Finn Balor Says WWE Locker Room Is Safer Than Ever

Finn Balor says the WWE of today bears little resemblance to the wrestling world he broke into decades ago, calling the current company a safer and more supportive environment for its performers.

Speaking at a Zuffa Boxing event in Ireland alongside Nina Drama, Balor brought up the 2008 film The Wrestler as a reference point for just how far the industry has come. He noted that the Darren Aronofsky movie, starring Mickey Rourke as a broken-down veteran grinding through pain and personal turmoil, was uncomfortably accurate for the era it depicted.

“Another wrestling movie is The Wrestler, which is very serious and kind of dark, but frighteningly real. Frighteningly real,” Balor said. “Thankfully, that’s kind of based on a time probably about 15, 20 years ago. Thankfully, WWE has changed over the recent years, and it’s a much better place and safer work environment for the boys, so we’re very grateful for that.”

It’s a notable statement from a performer who has lived through multiple eras of the business, from the harder, more reckless attitude of the 2000s independent and territory scenes to WWE’s current, more corporate and wellness-conscious structure. Balor’s remarks echo sentiments other current WWE talents have expressed in recent years about a friendlier, more communicative locker room culture compared to wrestling’s rougher past.

The conversation also turned personal, with Balor reflecting on the physical toll his career has taken. While he called a broken jaw — which required two separate surgeries — the most painful injury of his career, he identified a shoulder injury suffered at SummerSlam 2016 as the most career-threatening.

That night, Balor made history by defeating Seth Rollins to become WWE’s inaugural Universal Champion, only to be forced to vacate the title the very next night on Raw due to the severity of the damage. Balor detailed just how serious it was: a torn labrum, torn bicep, torn pec tendon, and a fractured glenoid socket, on top of the shoulder dislocation. The injury kept him sidelined for nine months.

“That was a potential career-ender,” Balor said of the injury, underscoring how close he came to losing far more than a championship that summer.

A decade later, Balor remains a fixture on WWE’s roster and recently competed in a multi-man qualifier involving Sami Zayn, Gunther and a returning Kevin Owens for a shot at a title opportunity around SummerSlam. His longevity, despite the injuries that once threatened to derail him, adds weight to his comments about the evolution of WWE’s workplace culture — a perspective shaped by someone who has quite literally felt the difference in his own body across two very different eras of the business.

As WWE continues to lean into its more polished, wellness-focused presentation under its current ownership and creative direction, testimonials like Balor’s serve as a reminder of how much has changed behind the curtain — even if the risks of professional wrestling, as his own injury history shows, are never fully gone.