The Prince is back.
Finn Balor shocked the wrestling world on Wednesday's NXT when he turned on Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa during their showdown with The Undisputed Era. Balor didn't let up on Gargano, hitting him with a shotgun dropkick through the guardrail and spiking him with a 1916 on the ramp.
On Friday's WWE Backstage, Balor explained his actions.
"Everyone keeps talking about, 'why go back to NXT?' For me, Raw and SmackDown are like Hollywood. It's like the Avengers movies. It's easy to hide behind special effects and smoke. NXT is like Broadway. There's nowhere to hide. I need to test myself. I want to go back to being the real me."
Balor continued, "I felt like stepping back into who I am. Like, maybe I haven't been true to myself for a long time. This is the real Finn Balor. You're a big fan of my work from before WWE, right? Let's just say The Prince is back."
"The Prince is back" is a nod to Balor's pre-WWE persona Prince Devitt, a founding member of the Bullet Club stable in NJPW. You can see how Balor's former Bullet Club running mates reacted to his turn by clicking here.
If you use any of the quotes above, please give a h/t to Fightful for the transcription.