Finn Balor

Birth name
 Born
 Resides
 Billed height
 Billed weight
 Billed from
 Trained by
 Debut

Fergal Devitt (born 25 July 1981) is an Irish professional wrestler & actor. He is currently signed to UNW, where he performs on the main roster under the ring name Finn Bálor (/ˈbælər/), and is the leader of The Judgment Day. He is also signed to CWC, where he is the current CWC Universal Champion in his first reign. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers in UNW history.

Devitt is widely known for his tenure with Unlimited Nonstop Wrestling (UNW) where he is a three-time UNW Champion and one-time Universal Champion, having held the titles numerous times throughout his six year career with UNW. He is also a two-time WrestleMania Main Eventer, having main evented the first & fourth events. Devitt also founded the Bullet Club stable, which has seen numerous revivals in the past, but remains currently defunct. Throughout his career beyond UNW, Devitt has wrestled for multiple other wrestling companies in the past, becoming a one-time WWR Champion in WWR, one-time GWD Universal Champion in GWD, one-time G+ World Champion in a cross-promotional wrestling event, & most recently, one-time CWC Universal Champion for CWC, making Devitt an overall eight-time World Champion in professional wrestling.

Devitt would kickstart Unlimited Nonstop Wrestling on January 4th, 2017 with several other promoters and professional wrestlers, which would begin the historic rise of UNW into the upper echelon of professional wrestling after the critical acclaim that UNW WrestleMania I achieved. Devitt would go on to win his first UNW World Championship later on that same year in October's Bad Blood pay-per-view, with proceeding world championship victories occurring in 2018 and 2022. Devitt would go on a six month hiatus following his sudden disappearance before WrestleMania 8, but returned at 2022's Royal Rumble event, with the surprise return and performance thereafter being lauded for its well-kept secrecy and timing. His wrestling career following his return, in particular his third UNW World Championship reign has received widespread critical acclaim.

## Early Life

Fergal Devitt was born on 25 July 1981[5][11] in Bray, County Wicklow, the son of Leonie and Fintan Devitt. He has one older sibling and three younger siblings.[14] He attended St. Cronan's School in Bray. Before deciding to become a professional wrestler, he played association football and Gaelic football.[15] While growing up, he enjoyed watching World of Sport and WWF shows and was a fan of The British Bulldogs, Bret Hart, Mr. Perfect, Rick Rude, Savio Vega, and Koko B. Ware.

## Professional wrestling career

### Early career (2001–2007)

After training at NWA UK Hammerlock, Devitt made his professional wrestling debut on 23 November 2001. He quickly won the NWA British Commonwealth Heavyweight Championship. After graduating, his wrestling career started quickly, and he began touring Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In mid-2002, Devitt, along with Paul Tracey, opened NWA Ireland, his own wrestling promotion based in Ireland. The promotion soon became the sister group of NWA UK Hammerlock as both promoted under the NWA banner. As part of NWA Ireland, Devitt trained future UNW competitor Ava Grayson.

On 8 October 2005, in Nashville, Tennessee, at the NWA 57th Anniversary Show, Devitt defeated Dru Onyx for his second British Commonwealth title. After the match both participants were invited to the New Japan Inoki Dojo in Santa Monica, California to train. During late 2005, Devitt also began competing for the U.S.–based Millennium Wrestling Federation (MWF). He made his debut in a triple threat match at Soul Survivor III on 5 November, challenging for the MWF Television Championship against the champion Eddie Edwards and R. J. Brewer.[20] He made his television debut on the November edition of MWF Ultra, in a match against Osiris.[20] After impressing many promoters and trainers, he was invited to train in New Japan's main dojo in Tokyo, where, in early 2006, he began training in the Japanese style of professional wrestling. He lost the British Commonwealth Championship to Karl Anderson in March 2006. In June 2007, Devitt participated in a tournament for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) called "Reclaiming the Glory", which was to crown a new NWA World Heavyweight Champion. The championship had been controlled by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) for several years, but in 2007 NWA had terminated its agreement with TNA. In the first round, Devitt defeated Australian wrestler Mikey Nicholls, but lost in the second round to Bryan Danielson.

