10 Wrestlers Who Drew REAL Heat In The Post-Kayfabe Age
3. Finn Bálor
It was an inspired heel strategy, one that his successors have applied elsewhere to astonishing effect.
The vast reaches of pro wrestling became readily accessible through the online revolution. This created a new awareness of different styles, philosophies, contexts - and an opportunity to mash 'em up to pioneer new ground.
Meanwhile, the path for performers of Prince Devitt's dimensions were limited before WWE acknowledged the failure of its antiquated regional developmental model. Devitt grew up as as child dreaming of WWE stardom, before the stark reality hit him. But he, in a way, brought WWE to his adopted home of New Japan.
He applied his knowledge of the North American style and collided it against the pure sport of New Japan, relishing this contextual dissonance and the fans' loathing of it. They hated Devitt and the Bullet Club for polluting the sanctity of their sport. What was passé in the west was earnestly felt in the east, which by the late '80s had all but abandoned the f*ck finish in the big leagues.
Prince Devitt was a very intelligent and creative pro wrestler without whom the global industry would look unrecognisable - for the worse - today.