Finn Balor admits WWE promos still make him nervous, recalls Paul Heyman’s advice
Finn Balor is not fond of wrestling promos and he admitted that years of focusing on in-ring capabilities left him uncomfortable on the mic.
Speaking with Stephanie McMahon on What’s Your Story? Podcast which was taped before WrestleMania 42, Balor discussed his demeanor to not talk much. He reflected on honing his mic skills in WWE given his extensive background focused on wrestling.
“That’s another thing that’s been really difficult for me in my career is that trash talking and I’m not willing to sacrifice my dignity to say these things that I don’t mean right, because, and again, I know it would be better. I feel like I got to this position being myself, so I shouldn’t change that ever. And I kind of, I started in England where it was mostly based on mat wrestling. And then I went to Japan and it was based on strong style wrestling. It was not promos.”
“The first time I actually had to do a promo was when I came to NXT. And I remember being so nervous because the NXT tape and I had to come out and say ‘I’m Finn Balor and I’m the future.’ And I remember being so nervous having to remember that line because that becomes acting when I’m wrestling, I’m not acting right.I’m in flow. I’m just going with my emotions, following what I believe is right in my heart to do. But as soon as the speaking part started, that was a real learning curve.”
Balor expressed his improvement on promos during his nearly 12 year WWE run. He credited Paul Heyman’s advice on bettering his mic skills.
“And one thing I’ve kind of only started to learn recently, and I’ll credit Paul Heyman with this, because he said you got to treat your promos like your matches, like you’re not nervous going into your match. You don’t know every move you’re going to do. You’re just flowing and you’re there and you’re in that state. But your promos, you’re trying to memorize every word.That’s not how you execute your matches.That’s not how you should execute your promos. So recently I’ve kind of been taking that more on board.”
Balor had built up a wrestling career prominently at NJPW before signing with WWE to compete on their NXT brand in 2014. A couple of years later he was moved to the main roster where he became the inaugural Universal Champion. However, he was forced to relinquish the title barely a day later due to a shoulder injury.
Balor was associated with The Judgment Day from 2022 until February this year. The group double crossed him for not assisting the team with their collective goals. He also competed twice for the World Heavyweight Championship earlier this year.
Rosanne Raphael is a wrestling writer with over three and a half years of experience covering all things related to the industry. From a kindergarten teacher to PR Associate to turning her lifelong passion for the industry into a career, Rosanne is currently writing for F4W Online where she focuses on wrestling news, analysis, and storytelling.
Rosanne previously contributed to Sportskeeda as an Assistant Content Manager.
When not consumed by wrestling, Rosanne is a musician and an aspiring artist.