WWE News: ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin Skeptical That Finn Balor’s Demon Persona Will Be Successful On The Main Roster
Despite the success of WWE’s developmental brand NXT, not every superstar or diva has been a success when they’ve been called up to the main roster. Sometimes it’s because of they way the NXT call-ups are booked. Tyler Breeze is a recent example of someone who has been called up, but has yet to make any impact, and that is largely due to the way WWE has used him.
Other times, an NXT call up’s gimmick just won’t translate to the main roster. Adam Rose is great example of that, as his “party guy” gimmick was almost instantly a flop when he made his main roster debut.
One guy who everyone believes will be successful on the main roster is Finn Balor. One, because of his experience and ability. But also because of demon gimmick, which he breaks out on NXT’s big shows.
While Balor’s demon persona is very popular in NXT, there is one WWE Hall of Famer who is questioning if it will be successful when WWE decides to bring the current NXT Champion to the main roster.
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin recently appeared on the Taz Show to talk about a variety of things, and one thing that was brought up during the podcast was Finn Balor, and whether or not he’ll be successful on the main roster. Austin said that Balor is a “great kid,” and that he’s “ten times the worker I ever was.” But, Austin was unsure if Balor’s demon persona would become as popular with the WWE audience as it has with the NXT audience.
“I’m wondering if he’s going to get lost in the shuffle a little bit [on the main roster]. He does that crawl to the ring and sometimes it takes so long. It’s a little disconcerting because I’ve seen the kid. Good looking kid, worked for many years in Japan, and he’s very technical from Ireland or wherever he’s from. Great kid! Great kid! Hell of a worker. Ten times the worker I ever was, but he has got to connect with those people. And so hopefully that gimmick allows him to do that. And it’s a great look. You can make a lot of action figures off of it, but put all the pieces together. People have got to care about him to become emotionally invested in him, but a great human being and a hellacious worker.”
Balor was also a guest on the Taz Show recently, and he made it clear that he is in no hurry to be called up to the main roster, and that for now he’s happy being a part of NXT. He went on to say that he enjoys the camaraderie among the NXT wrestlers, and that he’s happy to be flying the flag for NXT as the brand’s current champion.
When WWE decided to bring Finn Balor into NXT, they didn’t give him the typical developmental contract, as his annual guarantee is higher than everyone else’s in WWE’s developmental system, which is probably why he’s not itching to get called up to the main roster as of right now.
As for if WWE is going to look to NXT to solve their depth issues before WrestleMania, well, for now, WWE has no immediate plans to call anyone up because they feel that most of the WWE audience wouldn’t know who a guy like Finn Balor or Sami Zayn is, so therefore, WWE’s feeling is that, no matter how talented their NXT prospects may be, they likely won’t be able to make an immediate impact on the main roster.
[Featured image via WWE]