### Control Terrorism Unit and RISE (2006–2008)

The day after losing the British Commonwealth Championship, Devitt signed a contract with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in March 2006. In April 2006, he made his NJPW debut against El Samurai, using the ring name Prince Devitt. Devitt later stated in an interview with PowerSlam Mag that New Japan renamed him Prince Devitt because nobody Japanese could pronounce his actual name. He was originally going to be called King David until people started questioning why the 24-year-old would be a king already. Eventually, Simon Inoki came up with the name Prince Devitt, which Devitt himself also preferred.[23] In May 2006, New Japan started holding brand–exclusive events, and Devitt was assigned to the Wrestle Land brand, debuting under a mask as the second Pegasus Kid, which led to comparisons between Devitt and the original Pegasus Kid, Chris Benoit.

During his tour of New Japan in late August and early September, he started competing again as his Prince Devitt identity, utilizing an Irish superstar gimmick. He eventually turned heel and started teaming with the Control Terrorism Unit (CTU) in an apprentice–type role. While teaming with CTU, he began a losing streak, aggravating his teammates to such a degree that they did not want anything to do with him anymore. This led to him being given one final chance on 6 October, where he rose to the occasion and impressed his CTU teammates enough to continue his association with them. To solidify his status with the stable, Devitt teamed with CTU leader, Jushin Thunder Liger to take on Wataru Inoue and Ryusuke Taguchi. In a huge twist, Devitt was the one to make the final cover on Inoue following a stiff brainbuster. From then on he was officially recognized as a member of the CTU.

His momentum was halted in January 2007, when he suffered a serious knee injury, sidelining him from in-ring action in New Japan until early May of that year. Following the injury, he returned to action, showing great improvement and was touted by fellow CTU teammate, Minoru, as the future winner of the 2007 Best of the Super Juniors tournament. However, when the tournament was held in June 2007, Devitt scored no points and was eliminated early from the competition. Following the folding of CTU in August 2007, Devitt and Minoru joined the new RISE stable, forming a tag team named "Prince Prince", a reference to both Devitt's ring name and Minoru's nickname, "Black Prince". In November 2007, TNA made a tour of Japan, during which Devitt and Minoru were defeated by TNA wrestlers Senshi and Christopher Daniels.

On 27 January 2008, Devitt and Minoru won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, this served as Devitt's first major tag title reign.[25][26] They lost the championship to Akira and Jyushin Thunder Liger in February, before regaining the title on 21 July. After a near three-month reign they lost the championship to No Limit (Tetsuya Naito and Yujiro) in October.

## **Unlimited Nonstop Wrestling (2017-)**

#### The Beginning of UNW & Other Ventures

After spending nearly a decade in Japan and becoming a well-rounded professional wrestler overseas, Devitt alongside numerous other promoters and professional wrestlers would establish Unlimited Nonstop Wrestling on January 4th, 2017. Devitt would go by his current in-ring name of Finn Balor for the foreseeable future, a homage to his father. Devitt would spend the first half of 2017 as an on-screen authority figure, sporadically wrestling on events for UNW throughout the spring and early summer. This era of UNW would be most well known for WrestleMania I, which would be headlined by the first encounter between Finn Balor and long-time rival Roman Reigns inside Hell In A Cell. The storyline along with the match itself received universal acclaim from fans and critics alike, with the match along with the entire event being hailed as UNW's initiation into the summit of professional wrestling as a whole. Following WrestleMania I, UNW continued to pursue growth through its first season till closing its doors for the first time during the Summer. This down period would allow Devitt to pursue other ventures within professional wrestling, as he decided to vast his horizons by signing with top wrestling promotions at the time, World Wrestling Revolution & Grand Wrestling Dominion. These ventures would prove to be highly successful for Devitt, as he would become WWR Champion & GWD Universal Champion in the summer of 2017.

UNW would open its doors once again as the second season began with the return event being WrestleMania II, live from New Orleans. Finn Balor and Roman Reigns would reignite their rivalry from the first WrestleMania for the second event, however, their second match would be met with negative reception, as the lack of build leading into the return event was panned by critics and fans alike. A month later, at the first Bad Blood event in UNW, Balor would win his first world championship in UNW in the main event, defeating John Cena to become the UNW Champion. Shortly after, in UNW's first draft, Balor would be stripped of the UNW Championship, & receive the Universal Championship. Going into 2018, Balor would remain the Universal Champion for 75 days, before having to drop the championship due to a lingering back injury that kept him out of action for three months. Balor would go on to compete at WrestleMania III, victorious against Shawn Michaels, although the match is not remembered in modern day due to its forgettable nature. During the summer of 2018, a cross-promotional event featuring UNW, WWR & GWD would occur to crown the G+ World Champion of professional wrestling; Finn Balor would go on to be the winner of the 16-person tournament to become the inaugural G+ World Champion. Balor would win a plethora of championships in UNW during this period, including the Intercontinental Championship, Hardcore Championship, & UNW Tag Team Championship.

