WWE Star Feels ‘More Prepared’ To Be World Champion Now Compared To Earlier In Career

WWE

A WWE star has admitted that they feel “more prepared” to become world champion now, compared to earlier in their career.

WWE SummerSlam 2026 will mark the 10-year anniversary of Finn Balor’s one and only run with a world championship, when he became the inaugural WWE Universal Champion by defeating Seth Rollins at SummerSlam 2016.

Unfortunately for Balor, he suffered a torn labrum after taking a Powerbomb onto the barricade, which resulted in him being forced to forfeit his newly won championship the very next night on WWE Raw.

With Balor getting the opportunity to right the wrongs of a decade ago this Sunday at SummerSlam Night Two, the SmackDown star spoke with Marco Ercole and was asked about the differences between him now and in 2016, both in the ring and outside it.

Balor said:

“I think in 2016, I was very wide-eyed, bushy-tailed, excited about the future, but very inexperienced, and perhaps not as confident as I am today.

“I feel like over the last 10 years I’ve gotten to grow, not only as a performer inside the ring, but also outside the ring. I feel like I have more self-belief in myself, I have more discipline, and I have 10 years of experience of ups and downs and having to learn many, many different lessons, facing the top performers all over the world over the past 10 years.

“If anything, I feel better physically, I feel better mentally, I feel more focused and I feel more prepared to be world champion.”

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Finn Balor will take on Sami Zayn for the opportunity to become number one contender for the Undisputed WWE Championship this Sunday at SummerSlam Night Two, with CM Punk and Cody Rhodes set to do battle for the title one night prior on Saturday, August 1.

During the same interview, Balor touched upon his Universal Championship reign and vowed to get “justice for Finn” by defeating Zayn and earning a shot at his second world title, click here for full details.

Will Finn Balor’s Long-Awaited Second World Title Run Ever Come?

At the start of 2026, Finn Balor re-entered the world championship picture for the first time in over two years, when he took CM Punk to the limit in Belfast on WWE Raw, and later at Elimination Chamber 2026 in Chicago.

While it never seemed likely that Balor was going to win the World Heavyweight Title so close to WrestleMania 42, it did at least elevate him to the level that fans have been wanting him back at for a decade.

Balor’s move to SmackDown has resulted in three wins in a row, first defeating both the former MFTs: Tama and Talla Tonga in singles competition, before then winning a four-way against Damian Priest, Royce Keys and Trick Williams to earn his SummerSlam 2026 match with Zayn.

It seems likely, once again, that Balor may fall short, as Zayn has all the motivation for revenge against CM Punk and/or Cody Rhodes following his own nine day Undisputed WWE Title run, but hopefully WWE can at least keep Finn in the title picture going forward.

With Money in the Bank 2026 coming around in October, perhaps that may be Balor’s best opportunity to finally claim world championship number two.

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