Finn Balor has shared a story he says he may never have told before about the night he won the Universal Championship.
Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Balor discussed his match with Seth Rollins at SummerSlam 2016, where he became the first Universal Champion while wrestling with a dislocated shoulder. Balor said the injury came out repeatedly during the match. “It actually came out like three more times in the match, because anytime I lifted my arm to hit the ropes, it came out,” he said.
Balor then recounted a conversation with Rollins at ringside. “I don’t know if I’ve ever told this story, and I’m not sure if I should,” he said. “There was a point, we were outside the ring, and I was rolling him back into the ring, and I said, dude, I’m hurt, I don’t think I’m gonna be wrestling for a while, do you want to switch the finish? And he said, no, stick to the plan.”
Balor won the match as planned and relinquished the championship the following night due to the injury. He credited Rollins for staying calm, saying the two called the rest of the match on the fly. “The match that we’d done wasn’t actually the match that we’d laid out,” he said.
Looking back, Balor said the decision shaped how the moment is remembered. “I often think, what would that have done for my career if we had switched the finish? We’re still talking about this 10 years later.”
Watch the full interview with Chris Van Vliet below.