During this same summer, Dean Ambrose would become UNW Champion after defeating Candice LeRae, which became the catalyst to UNW's immense downturn in revenue and overall profitability, resulting in an emergency creative decision from the board of directors that lead to Balor receiving a UNW Title match immediately. Balor would win his second UNW Championship from Ambrose, his third world title overall in UNW. However, the downturn would not improve, as the title change occurred too late, resulting in UNW closing its doors for a second time. The second return would not be seen till the spring of 2019, as UNW Endgame would be the return event for UNW and the final event under their previous owner at the time. As other promotions such as WWR & GWD closed their doors permanently, UNW would be under new ownership from then on, as Seth Rollins defeated Finn Balor for the UNW Championship to end this particular era of UNW.

### Blank Face

Moving into the new era, Balor would go on to state that he yearned for a fresh character, as he felt that the Demon character had taken its course over the year and a half of its existence. For season four, Balor went for a different approach as he created the "Blank Face" character, a faceless figure who signifies the destruction of Balor's previous image, being reborn into a much more cerebral foe who speaks with heightened conviction in a cryptic nature. The character received acclaim during its inception, remaining a popular fixture on UNW television throughout season four. The Blank Face character would see championship success after getting involved in a rivalry with Intercontinental Champion Samoa Joe for the Summerslam event. Balor & Joe receive highly favorable reviews for their Summerslam clash, as Balor would become Intercontinental Champion for the second time in his career. Following this championship victory, Balor would then go on to feud with the United States Champion at the time, Kevin Owens. Both men would main event the Royal Rumble event in a winner-take-all clash for their respective titles. The Blank Face character's success continues as Balor defeats Kevin Owens to become United States Champion, holding all of the mid-card titles available in UNW at the time.

After the Royal Rumble event, WrestleMania IV was on the horizon, as Balor looked ahead to the event early on. Balor lost the Intercontinental Championship in a triple threat match involving Seth Rollins & Tyler Breeze, but went on to WrestleMania IV as the United States Champion. Balor would main event the show against Dolph Ziggler, which also put Balor's persona on the line alongside his championship. He would lose the match, therefore losing the title as well as ending his Blank Face character, which reintroduced the Demon as a mainstay alter-ego for Balor moving forward. Following this loss, Balor's career remained dormant for the rest of the season, as he would take a break from the ring for the time being and allow himself further time to recharge before returning to the ring.

### The Bullet Club & Retirement

Moving into the next season, Finn Balor found himself returning back to the ring as he got involved in a storyline with Roman Reigns once again. Balor's return to in-ring action occurred in a tag team match at TLC 2019, where he teamed with Roman Reigns, succeeding in the match with a victory, followed by Reigns beating down Balor in a post-match attack. This attack would set up their third match against one another at 2020's Judgement Day PPV for Reigns' World Heavyweight Championship. The build found Balor receiving much more sympathy than usual, as he did not showcase confidence heading into the match. However, after the match, which Balor lost; Cody Rhodes, & a debuting AJ Styles, would join Balor in attacking Reigns and forming the second rendition of Bullet Club. The trio moved on to Money In The Bank, the PPV that followed Judgement Day, which is recognized as one of the most lauded events in company history, as Balor stood in the corner of Styles, who won his first Intercontinental Championship that same night. Seth Rollins cashed in on Jon Moxley following his UNW Championship victory, leading into Rollins' alignment with the Bullet Club and betrayal against the Shield. Soon after, Balor & Styles would also become UNW Tag Team Champions, Balor's second tag team championship. Bullet Club would invoke an explosive rivalry with the formation of the "Anti-Club" which consisted of Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, & others. However, in fear that the rivalry would cause irreversible implosion within the roster, Bullet Club disbanded; however, Balor & Styles remained a team till losing their titles to Rated-RKO.

Finn Balor would invoke a rivalry with Bray Wyatt throughout season five, however, fatigue would set in over the course of the total build toward WrestleMania V, which resulted in an underwhelming career vs. career match between both men. From there, Balor would remain dormant throughout the entirety of season six, enjoying retirement from the first quarter of 2020 all the way till the third quarter, as this would see Balor return at WrestleMania VI; although, this was immediately followed by his removal from the main roster and potential firing if he ever stepped foot in RAW or Smackdown.

