Triple H On How Finn Balor's Return To WWE NXT Has Panned Out

With Finn Balor and Kyle O'Reilly's main event rematch for the NXT Championship looming later on this evening at NXT: New Year's Evil, NXT founder and producer Triple H gave some solid yet informative advice to each opponent ahead of their blockbuster match tonight.

"When you fight with determination, it's a great thing. When you fight with emotion, it's not," Triple H stated in his interview on WWE's The Bump. "Emotion makes you make mistakes. Emotion makes you reckless. Emotion makes you do things you usually wouldn't do. But you do it anyway because emotion overrides your logic."

When looking at the tale of the tape, Triple H sees O'Reilly being more of the determined fighter in this match, compared to the champion, who might go into this match fueled by his emotional animosity. He warns Balor if he walks into this match with an angry disposition, he will come out of the match as the underdog.

"Kyle O'Reilly is in a place where he is determined maybe more so than ever," he complimented. "He had a taste; he was right there. He broke Finn's jaw in three places. And yet, Finn was still able to beat him. To be that close, man, that's a tough one to swallow. So, he's determined.

"Finn is emotional. He proved he was the best. He proved he was the champion. He got his jaw broken in three places, but he still won. He's proven everything, yet he's still questioned. He's angry. He's emotional with Kyle. He's emotional at the world for questioning him when he really should have no questions [surrounding him]. The guy broke his jaw in three places, and he still won. He defended his championship; that should have erased the questions, but it made more questions. If he goes into the ring and wrestles with emotion and he goes in there angry, he's going to be the underdog."

Looking back, Triple H believes Balor's return back to the black and gold brand five years later was the best decision "The Prince" could have made in his career.

"I think that it puts a stamp on it being its own brand," he said about Balor's return to NXT. "In the run-up, I understand it was the place where you prove yourself to go onto something else. It has now become a place where you can prove yourself to be the best in the world. And I think Finn's return here showed that.

"When he left the first time, I think there were a lot of people here that were saying that he had to leave because there was nothing else for him to do here. There's always something else to do. It's one thing to become a champion, and it's another thing to hang on to it, and it's another thing to regain it, and more so to hang on to it again. From when he first came here five years ago to this title run, it's impressive to see. And I think that it solidified the brand."

You can watch Triple H's full interview here. If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit WWE's The Bump with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.