The Pitiful NJPW Royalty Check Finn Balor Gave Away Revealed

Finn Balor received a royalty check of a ridiculously low amount from NJPW

WWE’s Finn Balor wrestled under the name of Price Devitt in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and, in 2013, turned on his Japanese tag-team partner and became one of the promotion’s most highly reputed heels. He began a heel faction called “The Bullet Club” which included the likes of AJ Styles (Now WWE Icon).

The Bullet Club was like the NWO of NJPW: anti-authority alpha wrestlers who were heels and thugs out to raise hell and do as they saw fit. Although the faction is considered one of the greatest in professional wrestling history by many, the paychecks the wrestlers received did not match the level of dominance they had.

Devitt later left NJPW after losing the Junior Heavyweight title and joined WWE NXT as Finn Balor. He worked his way up the ranks over the years and is with the Stamford-based promotion to this day. He is currently the leader of The Judgement Day Faction in WWE’s main roster.

Finn Balor Reveals Getting NJPW Royalty Check of $118

Eight months into his NXT run, Balor received a call from NJPW liaison and former referee Tiger Hattori about a royalty check. He shared this story with WWE Star Cody Rhodes on the latter’s What Do You Wanna Talk About podcast.

I was in NXT about eight months, and I get a call from New Japan, and they’re like, ‘Hey Devitt. Aye! Devitt-chan, we got royalty check for you man.’ I’m like, ‘Woah! I got a royalty check from New Japan?’ I said, ‘Tiger, thank you so much. How much am I due?’ He goes, ‘Ah, like $118.’ I’m like, ‘$118?’ He goes, ‘Yeah man, we need your bank details.’

I said, ‘Tiger, give it to charity. I don’t need it. I’m good.

Although Balor laughed at the tiny amount of royalty his time in NJPW generated, he went on to say that the payoff with the Bullet Club faction came with how it contributed to the grander scheme of the wrestling business.

So I feel like the payoff with Bullet Club, for me at least, was not financial, but, I feel like it was way more valuable than any dollar amount that I could have been given, from just what it’s given to the business.

h/t:fightful.com

Also read: Finn Balor Admits NXT UK Destroyed The Independent Scene