Finn Bálor Pitched Switch To NXT UK Before Joining WWE SmackDown

Finn Bálor has revealed he pitched a move to NXT UK earlier this year before he was called back up to the WWE main roster with Friday Night SmackDown. 

Bálor has previously appeared on NXT UK and had been in the process of building a feud with then United Kingdom Champion WALTER. As the COVID-19 Pandemic took grip of the world, the planned rivalry was shelved, as was the scheduled NXT TakeOver event in Ireland.

Bálor has since returned to the WWE main roster, with SmackDown, having spent almost two years back in NXT. The Prince has admitted, however, that his first thought was a move over to the UK brand once he realised his time with NXT was coming to an end.

Speaking to BT Sport, Bálor said: "The surprise appearance at NXT UK about two years ago was something that I was really excited about. It wasn't going to be a one-off. It was going to be a regular thing. We were building towards a match with WALTER, it got taken away from us by the pandemic. It's something I'm still super invested in.

"Believe it or not, before I return to SmackDown, I could feel the run at NXT coming to an end and I'd kind of exhausted all the resources there too - the guys that I could wrestle against -  and that I actually pitched the idea of moving to NXT UK, and obviously him.

"That might've been a little bit of a bold move on maybe a bold pitch, but I felt like, you know, not only like challenge myself against guys like Ilja, WALTER, A-Kid, Jordan, but you know, help the brand the same way I tried to help NXT… But, the office had a different opinion on that. They wanted me on SmackDown.

"Seeing that brand grow, it's incredible. Some of those guys are some of the best in the world on that, like you said, it's a more, I don't want to use the word ‘pure,’ but it's a more, definitely a raw or mat-wrestling based on that. Some of these guys are really talented that have a huge team.

"So, it's great to see the ground grow at the seat of breath and grow. And then, you know, hopefully, we'll get the funds back in the UK soon too, and that no offense to the BT studios, but if we can get, feel that having people will get us back in places like Blackpool, or Wembley and, you know, be incredible."

H/T Fightful