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Finn Balor September 2, 2023
Fergal Devitt took up wrestling in Ireland at the age of 18, touring the country, the UK, and the US. He eventually opened his own wrestling promotion, NWA Ireland, with one of his pupils being none other than a young Becky Lynch. After impressing promoters in Japan, he was invited in 2006 to train with New Japan Pro Wrestling, making his debut under the ring name Prince Devitt.
He would rise to prominence within their ranks, becoming skilled in the Japanese style of professional wrestling and winning multiple title belts. He would sign with WWE to the NXT brand on May 14, 2014, revealing his new ring name a few months later: Finn Balor.
“The Demon” made his main roster debut on July 25, 2016, on an episode of Monday Night Raw in a fatal four-way match that would determine the card for the inaugural WWE Universal Championship. After defeating Roman Reigns, Balor faced Seth Rollins at SummerSlam on August 21, 2016.
Shockingly, his first championship with the main roster came very early, as he became the first WWE Universal Champion by defeating Seth Rollins. Unfortunately, Balor had to vacate the championship the very next day following a shoulder injury that occurred during the match, which sidelined him for six months.
Balor would achieve Grand Slam status on September 2, 2023, when, alongside Damien Priest, they defeated Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn to claim the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship at Payback.
Balor has won a total of 12 WWE championships and is the first and only Irish-born Grand Slam Champion in WWE history. He most notably held the NXT Championship for 292 days, and is credited with being the quickest wrestler in WWE history to win a championship after their main roster debut at 27 days.
