10 Things We Learned From WWE's Finn Bálor: For Everyone

10. Help From Hideo

Finn Bálor's late-2014 arrival in NXT smartly utilised his recent history to inform what would become a prescient present.

Teaming with and then working against Hideo Itami was something of a soft-launch for the former New Japan star, and he makes that connection despite acknowledging Itami's slightly different background working for All Japan and Pro Wrestling NOAH.

Noting how fond his memories were of his time before signing on the dotted line with WWE, he was keen to put the recently re-christened KENTA over as a big help in his transition. He said; NXT was out of my comfort zone but I knew it was the next cool thing. When I stepped in the ring with Hideo there was a special familiarity. When we locked up, I felt at home.”

There's a certain tragic irony to this - the pair were indeed a natural fit in their early NXT runs, but Finn's maiden unveiling of The Demon at TakeOver: R Evolution inadvertently kicked his fellow new arrival into touch. As great as both looked bell-to-bell, there was only one destined to be a genuine breakout star in the aftermath.