Finn Balor In WWE - What Went Wrong?
It's impossible to accredit the British and European independents' surge to any single person. Companies like PROGRESS, ICW, and wXw have exploded as a result of dozens (perhaps hundreds) of smart wrestling minds working tirelessly to drag their respective scenes out of the darkness. Where once the UK was a grim backwater of half-empty social clubs, PROGRESS are now running Wembley Arena to a crowd of over 5,000, World Of Sport just completed a 10-episode run on ITV, and ICW are a few weeks away from another Fear & Loathing show in Glasgow's colossal SSE Hydro.
The former Devitt was an early protagonist in all of this, with his work contributing heavily to the nascent stages of what eventually became a zeitgeist-grabbing movement. The importance of his role as a standard-bearer can't be understated, and his influence still rings strong today.
But despite his impact on Europe, Japan is where the bulk of Devitt's most important work took place. He was a transformational NJPW figure who not only formed Bullet Club, but enjoyed several high-profile championship runs, and redefined the concept of a foreign heel as his faction's leader. In bringing sports entertainment style shenanigans to a company built on a "real sport" feel, Balor and his foul-mouthed stablemates drew exorbitant amounts of heat.
A legitimate game-changer on two separate continents, Devitt's take on the cool heel character type placed him among the world's most buzz-worthy wrestlers, and his upward trajectory continued throughout his first few years in WWE...
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