Within three months, two of WWE’s biggest stars announced their exits. John Cena, WWE’s homegrown household hero, is coming off a year-long run in 2025; it’s a twisty and hilarious send-off for the man who led the company for the better part of 20 years. Soon, one of his greatest rivals, the one who put TNA wrestling on the map and then parlayed his massive success in Japan into a WWE Hall of Fame career, retired: AJ Styles. However, Finn Balor, who sits somewhere between WWE’s Superman and Wolverine, has, like the other two, a multi-decade resume that rivals all of his contemporaries. He has the chance to add the World Heavyweight Championship to his extensive list of accomplishments this Saturday against CM Punk at WWE Elimination Chamber, and everything he learns along the way informs the direction he’s headed – and ultimately where he wants to end up.
Balor’s decade-long tenure in WWE meant a lot to a lot of people, but there wasn’t a true one-off point in time. He is a demon and devotee of NXT, falling from the sky to drive his boot right through his opponent’s chest to challenge and defend the NXT Championship. He went from upstart to usurper, rising to the top of the “Raw” roster to become WWE’s first Universal Champion. He reunited with fellow Bullet Club members Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows to form “The Balor Club,” winning multiple Intercontinental Championships and eventually returning to NXT as the Uncrowned King, destroying the kingdom he helped build on the way to a second NXT Championship. Then, in a move that would define the last few years of his career, he adopted the age-old mantra – if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em – by accepting his invitation to join the ranks of Judgment Day and excommunicating its founder Edge. As band members have come and gone over the years, Grand Slam Champion Balor has been a regular in the purple and black team that has dominated “Raw” over the past few years.
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In all the things he’s tried and all the different roles he’s been asked to play, for Finn Balor it’s all been a product of good, hard work and long preparation.
“I feel like there’s a lot to be said for doing things the right way and learning,” he told The Uncrowned. “Not only did I learn wrestling in the UK, but I later studied in the UK for eight years [New Japan Pro-Wrestling] at the Tokyo Dojo and then trained again in NXT.
“A lot of people, once they do their initial training and start wrestling, they actually stop training. But for me, I was training for 16 years before I came to WWE, and then I was training in a WWE style again.”
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Balor’s blend of knowledge and experience has made him a champion multiple times, whether he’s positioned as a top man, a faction leader, or a catalyst that shakes up the entire scene.
Especially on Judgment Day, he has been their CM Punk – the same player/coach his Elimination Chamber opponents use on social media. Balor is by far the most traveled, decorated, and experienced member of the group, but he doesn’t think that’s anything to surpass them. Former stablemate Rhea Ripley and current Purple costar Liv Morgan both raved about working with Balor, saying that while he was always there to answer questions and offer advice, he never negated what they themselves had learned and accomplished because of more experience.
“Rhea is a superstar, Liv is a superstar. Raquel [Rodriguez] is a superstar. [Roxanne Perez] Becoming a superstar,” Balor said.
“I don’t know what Liv went through in her life to get to WWE. I don’t know what Rhea had to go through to get all the way from Australia to become WWE World Champion. So everyone has their own story, everyone has their own obstacles, everyone has their own mountain they climbed to get here. No matter what mountain I’ve climbed, I also need to respect the mountains that other people have climbed. I feel like that’s something that’s really, really important in this industry is respecting everyone and treating everyone equally.”
Finn Balor has been a central figure in the evolution of Judgment Day over the past few years.
(WWE via Getty Images)
Balor, who is originally from Ireland and worked in the wrestling business in Japan and helped birth one of the most enduring wrestling factions of all time – NJPW’s Bullet Club – is quick to point out that, as he did with the talent at Judgment Day, he is no more responsible for anyone’s success than themselves. Neither are the flags they fly, the colors they wear, or the people around them. Starting with the Bullet Club, which Balor first formed in 2013, he and current WWE Tag Team Champion Tama Tonga have both joined WWE. Both Gallows and Anderson attended the retirement ceremony of Balor’s successor, Styles. On the other side, Young Buck’s influence on tag team wrestling helped birth AEW.
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But according to Balor, Bullet Club — the brand that helped launch numerous careers and even more hits — is lucky to have these talents, not the other way around. “I think everyone you mentioned [Styles, Cody Rhodes, The Tongans, Young Bucks, Kenny Omega] is a world-class performer,” he said. “Obviously the thing that connects all of us is that at one point in time, we were a part of Bullet Club. But I feel like everyone is an individual with their own unique skills and is capable of success with or without Bullet Club.
