WWE News: Finn Balor Officially Says Goodbye To NXT During Live Event
It’s become a tradition of sorts for most departing NXT stars to have a send-off of some kind. In the past, there has been a farewell match, or at least some kind of an acknowledgment that the departing NXT star is headed to WWE’s main roster to do bigger and better things. Not every NXT star gets a goodbye, but it’s always a great moment for the NXT fans to say thank you.
For example, Sasha Banks received a massive send-off after making history with Bayley in the first female Ironman match along with being the first women’s match to main event a PPV event at NXT Takeover: Respect. Sami Zayn had the match of the year against Shinsuke Nakamura at NXT Takeover: Dallas before the NXT crowd said goodbye with a simple “Ole” chant. It doesn’t have to be over the top, but it does need to be a real moment between the NXT fans and the performer.
Not too far from Dallas, NXT held a live event from Houston last night. During the event, the main event was Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura against the current NXT Champion Samoa Joe and Bobby Roode in a tag team match. It was announced before the match got started that it would be Finn Balor’s final match in NXT.
According to the results of the show from Wrestlezone, Finn Balor came out to a great ovation from the NXT crowd. Finn embraced the moment for what it was, and it became a celebration of the two years he spent in NXT. Balor and Nakamura went on to defeat Joe and Roode in what was said to be a good match. However, the party didn’t start until Bayley’s music hit.
Bayley came out, gave Balor a well-deserved hug, and thanked Balor for all of his hard work for NXT. She also brought out recently drafted NXT stars Nia Jax, Mojo Rawley, and Carmella to congratulate them on being drafted to Raw and SmackDown. When Balor took the mic, he was grateful to the NXT fans. Matt Bloom’s name also came up, and appreciation was shown for his work with WWE’s Performance Center and NXT. It was said to be a great speech, which can be seen in its entirety below.
When Finn Balor arrived in NXT, the brand was already becoming one of the hottest things in wrestling. Balor just added another level of talent to NXT that made it so much stronger than anyone in the industry expected it to be. When Triple H signed Balor, Kevin Owens, and Hideo Itami, the NXT Universe knew that the brand was going to become something special.
No one in NXT history had a better run than Finn Balor. He was a top NXT star immediately, but his accolades speak for themselves after two years. Balor’s NXT Championship run of 292 days is the longest in NXT history. He won the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic along with Samoa Joe. Finn main evented four Takeover specials, including the last three. His accomplishments in NXT surpassed all others, but he was drafted to Raw. That means it is time for new challenges.
Needless to say, Finn Balor’s run in NXT is going to be a launching pad for him to become a megastar at WWE SummerSlam. It is possible that Balor vs. Rollins could be the main event of the show. If that happens, Balor will go from NXT to the main event of one of WWE’s biggest shows in just a few weeks. Finn Balor left NXT in good hands and he left the brand a much better place than when he debuted. That’s a testament to his potential to be WWE’s top star in the coming years.
[Image via WWE.com]
