Awesome / Fergal Devitt

• Forming the Bullet Club. Not only is it one of the most popular stables in the world of pro wrestling, it has its fingers in so many promotions like no other stable has ever managed to do, meaning they actually mean it when they say they own the wrestling world. And no matter where you go in wrestling, at any event at any promotion in the world, there will always be somebody…no — lots of somebodies — with a Bullet Club shirt on. That's power you can't buy, and Fergal Devitt is the one who started it all.
• On April 6th Invasion Attack 2014, Prince Devitt is in a Loser Must Leave match against his former best friend and long time tag partner Ryusuke Taguchi. Devitt refuses the help of The Young Bucks, turning away from Bullet Club and rejecting the villainous ways he had embraced the past year, and when the Bucks try to attack him he dives out onto them making sure no one interferes. The two put on a great match and in the end, Taguchi gets the win against him, and the two embrace and shake hands afterward, rebuilding their friendship they once had as Devitt leaves New Japan.
• This entrance at the PROGRESS World Cup, the last match Devitt had before entering WWE. PROGRESS Champion Jimmy Havoc thinks he hasn't got an opponent for the night, but man, does promoter Jim Smallman have news for him: "You, my friend, are ROYALLY FUCKED." It was so intimidating, Jimmy Havoc rolled out of the ring as Devitt rolled in, even though Devitt was in a straitjacket!
  • The beginning is also this as well as funny. When the bell rings, Havoc roars straight at him with a dropkick, and Devitt just steps calmly to the side and lets him crash into the turnbuckle. Then Devitt moves to the other side and nails Havoc with a dropkick of his own WHILE STILL IN THE STRAITJACKET.
  • AND he stayed true to the character, by straight up BITING HAVOC.
• Finn Bálor's NXT debut. Hideo Itami had already promised The Ascension that he would bring a friend after weeks of attempted one-on-two attacks that usually went against him. When Finn comes out, the crowd practically explodes^note In fact, they were so loud that WWE actually had to dial down the crowd audio so the commentators could be heard over it!…then Hideo and Finn proceed to squash The Ascension back when The Ascension were still on fire and considered appointment viewing.
• The tag team match at Takeover: R-Evolution. Before the event, Finn had promised The Ascension that he'd bring something to their match that they'd never seen and boy, did he deliver. This was the debut of his face paint gimmick in WWE as well as the first time he used the Demon King look, and it was so awe-inspiring it drew "holy shit!" chants before he even started down the aisle and absolutely freaked out the freaking Ascension back when they were still on fire and considered appointment viewing. He had the crowd off their seats behind him and Itami, and whenever he was active in the match he was absolutely dominant, to the point that Konnor and Viktor had to freeze him out of the match by double-teaming on Itami in order to maintain the heel control phase—and in the end, it still didn't work.
• Hideo Itami vs. Finn Bálor had the fans chanting 'This is awesome' and 'We're not worthy' before they'd so much as thrown a punch.
• Finn's match for #1 contendership to the NXT title against Adrian Neville was his first singles match as the Demon, as well as the first time he faced someone who wasn't fazed by the gimmick. It was a dynamic showdown to see who could nail his aerial finisher first, with Finn winning to a standing ovation.
• Beating Kevin Owens for the NXT Championship live from Tokyo, Japan at the Beast in the East event. Preceded by a series of vignettes from a WWE documentary showcasing his road into the business, through ICW and New Japan and finally into WWE, in which WWE acknowledged his Prince Devitt identity and Bullet Club ties for the first time, portraying his title opportunity as a homecoming. He came down for the match with the most elaborate and all-consuming version of his demon paint getup, and the prelude to the match was treated to the tradition of streamers and flower girls. Then Finn withstood and beat back the physical dominance of the then-seemingly-unbeatable Kevin Owens to become NXT Champion in the country where he made his name. Cue even more streamers.
