WWE.COM: Pivoting to NXT for a second, you had said for a long time you wanted to be a leader in that locker room and help guide it for as long as you could. Now that you’re transitioning to Raw, looking back, how do you think you left NXT versus how you found it?
BÁLOR: You know, it’s a very bittersweet moment. Going to NXT, obviously, the goal is to make it to Raw or SmackDown Live, and now that the opportunity came up to be on Raw and challenging Seth Rollins for this new WWE Universal Title, I’m kind of looking back and going, "Man, what about NXT?" I still miss the boys and I still very much feel a part of it.
Wrestling has a funny way of regenerating itself, and I’m sure in the past a lot of people have asked questions about "Who’s going to replace Sami Zayn in the locker room?" or "Who’s going to replace Kevin Owens in the locker room?" People always step in. There’s a lot of hungry up-and-coming talent in NXT that I’m sure will be more than willing to step in and fill my boots.
Shinsuke Nakamura, obviously.
Oney Lorcan, who I think has enormous potential to be not only an in-ring talent, but he’s a natural leader of the locker room. In the next couple of months, I think he’s going to be a real breakout star for NXT.
Rich Swann is there as well; he’s a real good up-and-comer.
[There are also] the names people won’t have heard of, guys like
Riddick Moss; he’s someone who started the same day as me at the Performance Center, but he was a transfer from football with no wrestling background. He has made incredible leaps and bounds, and he’s really a team player and will be a real locker room leader in the future. So, Finn will move on, but NXT is in good hands, you can rest assured.
http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/article/finn-balor-debut-interview