Why Finn Balor Was Hesitant About Signing With WWE

During an appearance on Edge and Christian’s podcast, Finn Balor explained why he was hesitant about signing with WWE:

“WWE never came into my mind at all. Like, I kind of adjusted my goals, and, like, I was watching [Yuji] Nagata, [Hiroshi] Tanahashi, [Hiroyoshi] Tenzan, like, from ringside every night, learning from these guys, so it became my goal to climb the ladder in New Japan and try to get as good as I can.”

“And I think I was two, two-and-a-half years, into my run in New Japan and Johnny Ace called me and said, ‘hey, we have an opportunity for you.’ I can’t remember was the [promotion] was at the time. I think it was Florida. I just didn’t feel like it was the right move at the time. I felt like I was just finally getting the hang of the New Japan style and trying to get a little bit of a run going and I didn’t feel like it was the right moment [to go to WWE]. They came back, like, a couple of times over the years and it never felt like the right moment. Honestly, it didn’t even feel like the right moment when I left, but I felt like my clock was kind of running out in regards to how many years I have left, like if that opportunity would rise again at the time.”