Finn Balor Discusses His Legacy, Evolution of NXT After Anticipated Return

Finn Balor is back in NXT and is ready to "redefine" his legacy with the black-and-yellow brand. 

"I'm about to redefine and recreate my legacy," Balor told Phillip Martinez of Newsweek. "And continue to evolve and produce as much quality performances as possible."

Balor made his surprising return to Full Sail during Wednesday's broadcast, as one of two returnees to confront NXT champion Adam Cole. The other, Tommaso Ciampa, only lost the strap due to injury and could be first in line for a challenge. It's possible NXT is setting up an instant classic triple threat between three of the biggest faces in the promotion's history.

Either way, Balor seems dead-set on making an instant impact in his return to the brand that made him one of the brightest stars in WWE. Balor is still the longest-reigning champion in NXT history at 292 days.

"Right now that's what it means. I'm going to wrestle whenever, whoever I want," Balor said of whether his return to NXT is full time. "That's something I've been chasing for quite some time in my career. I don't believe in any boundaries be it weight class, country, promotion... And I want to break those boundaries. I'm here at NXT to do that."

Balor had not been seen on WWE programming since losing to The Fiend at SummerSlam, taking a much-needed break from the weekly grind. He said he's come back refreshed and thinks the move back to NXT—however permanent or temporary—will help reinvigorate him moving forward.

"I just want to continue to evolve," Balor said. "Been doing this for a long time, and sometimes when you stay in the same place for too long you get a little stagnant, you rely on your old tricks and old ways and you kind of just skate past. But there's no skating here in NXT. I have to swim for sure, because It's going to be a fight."

Odds are Balor's stay in NXT is temporary; he's a valuable commodity to the tentpole shows. But this could signal an era in WWE where talents can have extended runs in NXT, as a way of rejuvenating themselves, their characters or just having dream matches.