The success of Finn Balor has made him one of the most popular performers over the past decade. Balor spent many years honing his craft under the name of Prince Devitt. New Japan was the place where Finn thrived with junior heavyweight matches and eventually leading the Bullet Club. WWE made Balor a huge signing for the NXT landscape when looking to improve their future.

RELATED: 10 Ways WWE Has Failed Finn Bálor

The time on the main roster showed a glimpse of Finn on the biggest stage with many ups and downs. Balor heading back to NXT is leading to more fun programs in WWE’s third brand. Some fascinating scoops about Finn have come out through the years, especially while with WWE.

10 Enzo Amore Talked Finn Into Using Body Paint in NXT

Finn Balor and Kevin Owens

The idea of Enzo Amore giving Finn Balor good advice in wrestling seems impossible to believe today, but it happened back in NXT. Balor signing with NXT saw him unsure of if WWE had any interest in him using the body paint for unique looks like he did on the independent circuit.

RELATED: 5 Ways Finn Balor Is Better As A Heel (& 5 Ways He's Best As A Face)

Kevin Owens and Finn having their first NXT photoshoots on the same day saw Enzo reminding them that their prior work got them over. Balor decided to paint his body and face with a unique look while Owens wore his t-shirt and shorts. KO even used Finn’s paint to write the word “Fight” on his shirt.

9 Wanted NXT Feud with WALTER

WALTER making his entrance in NXT

Finn Balor returning to NXT saw him having new opponents to work with. One of the feuds Balor reportedly wanted to have during his time coming back to his old home was a program with WALTER.

The NXT UK brand has seen WALTER thriving as a dominant monster heel. WALTER coming to NXT in Florida saw him becoming a big part of the show here too. Balor lost out on a dream match when the travel restrictions of 2020 stopped the feud.

8 Was Planned to Be Face of Raw Before Injury

Finn Balor as Universal Champion

WWE wanted to make Finn Balor a huge part of the brand split in 2016. Balor’s run in NXT made him the face of the brand longer than anyone else. WWE finally rewarded Finn with the call-up when needing new stars in the main event picture.

Balor was the first-ever Universal Champion and was expected to get the biggest WWE push of the year. WWE didn’t want to use Roman Reigns in a top spot after his suspension, so Finn had a chance to become the face of the company. A horribly timed injury saw Balor forced to vacate the title and miss out on the biggest push of his career.

7 Clashed with Vince About Use of Demon King

Finn Balor as the Demon King

WWE treated Finn Balor on a different level whenever he would use the Demon King persona on the main roster. Balor already established the alter ego with body paint as something he’d only do in huge matches.

The main roster run saw less consistency coming from the use of the Demon King. Vince McMahon viewed Finn as a bigger star with the look and wanted it in lesser matches against Baron Corbin, Bray Wyatt, and Bobby Lashley. Balor wanting the paint to be special has seen him not using it at all since returning to NXT.

6 New Japan Had Strange Idea For Him

Finn Balor in NJPW

Finn Balor became a top star for New Japan in the junior heavyweight division. The rise of the Bullet Club was what made many fans find his work for the first time and instantly become impressed with his skill set.

David Marquez recently revealed a story about NJPW having a different name for Finn other than the Prince Devitt moniker he found success with. The original idea was “King Devitt: King of the Leprechauns” based on his Irish background. This thankfully never happened as it could have pigeonholed him due to his size.

5 Lio Rush Was Upset at Him Not Refuting Rumors of Heat

Finn Balor vs Lio Rush

Lio Rush received a lot of backstage heat in WWE during his time as Bobby Lashley’s manager before his release. There were reports of Rush getting criticized for bringing his wife to shows and having her hang out ringside when only employees would be around.

RELATED: Finn Balor's 5 Best Matches With WWE (& His 5 Best In NJPW)

The stories claimed that Finn Balor was the one to tell Lio to change his ways to no avail. Rush posting a long rant about the rumors revealed that it hurt him to not see Finn refuse the claims. Balor would respond by saying he likes Lio a lot and doesn’t reply to online reports when seeing the tweets.

4 Backstage Employees Were Upset Kane Squashed Him

Finn Balor vs Kane

Finn Balor had a huge night at TLC 2017 when defeating AJ Styles in a classic match. The last-minute change to the card saw Styles replacing an ill Bray Wyatt. Styles vs Balor gave fans a true dream match between the two former Bullet Club leaders.

The Demon King persona of Finn was used perfectly here for the huge victory. WWE completely ruined his momentum one night later when Kane destroyed Balor in a segment. Reports circulated that many people on the creative team were upset at a potential star getting ruined that quickly, but it was Vince McMahon’s call.

3 Vince Viewed Him on Same Level as Dolph Ziggler

Dolph Ziggler

The biggest reason for Finn Balor failing to get a consistent top spot on the main roster was Vince McMahon’s lack of confidence in him. Reports came out that Vince viewed Balor as being on the level of Dolph Ziggler and would never have a higher ceiling.

Ziggler has had a strong WWE career and might even be a Hall of Famer, but he clearly was never a true top star. Finn would never have a fair chance at becoming a credible world champion if this was truly Vince’s vision of him.

2 Awkward Interaction with Ric Flair Backstage

Ric Flair

Ric Flair ended his podcast partially due to a negative experience involving Finn Balor. Many of the podcast discussions about the product at the time would see Flair criticizing quite a few WWE performers.

Flair stated that Balor was too small to be a world champion when Finn was having his feud with Seth Rollins to crown the first Universal Champion. The aftermath saw Flair revealing he had a lot of heat during his next WWE visit and even felt tension with Balor. Ric decided to quit the podcast due to fear of his heat hurting Charlotte at some point.

1 Triple H and Stephanie McMahon Disagreed on His Character

Finn Balor and Triple H

Finn Balor’s merchandise celebrating the LGBTQ community created one of his most popular t-shirts as he donated his proceeds to related charities. There were rumors that Stephanie McMahon wanted Balor to play a gay character for representation along with a huge push.

Triple H was reportedly the one who didn’t like those plans since he wanted to keep Finn’s same character from NXT that he felt could be a top player. This was one of the few instances of a story coming out with Triple H and Stephanie disagreeing in WWE.

NEXT: 10 Wrestlers You Didn't Know Finn Balor Teamed With