Finn Balor's Demon Persona

[The Bearded One]

In theory, Finn Balor's demon persona is amazing. A usually quiet but suave champion has a darker side and he channels that energy into his biggest matches, hence revealing his inner demon. And there's no doubt the paint looks cool, and the entrance is almost breathtaking.

But the demon persona doesn't fully work.

For one, outside of the paint and crawling in the entrance, Balor doesn't act or wrestle any differently between his two personas. I'd expect a darker demon to be more aggressive and dangerous. But he wrestles just like Balor would normally, and that isn't a problem when he isn't painted. He needs more of an edge, maybe a different moveset and possibly a different finisher as the demon.

Another issue is that the demon persona seems kind of forced. Balor just comes out painted for his big matches, but there's no evolution into becoming the demon. If he would slowly morph into the demon when necessary during feuds, like when one becomes more personal, it would make the pay off of seeing the demon logical and more satisfying. Balor seems to don the paint whenever he has a title match, and that's not necessary. He should only become the demon in the most dire circumstances.

Plus, evolving into the demon could open storyline possibilities of him trying to suppress his darker side, or accepting to fully embrace the evilness. It could set up a personal conflict for him, and heels could feed off that with storylines.

I know the demon persona is wildly popular, and even with its flaws I still love it. But do you think Balor's alter ego concept is flawed? If so, in what ways could it be improved? Or does it even need to be tweaked at all?

 

[JoeMallard]

He's only the demon for Takeover events. Last time he used it was because normal Finn could'nt overcome Joe. I believe he won't be doing it for awhile, since Bulletproof is being pushed.

 

[TheLittleOne]

is it actually a persona, or BIG LEAGUE entrance and face paint that helps sell toys and t-shirts..?

notice how EVERY act / performer in nxt has a special entrance, it seems like from neville to becky and in between, comin out on to stage and doing trademark movements is just as important as ur ring work... does any 1 just walk out to the ring to FIGHT.. FIGHT, imagine if Kevin Owens walked thru gorilla, and then on the stage did a 4 strike punch combo before walking down the ramp, sumtimes too much showmanship before actions can be hurtful.. i see no need for neville and the cape or acension to crawl on their hands and knees looking for the weightloss pills they dropped!

 

[L@RISANO]

The signing of Bullet Club might be the best thing for Finn Balor's call-up as it would allow him to be introduced to the Main Roster audience in a different way, thereby allowing him to build credibility before moving on to Lone Singles and the Demon persona.


As for what the OP said specifically.
I agree wholeheartedly, that the Demon persona needs to be treated as a true 'power-up' type thing as it would give Finn great depth in his character and allow for some truly great storylines with many different guys on the roster.



The depth of talent available to WWE atm, is astounding. The best I've seen in years with which they can build and have some truly great TV for a diverse audience. Sadly, their inability to properly do multiple storylines means that many of these guys could fall away without ever getting to show the true depths of their immense talent.



Roman Reigns; Seth Rollins; Dean Ambrose; Bray Wyatt; Kevin Owens; Sami Zayn; Finn Balor; Cesaro.

John Cena; Brock Lesnar; Randy Orton; AJ Styles.


Beyond those listen above; there are the usual old part-timers as well. No reason WWE can't build compelling television by rotating those guys and putting them at the forefront.
(Of course, there are other guys also who might reach a higher level. Those listed are the ones I personally see the most diverse potential in at present)

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

Honestly I don't think that the demon war paint equates to a different persona, I see it as more a big match psychological 'advantage' - similar to how the Undertaker's ppv entrances are always twice as long (even more so at WM) than his to entrances were

 

[Messiah]

Really?.. His "demon" crap is the reason i can't stand Finn Balor.. I have no idea why people like that bullshit.

 

[gvt2000]

Really?.. His "demon" crap is the reason i can't stand Finn Balor.. I have no idea why people like that bullshit.

Because the entrance is epic, the song is catchy and the paint job is amazing

 

[Mighty NorCal]

You are overthinking this, and here is my proof....

I know the demon persona is wildly popular, and even with its flaws I still love it

Would it be a cool extra layer to the character to change up the moveset a little? Yea, I suppose, but its not going to make it more over or enhance the bottom line in any way.


Would a wild spot every time he gets the paint out be cool? Fuck yes, but then you create an expectation, and if you don't fufill it, you kill the character. For instance, if Mick Foley had continued his carreer, he could basically never could have an HIAC match again with shooting himself out of a cannon or something.


I agree there is potential for more to be done, but I also wouldn't call it flawed.

 

[The Bearded One]

You are overthinking this, and here is my proof....




Would it be a cool extra layer to the character to change up the moveset a little? Yea, I suppose, but its not going to make it more over or enhance the bottom line in any way.

No doubt I'm overthinking. I have way too much time on my hands. I agree that it won't make much of a difference to the bottom line since I don't know how much more money a small tweak like this can make, but I do think it would make the act more over. Fans would see Balor morphing into his alter ego, building the suspense for when they finally the demon come out. And if it's only used in the most special of special circumstances, instead of basically NXT Title match on a Takeover, then it would add even more of a mystique to it.

Would a wild spot every time he gets the paint out be cool? Fuck yes, but then you create an expectation, and if you don't fufill it, you kill the character. For instance, if Mick Foley had continued his carreer, he could basically never could have an HIAC match again with shooting himself out of a cannon or something.


I agree there is potential for more to be done, but I also wouldn't call it flawed.

I'm not asking for a wild spot every time he dons the paint, although that would be awesome. But having him be a little more aggressive, hit a little harder, act a little darker isn't too much to ask. Even if he just adds a couple of different moves, and has a demon-only finisher (like the Bloody Sunday he's been using recently) would be enough to differentiate between normal Balor and demon Balor.

I don't know if flawed was the right word to use, but not meeting its full potential is the perfect way to describe it. There are so many directions the demon Balor persona can go, but they seem content with just having it be a cool look and not much else.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

not meeting its full potential is the perfect way to describe it.

Welcome to the WWE in 2016 "things not living up to their full potential" could be their fucking tagline now.