Former WWE Universal Champion Finn Balor recently spoke with ESPN about various topics. Here are the highlights.
On his shoulder injury:
“I’ve been wrestling full-time for 10 years. It’s unfortunate. I wish it didn’t happen. But it has, and you can’t change the past. You’ve gotta make a positive out of the negative, and I think I’ve learned a lot about myself in the last couple of months, about what I value. I’m gonna come back a lot more rounded and focused than I was before. I’m excited about the Finn Balor that’s going to come back, as opposed to the Finn Balor that I left behind.”
On his current return timetable:
“You know, that’s obviously a huge rumor, and I would never be one to fuel the rumor mills,” he said with a smile, “But to be a surprise entrant in the Rumble would be a huge moment for me. I’m sure it would create quite a buzz,” he said. “But right now with the condition my shoulder is in, I’m not willing to risk sustaining any more long-term injury, just for the sake of two or three weeks. Since I got hurt, it was six months [out]. The target was to be back for WrestleMania. Everything’s on plan, everything’s on schedule.”
On if he would return at the Royal Rumble:
“If the day of the Royal Rumble, Vince McMahon says, ‘You got your gear with you?’ Then I’m sure I’ll be around,” he said with a smile. But, pointing to his injured shoulder, he added: “It’s not something I want to risk unless I’m 100 percent confident that this is 100 percent.”