Following Monday Night Raw this past week WWE aired the latest WWE 24 special, with this one being centred around The Demon King himself, Finn Balor. For those of you who aren’t aware, the 24 series is a documentary-based show that runs for about 30-60 minutes and details various topics surrounding World Wrestling Entertainment.
It’s by far the most entertaining and fascinating thing that the company produces on the Network, and we as fans simply cannot get enough of them. This time round they managed to outdo themselves once again, with the Balor edition being right up there with Seth Rollins’ and Daniel Bryan’s in terms of pure heartache and joyful emotion.
We saw Finn’s entire journey over the last twelve months unfold from his injury at SummerSlam all the way through to his return the night after WrestleMania 33. It was great, it was pure, and it gave us a real insight into why Balor is being tipped as one of the new faces of this industry. If you haven’t seen it yet, then please stop reading this, go and watch it, and then come back.
With that being said, here are five things we learned from Finn Balor’s WWE 24 special.
#1 Irish pubs look great
Around half way through the broadcast, Balor decides to take a trip back home to Ireland, at which point he travels to his local pub to spend time with old friends and his family. With his brothers and father by his side, Finn drank the night away alongside his pals, and the atmosphere looked to be incredible from our perspective.
The drinks were flowing, and there were even a few Jäger bombs thrown in there, which is something that may confuse a few of our foreign fans reading this. It was great to see Finn let his hair down for a night and have a bit of fun, especially considering everything that he’d been through over the prior few months.
Why Vince why?
#2 Cleared before WrestleMania
Unlike Seth Rollins’ recovery story, Finn was cleared to compete in the ring well before WrestleMania 33. He returned to a house show in Buffalo before proceeding to compete on a number of other live events over the coming weeks, with fans eagerly anticipating his arrival before the showcase of the immortals. WWE could have booked Undertaker vs. Finn Balor!
Alas, it didn’t happen, and it seems as if the company just didn’t require his services for the big event. Then again given how stacked the card was in Orlando, they may not have wanted Finn to get lost in the shuffle, but we can’t stop thinking about how fantastic a WrestleMania version of his entrance would’ve been. Oh well, there’s always New Orleans.
Best friends forever.
#3 Rehab with Rollins
When Seth Rollins injured Finn Balor at SummerSlam, you could tell that it broke The Architect’s heart. Seth had been in that exact position less than a year prior, and he’s been responsible for a few other injuries to the likes of Sting and John Cena, so this would’ve really hurt him. Still, what goes around comes around right?
We’re obviously joking, but funnily enough, Rollins ended up being right by Finn’s side once again after he re-injured his knee just over a month before WM33. The two rehabbed together in Birmingham, with Finn eager to assist Rollins in making it back in time to compete on the grandest stage of them all. Thankfully, they were successful.
We are NXT.
Also read: 10 WWE Superstars and where they were 10 years ago
#4 NXT crew
Finn’s injury was so sudden that he didn’t really have time to celebrate his Universal Championship triumph at SummerSlam – that is, until the evening. It turns out that the Irishman has quite the collection of friends from his time in NXT, with a number of the guys spending the whole night laughing and joking in an attempt to make Balor feel better.
This ensemble supposedly includes Finn, Big Cass, Owens, Zayn and Neville among others. It’s a great collection of talent to have by your side, especially when you’re going through something that several of these names have already endured. We’d like to think that they all Skype each other on a nightly basis, but that may be a step too far.
Stay humble.
#5 Humble beginnings
Among the madness of life on the road with WWE, some wrestlers have a tendency to lose sight of the things that are most important in life; but not Finn. The Demon King was seen overlooking the beautiful surroundings in his hometown, with fans being shown the wonder of the place Finn grew up in.
He had humble beginnings in Bray, with the town’s population not even making up half of the yearly attendance at WrestleMania. It seems as if growing up in that kind of environment has turned Fergal into the man he is today, and that can only be a good thing.
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