8 Reasons Finn Balor Will Be WWE's Best NXT Call-Up
The Demon is ready-made for main roster success.
Succeeding on WWE’s main roster isn’t easy. Countless young hopefuls have inked a contract, worked their way to fame on NXT’s smaller stage, then floundered upon hitting the big time. Just look at Tyler Breeze: once one of NXT’s most popular stars, he now finds himself relegated to turgid comedy jobber status at the bottom of the tag division, and acts as living proof that NXT success doesn’t always translate to the mainstream.
Not every NXT call-up is created equally, and for every Kevin Owens or Seth Rollins, there’s a Bo Dallas or Adam Rose. Promotion to Raw and SmackDown can be a blessing or a course, but as disappointing as it is to see former NXT heroes falling out of the spotlight, it’s all part of the developmental process. Nobody can guarantee a wrestler’s success or failure until they take that final step, and promotion to the main roster is the real acid test.
Some wrestlers are better equipped than others, however. With the Brand Split looming, WWE are set to freshen-up Raw and SmackDown with six new NXT faces, and while a number of names have been speculated, Finn Balor is almost a dead cert to be included in this number.
While Balor will undoubtedly face his own set of challenges and hurdles upon being called-up, he is in an outstanding position to hit the ground running on the main roster, and become a WWE mainstay for years to come.
Here are 8 reasons why Finn Balor will be WWE’s best ever NXT call-up.
8. He Is The Most Decorated NXT Superstar Ever
Seth Rollins, Big E, Bo Dallas, Neville, and Sami Zayn were all former NXT Champions when their call-ups came, and Kevin Owens actually carried the belt with him upon debuting in May 2015. While these six wrestlers have experienced vastly differing fortunes since joining the big time, their status as former NXT Champions gave them an instant boost in prestige upon making it to Raw and SmackDown.
It hasn’t quite worked-out for Dallas and Neville, but Owens was immediately presented as a big deal when he marched down the ramp with the NXT belt over his shoulder, then proceeded to lay into John Cena. Just knowing that a wrestler has held gold within the WWE ecosystem amplifies their importance and sets them apart from an increasingly-crowded midcard scene.
None of the above, however, can match Balor’s accomplishments with the belt. After defeating Curtis Axel, Hideo Itami, and Neville in a contendership tournament, Balor wrested the belt from Owens at July 4th, 2015’s Beast in the East event. He fended-off further challenges from Owens, Apollo Crews, and Samoa Joe before finally losing the belt in April, holding it for an NXT record of 292 days.
Finn Balor is the most decorated wrestler in NXT history, and the quality of his title defences speaks for itself. He’s coming from developmental to the main roster with a better record than anyone before him, and that leaves him in great standing.