finally get this match that you probably thought wasn’t gonna happen?
A: Edge retired 11 years ago. Any idea or hope or dream I had of wrestling Edge in the ring kind of evaporated. He returned to the ring at Royal Rumble (in 2020) and that spark was reignited. Our careers had not been aligned up until recently and I feel like everything has kind of fallen into place the last couple months and the match is finally happening. I feel long overdue and finally I’ll get the opportunity to show Edge and the world that I belong in the ring in the main event.
Q: With the viciousness that’s gone on in this story, is it fitting that it’s an ‘I Quit’ match?
A: I feel like there is no other way to really settle this dispute. Edge says he won’t quit, but he’s clearly quit one time before 11 years ago. I can promise you I’ve never quit once in my career in the ring or outside of the ring. That will remain the same at the Extreme Rules.
I’ve kind of tapped into a more real, authentic version of Finn that has kind of been suppressed the last couple of years in WWE. I feel like I’m finally able to create the version of myself that I feel comfortable with and that is certainly a more vicious, aggressive style of wrestling.
Q: Do you feel like joining The Judgment Day has breathed a new life into the Finn Balor character on the main roster?
A: Absolutely. I’ve worked for most of my career as a heel or more naturally as a nasty, vicious heel and I was framed to be a babyface by WWE, really against my will. It’s not something that I feel comfortable with or I feel like I execute to the best of my abilities and I feel a lot more comfortable in the role that I’m in now. It doesn’t really feel like a stretch of the imagination. I just really feel like I have to go out there and be myself. That allows me to be a lot more at home in the character and a lot more comfortable in the ring. I’m able to showcase the abilities that I have that I’m not able to showcase as a babyface.
Q: Do you feel like it’s an extension of your Prince NXT character?
What I started in NXT was this version of Finn, however due to COVID we lost the interactive element of having a live crowd. We had to tweak the character to more of a tweener character as opposed to a true heel character. So I feel like this is really the direction I wanted the heel NXT version of Finn to go. We just never had a chance to fully execute that. This is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.
Q: What’s it been like to get to tell this Judgment Day story of the last four to five months, taking over for Edge, adding layers with Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley?
A: It seems to be moving at a decent pace and all the people involved are excited. The layers that you mentioned with Dominik and Rhea have added another element of mystique to The Judgment Day. Me and Priest aren’t fully sure what’s going on between the two of them either. It keeps me and Priest guessing too. We’re working as a unit. I feel like the experience me and Priest bring along with the youth of Rhea and Dom is something very, very, new. I don’t think it’s ever been done before.
Q: Do you think Judgment Day could end up being the most significant thing you’ve done on the main roster so far?
It’s certainly got a lot of steam right now. Whether or not it will be the most significant thing I’ve done on the main roster remains to be seen. I’ve had quite a couple years on the main roster and we are only a couple months into this. It certainly feels like the most authentic thing I’ve done for WWE so far.
Q: It felt like when Rhea was out injured that something was missing from the group. What do you feel like she brings that just puts the presentation over the top?
A: It’s such a hard question to answer. She has that it-factor that you can’t explain. I don’t think she realizes how much of that it-factor she has. She’s so young. She has such incredible presence. She’s an incredible performer. She has so much potential that I’m sure she will reach. But to answer that question is impossible. It’s just really unique to see it and feel it and witness it firsthand to kind of go ‘ah I get it.’ It’s not something that I can explain to you and you can understand. You just have to see it to believe it.
Q: This is Dom’s first time being a heel. How do you think he’s taken to it so far?
A: I feel like he’s presented himself better than anyone’s expected. He’s far exceeded any expectation I had already. I feel like he’s just growing into the character and gonna get comfortable in himself. He’s so young. He’s so raw in his career, it’s so early. He’s still learning who he is as a person and who he is as a performer. To have such a dynamic change of direction and so early in your career has got to be a huge challenge and a huge test. I feel like he’s overcame with flying colors already. He’s gonna grow and grow over the next couple of years.
Q: What has it meant to have Triple H in charge now, someone you had a great relationship with going through NXT?
A: It’s been well documented that I have a good working relationship with Triple H. I feel like we grew together in NXT and developed a bond over that. I certainly trust the direction he takes the company in and respect any decisions or choices he makes. But for me, I still need to turn up and perform. So that hasn’t changed in any way, like my work ethic or my focus or my determination. If anything it makes it stronger.
Q: Monday is the season premiere of Raw and DX’s 25th anniversary celebration. You got to share the ring with DX and Scott Hall at Raw 25. What do you remember about that night?
A: Very surreal night. Obviously in the ring with people that I looked up to for many, many years and along side two of my closest friends in Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows. Getting to share the moment in the ring was very cool. For me wrestling’s not really about moments, it’s about performing when the bell rings that’s what I find the most pride and enjoyment in. At Raw in Barclays I want to be in the ring performing.
Q: What does it mean to share the “Too Sweet” gesture with people you looked up to growing up?
A: At Raw 25 I feel like that was really like a passing of the torch with that gesture. I’d done that for a couple years with my own buddies (in Bullet Club) as a tribute to the people that I admired. To share that moment in the ring and kind of have them pass the torch that day, it meant a lot. It reinforced what that gesture meant to me at the time that it wasn’t just a fanboy trying to copy someone else. It was really like we become part of the fraternity.
Q: You’ve only had one singles match with A.J. Styles. Given the Bullet Club history that links you guys, is that a program that needs to happen.
A: I feel like for 20-plus years, myself and A.J.’s careers ran side by side and never really overlapped with each other. The one match we did have (at TLC 2017) was by pure happenstance. I was scheduled to wrestle Bray Wyatt, but I think Bray came down with an illness and was pulled by WWE medical from the event and then we had the match with A.J. That’s really the only interaction we’ve had up until very recently. I feel like me and A.J. have a big story to tell and a lot to prove to each other as well. I feel like we have an unspoken competitive rivalry and I feel like that need to be addressed in the ring. I respect everything that A.J.’s done in his career. I’m very excited that the opportunity of the next couple months could lead us to that singles match with A.J.
Q: Do you feel like you have the chance now to check some of the boxes you missed on the main roster — whether it be more world titles — that this character can get you there?
A: I feel like this character is definitely my strongest character, but I feel like titles come with performance. I need to perform consistently over the next couple of years and the titles with come. They only thing I can control is how I perform when the bell rings. I can’t control who I’m in there with, how long I’m in there, what city it’s in. All I can control is making sure I’m ready when the bell rings and handle business.
