WWE's creative team—and, more specifically, Vince McMahon—made some major missteps with The Demon on the main roster. Still, it was always entertaining to see Finn Balor unleash his inner darkness for big matches.
While the gimmick was better utilised in NXT, it also became something of a crutch as fans grew used to the idea of Balor winning whenever he made his transformation. McMahon's interpretation of The Demon was a disaster for the former NXT Champion, and the character was eventually retired.
Balor recently sat down for a conversation with Cody Rhodes on his "What Do You Wanna Talk About?" podcast, sharing his take that The Demon's mystique was hurt by predictable storylines and WWE's corporate approach to the concept that helped make The Judgement Day member one of Japan's biggest stars.
"Once I came to WWE, it kind of got muddled up a little bit, and there had to be a reason why The Demon appeared. It all had to be storyline-based and advertised," Balor told the American Nightmare. "And in my mind, it was always just a cool entrance. It was something that changed me into like Braveheart puts on the battle paint and he goes to war. And that’s the way it was for me."
"But in WWE, it had to be, 'Well, what made him turn into The Demon? He had to get beat up and beat down and pushed to the limit to then turn into this monster.' So then it became the point where Finn wasn’t good enough. Only The Demon could win," he continued. "So then Finn was lesser than The Demon, where they’re supposed to be the same."
That definitely became an issue when Balor was in a big match, but not The Demon. WWE wanted to protect his persona, making it so that while The Demon was unbeatable, Balor was not (raising questions as to why he wasn't just The Demon 24/7).
The former Universal Champion added, "The other issue I had with it was it was always advertised, which I like it to be a surprise. Like, 'Oh, sh*t, The Demon’s here.' And it just comes out and kicks ass."
We haven't seen The Demon since WrestleMania 39, when Balor defeated Edge in a Hell in a Cell match. Balor has since slipped down the card, despite being part of The Judgement Day, so it's hard to say whether the door is open to us seeing The Demon in action again.
You can listen to the full interview with Balor in the player below.