### NXT & Season 8

Following his removal from the main roster, Finn Balor would be placed within the NXT brand, an alternative from RAW & Smackdown which took heavy emphasis on in-ring wrestling and realistic stories. Balor made his debut on NXT to confront the champion at the time, Candice LeRae. Balor challenged LeRae for both the NXT & North American Titles at NXT Takeover: Rival, which LeRae would accept. At Rival, LeRae & Balor fought in a two-fall match, one fall for each title. Balor won the first fall, which crowned him as new North American Champion, and LeRae won the second fall. Following Rival, Balor would soon enter a rivalry with Johnny Gargano, who critics hail as "the greatest NXT wrestler of all time". Balor & Gargano would have their first match together at NXT Takeover: Doomsday in a two out three falls match. Gargano won the first fall, and Balor won the second fall with the help of former ally AJ Styles; however, Gargano would win the third fall, winning the North American Championship.

Finn Balor would move into a rivalry with Karrion Kross, who was a former UNW World Champion. Balor would unleash the Demon persona for the first time since his rivalry with Bray Wyatt, colliding with Karrion Kross in a First Blood match, in which Balor would win. The rivalry would be put on hold, as after Johnny Gargano's NXT Championship victory over Candice LeRae at NXT Takeover: St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Balor would attack Gargano in a post-match assault. This attack lead to the second match between Balor & Gargano at NXT Takeover: New York; this bout being contested for the NXT Championship in a ladder match. After interferences, Balor would be crowned the NXT Champion, then moving on to continue his rivalry with Kross. The two would form an unorthodox team, winning the UNW Tag Team Championships, marking Balor's third, but lost the titles shortly after. At WrestleMania VII, in their second outing, Balor would lose the NXT Championship before being allowed back to the main roster.

Season 8 would be Balor's return to the main roster after spending the entirety of season seven on NXT, and he would be involved in multiple title programs, which included the Cruiserweight Championship & Intercontinental Championship. His most notable achievement this season would be becoming European Champion, defeating Triple H in an ambulance match to win the title. Balor defended the title against numerous challengers, before dropping the championship to Kazuchika Okada, who would also defeat Balor & two other men at that year's Summerslam event. Past Summerslam, Balor pursued a rivalry with newcomer Malakai Black for WrestleMania VIII, which would have featured a revamped "Ice King" Demon persona from Balor at the event. However, this match would never take place, as Balor would leave UNW prematurely after feeling demotivated & pushed away from the company following personal differences. Balor would not be seen in the public eye for another six months.

## A Second Wind (UNW Return & CWC)

### 2022 UNW Return

Finn Balor would make his return at UNW's 2022 Royal Rumble event, entering the Royal Rumble match at Entrant #3 to the complete shock & awe of critics and audiences alike worldwide. The return of Finn Balor was met with widespread critical acclaim by critics and audiences across the board, signaling UNW's rise back to stardom in the industry to see one of their cornerstone performers return. Balor signed a multi-year contract with UNW that lasts until sometime in 2024, which is stated to be in the ballpark of eight figures, one of the highest salaries in the entire wrestling industry. Balor returned to one-on-one action against Kelin at Double or Nothing, before moving on to face TFK, also being TFK's final opponent before his sudden departure. Balor would ignite a rivalry with Jay White, which placed heavy emphasis on the Bullet Club & who the true leader was. Balor & White faced off at WrestleMania IX, opening night two to acclaim. Balor also introduced his "Executioner" persona against White, which he describes as "a culmination of his personas combined into one unstoppable bringer of punishment."

Following WrestleMania IX, Balor would go on to collide with Roman Reigns once again for their fourth encounter on the 5th Anniversary Event of UNW, in which Balor would pick up a second victory over Reigns in their series of bouts. Following this event, Balor set his sights on the X-Division Championship; successfully winning the title in the lead-up to the next PPV event, Insurrextion, where was due to face Will Ospreay. Balor successfully defeated Ospreay on the PPV, his thirs consecutive defense with the X-Division Championship. Due to the ability to cash in Option-C with the title, Balor used Option-C to challenge UNW Champion at the time, Sebastian Garcia, at that year's Summerslam event. With the usage of his Executioner persona once more, Balor would defeat Garcia to win his third UNW Championship; his fourth overall world title in UNW.

