Finn Balor returned to SmackDown Live along with the fans but the WWE Universe have been left wondering where The Demon is hiding.
Balor had been back in NXT since October 2019 but returned to Friday nights last month, at the exact same time that WWE were welcoming fans back to the Friday night brand.
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The Irishman's second spell on WWE's yellow brand led to another run with the NXT Championship and Balor confirmed that he's targeting a match with Roman Reigns and a chance to win back the Universal title.
"You know we had the contract, it was about to be signed, sealed and delivered and things went astray," the 40-year-old told SPORTbible.
"I definitely think we're going to get back to that match. That's the one match I really want on SmackDown.
"I've done this for a long time and I'm doing it for titles. Everywhere I go I want to chase gold and that's why I'm on SmackDown, I want to reclaim that Universal championship."
Reigns run since returning last year has been incredible, and he's held the title for nearly a whole year, and that's exactly why Balor wants to face the Tribal Chief.
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"He's in the prime of his career right now.
"If you want to face anyone, it's not on the way up and it's not on the way down, you want to get tested against that person in their prime and that's what I want to do.
"I feel like I've always been in the right place at the right time, with regards to being pushed by the talent that's in the ring with me."
With Reigns being in such imperious form it might be a smart idea for Balor to bring back the demon persona that has shown up in time for some of the former champion's hardest fights.
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However, the Prince doesn't think that he'll be bringing back the Demon anytime soon. "I don't think it's a never but we don't have a date set or any plans right now. I'm very focussed on the Prince and this current version of my character.
"I'm sure they'll be a time when we have to call on the demon but right now I feel very comfortable in what I'm doing and how I'm performing and you know, watch this space."
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The performer believes that the Prince is the best version of himself, which makes a meeting with Reigns even more exciting. "I feel recently that I've been putting out the best work of my career as the Prince.
"So you know I feel very comfortable in this role and it doesn't even feel like a role, it feels like playing myself.
"Certainly in the past there was a case of pleasing too many people, and not really pleasing myself, and you know that's where I fell in the past with runs on Raw and SmackDown.
"This time I'm feeling very much myself, the Prince is really who I am and it doesn't feel forced, or like an act, it feels like how I would react in certain situations. I feel very comfortable in this incarnation, the Prince Finn Balor. Hopefully I can keep going."
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Balor's return on July 16th couldn't have been more perfectly time, with fans packed into the Toyota Center in Houston for the first time since the pandemic started.
The two time Intercontinental champion was extremely happy to see them. "Absolutely incredible to have them back. It was a long absence without the fans in the arenas and the timing for me was perfect.
"You know, I returned to Smackdown with the return of the fans, so it was kind of harmony with that.
"The reaction was spectacular, the energy from the fans was unbelievable and I feel like it's given all the performers in the back a boost of morale."
However Balor does believe he improved as a performer during the WWE Universe's absence from the arenas. "Believe it or not, a lot of positives. For me, I feel like I really grew as a performer with the absence of the fans.
"A lot of times we perform with the cadence of the fans reaction in mind, and when you take that at you can really get into more dirty, gritty, catch-catch-can style wrestling and it really suited me to slow things down, bring things down onto the mat and I feel like it really helped me evolve as a performer and kind of go back to the stuff I learnt in Japan or my early days in England, brushed up on my fundamentals.
"But wrestling is supposed to be enjoyed by people, in unity together and there's nothing like performing in front of the fans live."
Now we can't wait to see exactly what Balor will be bringing now he and the fans are back in harmony!
Featured Image Credit: WWE.comTopics: Summerslam, WWE, WWE Smackdown, Wrestling