• Finn and Samoa Joe winning the finals of the Dusty Rhodes Invitational Tag Team Tournament at Takeover: Respect, earning the congratulations of the Rhodes family as well as the honor of being in the ring for Cody Rhodes's first appearance as himself since debuting the Stardust gimmick in which he and his brother Dustin gave a heartwarming speech eulogizing Dusty for the fans and welcoming everyone to the Rhodes family.
• Takeover: London had him defending his title against Samoa Joe, who had turned heel on him between Takeover events. Finn modified his demon entrance, coming out as a Demon version of Jack the Ripper. The match itself was a brutal back-and-forth, with both wrestlers delivering some of the most physical performances of their careers, and in the end, Finn won again.
• NXT's July 13, 2016 episode: In what ended up being his last appearance for the brand before his main roster call-up, Bálor wrestled an old friend from New Japan: Shinsuke Nakamura. The two NJPW alum battled in an intense half-hour match which saw Bálor put Nakamura over as the new main face of NXT.
• July 19, 2016. Since Finn's debut on NXT, and especially the debut of his Demon entrance, anticipation and fantasy booking began building as to his future when he came up to the main roster. Reports that Vince McMahon^note who is notorious amongst NXT fans for either disliking or souring on many NXT talents that get called up to the main roster was really high on Finn surfacing early and remaining consistent, the Bálor Club merchandise brand and leather jacket entrance to keep, and the endless teasing that came mostly from Finn almost from the moment 2016 started thanks to a couple of old friends and a passing connection making their way into WWE, all served to raise the hype even further. Then came the return of the brand extension with the 2016 WWE Draft, set to take place on the debut episode of WWE SmackDown Live as a regular thing^note the show was nearly always taped on Tuesday but aired days later, on Thursday or Friday depending on the time period, with the exception of a few special episodes, with six NXT call-up slots being eligible for picks. The first round of picks went Seth Rollins to Raw, Dean Ambrose to SmackDown, Charlotte to Raw, AJ Styles to SmackDown…and Finn Bálor to Raw.
  • What makes this extra notable is look who went ahead of Finn Bálor, and beyond that, who didn't. Rollins was the #1 contender with two upcoming shots at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, one of said shots taking place that same night, while Ambrose was the champion. Charlotte was the WWE Women's Champion and one of the former Four Horsewomen of NXT. Styles was the man that, with Club buddies' help, had just pinned face of the company John Cena at Money in the Bank and was beating him up week after week. Then, instead of picking Cena, or Brock Lesnar, or Kevin Owens, or soon-returning Roman Reigns or Randy Orton, or any number of established top stars that were already on the main roster, Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley decided that after both genders' big logo belts, Finn Bálor was the top priority for Monday Night Raw.
• 7/25/2016: In his first night on the Raw roster, on his 35th birthday, Finn Bálor beats Rusev, Kevin Owens, and Cesaro in one of two Fatal-Four-Way matches to advance to the main event, a #1 Contender's match for the right to face Seth Rollins at Summerslam for RAW's new WWE Universal Championship — the other match's winner being Roman Reigns. There, Bálor kicks out of Reigns's Superman Punch and counters his Spear into a Slingblade before setting him up for the Coup de Grace for the pinfall to advance to SummerSlam and the chance to become the inaugural Raw Universal champion. And again, he did this all in his first night on the main roster, on his birthday.
  • Another thing about this is that Finn pinned Roman clean. No outside interference,^note nearly everyone was expecting that Finn could only win if Club members Anderson and Gallows were to come down and help him in a Face–Heel Turn no cheap tactics, a completely pure clean win over the guy who is next in line to be the face of the company. This is only the second time at best that Reigns has been beaten clean in a one-on-one match. The last time was at Money in the Bank when he lost to Seth, and even that was debatable as there was a spot in that match where Reigns had Rollins pinned but the ref had been bumped moments earlier and couldn't count it. Nothing of the sort happened with Bálor's win on Raw. Talk about making a main eventer overnight.
  • Put that further into perspective, Roman Reigns has kicked out of everything before. Curb Stomps, RKO's, Dirty Deeds, Pedigrees, three F5's, a Styles Clash onto a steel chair ... very little has been able to keep Roman Reigns down. One Coup de Grace from Finn got the job done.
• Finn Bálor reveals the history of The Demon King. Finally connecting the dots about the Irish legends that inspire his character and in particular his demon transformation heading into the biggest match of his career and sending a message to Seth Rollins to prepare for something he's never seen before up close and personal.
• SummerSlam 2016: Bálor vs Seth Rollins for the new WWE Universal Championship. The Demon King's This Means War Paint was on point, and so was the match. Finn won, becoming the first ever Universal Champion. From NXT to main eventer within about two months; proof to all the people saying he wouldn't go far on the main roster that they were wrong.
  • Even more impressive was that Finn did all of this with a shoulder injury. When Seth Rollins powerbombed him into the barricade outside the ring, it dislocated Finn's shoulder. Finn not only popped his shoulder back in within a few seconds, he went on to finish the match. Say what you will, the man is both a professional and a major badass.
• On the 5/1/17 edition of Monday Night Raw, Finn was finally able to showcase his athletic prowess, multitude of dropkick variations, and high-flying acrobatic maneuvers that made him famous in NJPW and allowed him to become the first Universal Champion in a main event triple threat match against Seth Rollins and The Miz.
  • This came about after months of rehabilitating his shoulder injury and doing lower card squash matches upon his return (one of which had him end up with a concussion after future WWE World Champion Jinder Mahal accidentally stiffed him with an elbow to the face).
  • Finn was also responsible for one of the best spots of the match, with him shoving The Miz into Seth for a headlock then drop kicking Seth, who ends up giving The Miz a DDT as he fell.
  • He almost won too, with Samoa Joe running interference against Seth and The Miz about to receive his Coup de Grâce finisher when all of a sudden he gets attacked by Bray Wyatt. His stock definitely rose on this match, allowing him to show casual fans who don't watch NXT or NJPW what the Demon King is all about.
• Bray Wyatt had been tormenting Finn for several weeks and even interfered in his matches. A match between them was scheduled at Summerslam 2018 but Finn doesn't want to wait till the PPV so the match was pushed forward a week earlier in which Wyatt defeated Finn and poured a bucket of blood on him. Vowing revenge, Finn challenged Bray again at Summerslam and brought out his Demon King persona, combined with the chilling theme of He's Got the Whole World in His Hand.
• TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs 2017. Finn was scheduled to face Bray Wyatt, but when Wyatt suddenly fell ill, the WWE flew in fellow ex-Bullet Club leader AJ Styles from WWE's tour in South America, and things took a turn for the awesome. Despite AJ traveling for the better part of the day, he and Finn managed to put on an instant classic of a match that saw Finn score the winning pinfall in a match that managed to raise both men's stock.
  • After the win, both Finn and AJ shared a moment that was, to put it bluntly, too sweet◊.
• How Finn kicks start 2018? By reuniting with fellow Bullet Club members, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows. Too sweet indeed.
• Finn's Royal Rumble debut is a doozy: Starting in the #2 spot and lasting all the way until the Final 4, Finn clocks in at a total time of 57:38, making him the longest-lasting entrant of the 2018 Rumble.
  • Finn eliminates 4 people in total, tying him with Roman Reigns for the most eliminations in this year's Men's Rumble. The last guy he eliminates is Rey freaking Mysterio.
  • As for the wrestler who finally succeeds in tossing Finn over the top rope? None other than John Cena. And to a chorus of boos, no less.
• In his feud against Constable Baron Corbin, Finn once again brought up his Demon King persona during their match at Summerslam 2018. Corbin was so shocked that he failed to put up any offense during the match and lost under 5 minutes.
