Finn Balor says the injury that kept him off TV for 8 months is the best thing that ever happened to him

Finn Balor is set to compete in a Fatal Four Way sixty-minute Ironman Match in a few hours. The winner of the match will be crowned the NXT Champion. Finn Balor, Adam Cole, Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano were given the opportunity after Karrion Kross injured his shoulder during his match against Keith Lee at NXT TakeOver: XXX, forcing him to relinquish the Title.

Finn Balor on the 2016 injury

Back in 2016, Finn Balor was in a similar situation that Karrion Kross finds himself in now. The Demon King beat Seth Rollins at WWE SummerSlam to be crowned the inaugural Universal Champion.

During the match, Finn Balor injured his shoulder and was forced to relinquish his newly won Championship on the following night. The injury forced Balor to an eight-month-long hiatus from WWE TV.

Finn Balor was interviewed by Sports Illustrated recently, hours before his NXT Championship Match. During the conversation, Finn Balor reflected on his injury after becoming the inaugural Universal Champion.

“When I was in that moment, I felt like it was the worst thing in the world. I felt like I let all these people down, and there were all these expectations that couldn’t be fulfilled. Looking back, I now realize it’s the best thing that ever happened to me. I had a 16-year climb to the top, which ended in beating Roman, Seth and raising the title. I spent so much time climbing up that mountain, but I never turned around and assessed the view. I needed to rebuild my shoulder, but I also needed to take stock of what I had already accomplished. I grew up a lot during that period. Those eight months took me away from wrestling and helped me reconnect with a lot of people and grow as a person. I’d pushed a lot of things aside in this tireless pursuit of my dream. When I came back to wrestling, I was a lot more rounded of a human being, and I knew exactly what I wanted in wrestling. For Karrion, it’s a s----- situation right now. In a few months, I hope he can look back and realize the experience made him a better person and performer.”