### Record-breaking UNW Championship Reign

After a three month hiatus, UNW would open its doors once more with the return stadium event Halloween Havoc; headlined by UNW Champion Finn Balor taking on CM Punk, in which Balor would defeat for his first title defense. Following this victory, Balor would make a surprise appearance on CWC television to form the Judgement Day, serving as the leader of the faction which consisted of himself, Bea Valentine, Ava Grayson, Odin, Indi Hartwell & Dexter Lumis.

Following Halloween Havoc, Finn Balor & Kazuchika Okada would reignite their storyline from the summer of 2021, as the two maintained utmost professionalism while still showcasing animosity among one another within the build toward their Armageddon clash. The two out of three falls championship match between the Executioner & Okada received critical acclaim from critics and audiences, lauded as the arguable best match on the show. Balor would partake in a rivalry with former teammate AJ Styles, as Styles wanted to redeem the history of Bullet Club while Balor believed that the Bullet Club simply ran its course, yet the two shared moments of civility when moving toward their match at New Years Revolution. Much like Balor vs. Okada, the 30-minute Iron Man match between the Executioner & AJ Styles also received critical acclaim, with Balor retaining his title after a 3-2 score at overtime, giving the match a total runtime of 34 minutes. Balor also continued to defend the UNW Championship in CWC after signing a lucrative deal with the promotion, successfully defending the title against CWC Hall of Famer Roderick Strong.

Going into 2023, Balor remained busy within CWC, as he defeated Denis Ryley at their Royal Rumble event to retain his championship, and afterward, he would appear after Ricochet vs. Harley Williams to make the challenge to Universal Champion Ricochet at CWC WrestleMania VI. Balor would not be able to compete at UNW's Royal Rumble event however due to conflicting schedules with CWC's dates. The TV event after the Rumble, Balor would successfully defend his title against Chris Jericho & John Cena, before declaring that he would defend his title inside the Elimination Chamber against five other men at that year's No Way Out event. In the lead-up to the event, a gauntlet match was held, where Balor & Reigns collided once again, with Balor defeating Reigns for a third time; however, Cody would pin Balor in the following match, making it Balor's first loss since his return. Onward to No Way Out, Finn Balor successfully defended his championship against Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, Chris Jericho & John Cena, the match being received with acclaim, as well as defending the title against Jericho at the OVW event from CWC before WrestleMania. Finn Balor & Ricochet collided in a winner-take-all match at CWC WrestleMania VI in the co-main event of Night Two. Balor successfully pinned Ricochet to retain his UNW Championship, and become the new CWC Universal Champion, potentially the final champion as well after CWC closed their doors.

Following the events of No Way Out, Balor would appear on the next TV event, only to be interrupted by Cody Rhodes soon after, who challenged Balor for the UNW Championship at the second Comic Con event. Finn Balor & Cody Rhodes faced off at Comic Con II, which lead to Rhodes defeating Balor for the UNW Championship; the reign was short-lived however, as L.A. Knight would cash in his Money In The Bank briefcase to become the new UNW Champion after Triple H's post-match assault on Rhodes. Balor's third UNW Championship reign ended at 204 days, a record-breaking run for the title, with the entire championship reign receiving widespread critical acclaim from critics & audiences alike. Following his loss to L.A. Knight at WrestleMania for the UNW Championship, Balor would close out season 10 as his most successful, winning two awards from the Season-End Award Show; Best Male Superstar & Best Champion for his third UNW Championship reign.

## Personal Life

Devitt resides in Orlando, where he has lived for the last six years since first signing with UNW. Devitt holds a first-degree black belt in IBF submission wrestling. He is good friends with fellow professional wrestlers Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, Rhea Ripley, Indi Hartwell, & Johnny Gargano. He is an avid comic book reader and collector of Lego, and has worn face and body paint inspired by comic book characters when wrestling. He is a supporter of English football team Tottenham Hotspur FC.

Devitt was involved in numerous relationships that have been made aware to the public eye since his UNW signing from 2017, his first well known romance being with Barbara Blank (Kelly Kelly) in early 2017, till sparking a new romance with Saraya Jade Bevis in 2018. Devitt would be involved with another female professional wrestler for a longer period of time, however, the identity of said wrestler has since been unknown. During 2020, Devitt would be involved in a relationship with Pamela Martinez (Bayley), the two also being responsible for the UNW Exclusive show "The FxB Show" which spanned for two seasons, along with a feature length film titled "FxB Season 2 Finale: Christmas Carol". Devitt & Martinez also married on the Season Finale of Season One. However, the two have since split in 2022 due to personal matters. Devitt is currently in a relationship with UNW Superstar & one-time Woman of Honor Champion Victoria Remington.