• If someone stated at any point during his time in NJPW that a WWE headline would one day read something along the lines of "Prince Devitt beats John Cena for a World Title shot", they would've been laughed out of town. Yet on January 14, 2019, this is exactly what happened when Vince McMahon punished Braun Strowman^* in kayfabe for breaking his limo door, in real life for absolutely choking in a promo segment with the champion the week before by kicking him out of his upcoming Universal Championship match with Brock Lesnar, then called a fatal four-way match to determine Strowman's replacement — and Finn Bálor won the match by pinning John Cena himself after a Coup de Grace.
  • But that's not all! He had to qualify for that match since Jinder Mahal requested VKM for a chance to compete for the Universal Championship, and as a result, VKM gave the Modern Day Maharaja the chance to pick which one of the four contestants would be his rival, and he chose Bálor, on the grounds of being the most accessible opponent. Needless to say, FB won the match. And if that isn't enough, between those two matches there was only place for a pair of skits and the IC match, meaning that Finn wouldn't get enough time to recover. Alas, it didn't matter in the end, as he would emerge victorious from that night.
  • The promo Finn cut the following week on Vince himself, saying it doesn't matter if Vince believes in him, the WWE Universe believes he can beat Brock Lesnar.
• The 2019 Royal Rumble, where Finn Balor, the guy everyone said was too small and too weak to slay the Beast, took Brock Lesnar to his absolute limit. Finn exploited Lesnar's legit stomach issues by ramming him repeatedly into the corner of the announce table, gave him a Coup de Grace that Lesnar just barely kicked out of, and endured a visit to the expected "Suplex City". Finn came closer to beating Lesnar than even current WWE Champion Daniel Bryan.
• Winning the Intercontinental Championship at Elimination Chamber 2019. Despite the cards being stacked against him by the very design of the match, which pitted him against both reigning IC Champion Bobby Lashley and his manager Lio Rush at the same time, Finn overthrew the both of them by tanking Lashley's entire moveset and exploiting Rush's suicidal arrogance. In the closing sequence of the match, Finn pulled a masterful Wounded Gazelle Gambit by playing up the damage Lashley was inflicting upon him, waiting for Rush to make the tag, and springing back to life as soon as the smaller man was in the ring. After suitably pinballing Rush around the ring for a while, Finn hit the Coup de Grace on him for the 1-2-3 and put a whole new meaning on an old saying: pride goeth before a great pinfall.
  • Immediately followed up in his appearance on A Moment of Bliss when Lio Rush interrupted the segment in the midst of a possible indecent proposal from Alexa Bliss. When Rush tried to demand that Finn give Lashley a rematch for the Intercontinental Championship (since rematches are no longer automatic according to the McMahons' "new era" edict), Bálor twisted around a bad choice of words to try to goad Lio into getting a title shot for himself instead. Despite Lio insisting he was only out there because Lashley had a match with Braun Strowman later in the evening, Finn received an eager assist from Alexa to successfully bait Rush into making his own challenge; and though The Man of the Hour put up a game effort, it was Bálor who came out on top yet again.
• After dropping the title back to Lashley on Raw thanks to interference from Lio Rush, Finn manages to earn a rematch opportunity at Wrestlemania 35 and once again adopts the persona of the Demon King for his match. Despite a ferocious offense from Lashley, Finn shrugs it off while also scaring the shit out of Lio Rush in the process, before nailing the Coup de Grace on Lashley to regain the Intercontinental championship and score his first victory at Wrestlemania.
  • There's also the fact that Bálor powerbombed Lashley.
• While WWE was in Saudi Arabia (a country that has a reputation for hating pretty much everyone under the sun) for Super Showdown, Finn took a picture wearing an "Equality" shirt and wishing his followers a happy Pride Month. Now, that is ballsy!
• October 2nd, 2019: Four words: "Finn Bálor is. N.X.T!'
• Even if he ultimately lost his Wrestle Mania match against Edge, Finn deserves props for fighting through a massive cut that he would later require 14 staples to close.
• Finn teaming up with the rest of the Judgement Day along with Drew McIntyre to take on their common enemies Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Sami Zayn and Jey Uso in an absolutely epic War Games Match at Survivor Series 2023.

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