Finn Balor Opens Up About Backstage Changes In WWE

Paul "Triple H" Levesque's WWE regime has been mostly lauded by fans and talent alike. The general sentiment is that the micromanaging more typical of the Vince McMahon era has been replaced by a greater degree of freedom, inasmuch as a global, publicly-traded live entertainment company can allow. On the "What's the Story?" podcast, Finn Balor compared WWE's creative process from his arrival in 2014 to today.

"There's definitely been a difference from when I started to now," Balor said. "[Triple H] is a little more laid back with the verbiage, versus Vince would want you to hit these specific words... When I started, I didn't have the self-confidence to say to the writer I was working with, 'Hey, I would never say this. Let me use a word that I would use back in Bray [Ireland]'... I've had a lot more leeway and freedom and input into what I'm actually saying than just being given a script and go, 'Read that word-for-word.'"

Balor said McMahon-era scripts were expected to be read to the letter, which posed a challenge due to American writers not understanding the subtle differences in the way Irish-born individuals speak. He also bemoaned having to memorize entire paragraphs while simultaneously preparing for a physical matchup.

"Now, when they give me the promos, it's basically in bullet points. Like I'll tell them, just give me the bullet points, and I'll get all those bullet points in, but I'm going to say it the way I would say it. And that helps a lot."

Balor said WWE's current approach to promos is more akin to the '80s and '90s when Superstars could speak more freely. Legends like Mick Foley have previously criticized the company's insistence on delivering dialogue verbatim when they would make sporadic appearances on contemporary WWE programming.

If you use any quotes from this podcast, please credit "What's the Story?" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.