It’s been nearly four years since “WWE NXT UK” closed its doors for good, despite rumors that there were plans for an NXT Europe in the process. Still, the debate over the merits of WWE’s UK venture remains. While WWE stars such as Pete Dunne and William Regal have defended “NXT UK” over the years, many fans and even some wrestlers believe that WWE’s attempt to gather a foothold in England and Europe led to a decline in the independent scene, one that continues to struggle to this day.

As it turns out, one person who shares that point of view is a WWE star whose career began in his native country of Ireland. During an appearance on Cody Rhodes’ “What Do You Wanna Talk About?” podcast, former WWE Universal Champion Finn Balor revealed that he too felt that “NXT UK” had a negative impact on the UK scene overall

“When ‘NXT UK’ started, which was a huge thing at the time for British and European wrestling, I feel like it kind of, like, took all the talent, and it starved all the indies,” Balor said. “And it took a long time for them to rebuild. And for a lot of them, it hasn’t even happened yet, because there’s no one to learn from or look up to. 

“The guys, like Tyler [Bate] and Pete and everyone else who came to WWE, now the younger kids don’t have anyone to learn from. I feel like there was probably a huge negative effect on the gulf of talent that WWE took out of that, I guess, territory, you know? But slowly, it’s starting to rebuild.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “What Do You Wanna Talk About?” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription