Finn Balor's New Aggressive Edge Key to Revitalizing WWE NXT Star's Character

Finn Balor has been the face of WWE's NXT brand for the better part of the past year, but as his NXT tenure comes to a close, it is imperative for him to add an extra element to his stagnant character.

For over nine months, Balor reigned as the NXT champion and set back each of his challengers. His most notable title defenses came against the likes of Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe and Apollo Crews, and he successfully defended the gold against every one of them.

Throughout his reign, however, Balor failed to evolve as a character. He is the same person now that he was when he initially arrived in November 2014.

Balor remains a popular fixture in NXT and will no doubt be a top-tier babyface for the main roster someday. But without true character development, he could fizzle out before he can fulfill his full potential.

That said, the new aggressive edge that Balor has been displaying of late is a major step in the right direction. It also couldn't have come at a better time, with his steel cage rematch against Samoa Joe at June 8's TakeOver looming large.

Credit: WWE.com

In a shocking turn of events, Balor lost the NXT Championship to Joe at a house show in Lowell, Massachusetts, on April 21. As someone who was there in attendance, I can safely say the crowd was not disappointed in the slightest with the title change; rather, the fans embraced Joe as he held the belt high.

Of course, the raucous reaction can largely be attributed to the crowd being surprised by the unexpected title change, but Balor's staleness in recent months played a factor in the positive response as well. He has contested classics during his time on top, but character-wise, his motivation remains unclear.

While The Demon helps him stand out from the rest of the roster, nothing separates him from his alter ego other than the elaborate face paint. Delving deeper into that aspect of his persona would effectively help fans get more familiar with him.

Thankfully, Balor relegates The Demon solely to the TakeOver specials every few months, thus maintaining the mystique of that moniker. That element should be a bigger focal point in the build to his bout with Joe, as The Samoan Submission Machine only beat Balor when he wasn't portraying The Demon.

Each of their encounters has been exceptional, but the newly developed aggressive layer to Balor's character will make this match their most physical outing to date while simultaneously establishing him as a force to be reckoned with going forward.

In his first appearance on NXT since dropping the title, Balor sent a major message to the locker room during his confrontation with Elias Samson. Ordinarily, he would have played along with Samson's singing shtick or walked away, but instead, he made short work of The Drifter by tossing his guitar ringside.

Shortly following the main event, Balor came face-to-face with Joe and wasted no time in taking the fight to his longtime foe. Before their brawl could continue, general manager William Regal announced their fourth and final championship clash for the upcoming TakeOver special.

Furthermore, it was made official this week that, for the first time in NXT's history, their match will take place inside the confines of a steel cage. It's a fitting stipulation for a feud that has reached new heights over the past month and has roots that date back to late last year.

It's widely believed that beyond TakeOver, Balor will be bound for the main roster sooner than later. Seeing as how he would perfectly slot in as part of the ongoing angle between AJ Styles and Roman Reigns, WWE could experiment with him as a heel and potentially the leader of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson.

If that is indeed the direction he is headed in, the longest-reigning NXT champ of all time will benefit from showcasing his darker side over the next several weeks. Regardless, this silent-but-deadly incarnation of The Demon is exactly what Balor needs to revitalize his current character.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is a journalism major at Endicott College. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.

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