“So I do think the Bullet Club connection is obviously relevant and it’s something that connects us all. But I think we’re all very unique individual performers and outside of Bullet Club we’re all going to be successful.”
Out of all these names, Balor was the first to win the WWE World Championship, which he did in 2016, a month before Styles. After winning a Fatal 4 match and then defeating Roman Reigns in a singles match, Balor entered a match for the first-ever WWE Universal Champion with a red belt indicating his connection to “Raw.” He defeated Seth Rollins to win the title, but had to vacate the title the next day due to a shoulder injury. It’s the kind of thing that could devastate a little person – reaching the top of a mountain, only to seemingly slip and slide down the other side. But for Balor, being on top doesn’t mean sitting on it; You plant your flag and look for the next peak to prove yourself.
Finn Balor’s demonic alter ego has long been a fan favorite.
(Chad Matthew Carlson via Getty Images)
“Giving up the Universal Championship due to injury is not a tragedy,” he said a decade later. “Winning the Universal Championship is a success story.
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“My first night, I beat Roman Reigns. Three weeks later, I beat Seth on my first night [WWE] Pay per view. I became a champion. This is success. I choose to see the glass as half full, while others choose to see the glass as half empty. I’ve been asked about all of these what-ifs for the past ten years. I feel like you can learn a lot from winning, but you can learn even more from losing. I learned a lot about myself [injured]. That was my first break in 16 years. So this is the first time for me to sit down and process what happened, process where I am now, process the success I’ve had over 16 years, being the first Universal Champion. “
It can be annoying to be asked about things that happened 10 years ago that didn’t end your career, didn’t destroy you physically, and didn’t destroy you mentally, but it also allows Balor to flex a little to make sure people understand he’s not wallowing or waiting for the next 10 years. It’s 10 years of championships, 10 years of WrestleMania moments, 10 years of excellence as an individual talent or a key member of a winning team. But it’s also the decade since we saw familiar faces take off work for the last time. So at 44, Balor, who has the physicality and mobility to match his age, is fully aware that this isn’t a forever commitment.
“Seeing John [Cena] Retirement is obviously very emotional. Seeing AJ retire…a guy who’s been through a similar experience to me, just a little older and a few steps ahead of me – I think he’s the benchmark for where I need to be,” Balor said. “Seeing him retire made me realize, ‘Oh, retirement is around the corner for me too. And there’s still a big stain on your career that everyone keeps asking you, “What if?” And in Belfast [in January]when I lost to Punk [for the World Heavyweight Title]I realize that time is running out and you need to solve this problem as soon as possible. This is what I’m trying to do. I needed to right the wrongs that happened ten years ago—not for me, but for others. “
I realize that time is running out and you need to resolve this issue as soon as possible. This is what I’m trying to do. I needed to right the wrongs that happened ten years ago—not for me, but for others.
He will have another chance to right his wrongs in Saturday’s Elimination Chamber Elimination Chamber match, where he will once again challenge CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship.
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The second half of this home challenge will take place in punk’s hallowed home of Chicago, after a failed attempt to kick off 2026 in Northern Ireland. Balor has made no secret of the fact that he thinks Punk’s claims to be “the best in the world” are fraudulent – not because of anything Punk hasn’t done, but because of what Balor has done have. Students everywhere, stars everywhere, champions everywhere – probably anyone who stood across from him, he would have made the same assertion.
While Balor knew he was on a clock, he didn’t ask for the clock to slow down. Instead, he was reading the minutes, knowing that as long as there was time left, the prince would have enough time to take back the throne. “I feel like it’s always going to be my time because I’m the protagonist in my life,” he said. “And I’m smart enough to realize that if you’ve been in the game as long as I have, you’re not always going to be at the top of the mountain. There’s only so much room at the top of the mountain.”
“You have to be patient. But when the opportunity comes, you have to deliver. In Belfast, when the opportunity came, I delivered – and that then led to another opportunity, the Chicago opportunity. So maybe people in life should slow down a little bit, zoom out a little bit, and need to stop looking for this instant gratification. ‘I want it all now, I want it now,’ and not everyone can have it all all the time. But when your time comes, be ready, be capable, and be successful. That’s what I plan to do in Chicago.”