NEWS » ed to rest regular left fielder Lucas Duda, who has b

NEW YORK - As Finn Balor sat in a green room overlooking Times Square after?an appearance on Good Morning America, his journey to this point, let alone the championship belt sitting in front of him, seemed like a dream.I still cant believe Im a professional wrestler in the first place, he said in between sips of coffee. That hasnt sunk in yet. Im sure Ill look back when Im 50 or 60, if I make it that far, and think about everything thats happened.Balor, who wore a sling on his right arm before and after his Good Morning America interview, but didnt want to talk about the severity of the injury, found out that he would be on the show around midnight after his victory over Seth Rollins to win the inaugural WWE Universal title. SummerSlam was his first WWE pay-per-view and the culmination of a dream he had growing up as Fergal Devitt in the town of Bray in north County Wicklow, Ireland, which has population of 31,872.Everyone that watches wrestling as a kid dreams of being a wrestler for WWE, he said. For me, coming from a small town in Ireland and being under six feet tall and 145 pounds as a kid, it wasnt a realistic dream. A lot of people tell you that you cant do things, but the message that should be taken from me being the first ever WWE Universal champion is for kids that are told that they cant do things they should say, No, I can do it. I can do whatever I want.Balors match against Seth Rollins was one of the most anticipated of SummerSlam, as was the introduction of the new WWE Universal championship. Many fans at the Barclays Center, however, booed and chanted disparaging remarks when the belt was revealed. Many fans online felt it was nothing more than a red version of the WWE World Championship or WWE Womens Championship. The fans buy their tickets and theyre entitled to their opinion, Balor said. I wasnt aware of the chants when I was in the ring. I was focused on the task at hand. I have been made aware that there was a little bit of displeasure, but with anything new, theres always reluctance to accept. Its a red title. Its red leather as opposed to black. I dont see the big deal. Im sure after a couple of weeks that it will be the norm that its a red title. Raw is red, its the red brand and the Demon is black and red, and now the championship is red.Sitting across from Balor in the green room was WWE Womens champion, Charlotte, who defeated Sasha Banks at SummerSlam to claim the championship for a second time. Both Balor and Charlotte, who is the daughter of WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair, initially made their marks as champions at NXT before being called up to the WWEs main roster. The evolution and growth of NXT from Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), the companys developmental promotion in Tampa, Florida, can be seen across the roster today, as many of the champions and headline talent can trace their roots to FCW and NXT.I got the chance to see NXT evolve into what its become today because I started at FCW in Tampa, Charlotte said. Seth [Rollins] had just won the first ever NXT title when I got there and Paige was crowned the first ever NXT womens champion. This was before NXT was going on tour and we still had 20 people at shows. For me to watch where NXT is now and what it has grown into is amazing because I know it wasnt always like that. Its now its own brand. When we were at FCW, it was harder to get on the main roster. There were showcases maybe twice a year, and the producers would come and look at the talent and say they liked him or her because they fit a certain role. Now NXT talent is getting seen all the time and they have more opportunities now to join the roster and that makes a huge difference.Balor came to NXT in 2014 after a successful run with New Japan Pro Wrestling and credits his two years with the companys developmental division with helping him get to where he is today.When I came to WWE, to be able to go to the NXT system and be able to be integrated that way was the best possible scenario for me, Balor said. To be able to get comfortable with a new working environment, a new style and a new country and make relationships with other talent that will stand the test of time. When youre in NXT youre really fighting and trying to dig down deep and chase your dream. For the likes of myself, Kevin Owens, Adrian Neville, Sami Zayn and guys that have followed similar paths and come through that NXT system together, weve all bonded so tightly. That team morale that we have in the WWE locker room now was built in NXT.Before leaving the Barclays Center as champions after SummerSlam on Sunday night, Bálor and Charlotte watched NXT Takeover on Saturday and couldnt help but feel like they were at the graduation ceremony for some of their friends who could soon join them on the main roster.I was really excited for Billie Kay. I was still in NXT when she was hired, and to be able to watch her in her debut match and being out there for Bayley and Asuka was extremely special. But competitively I was thinking we have to outdo both of those matches [Sunday], Charlotte said. To see how much they mean to the fans and see Bayley get that moment after was special. You could feel how much the crowd was invested into both womens matches.Balor took a seat in the crowd for the main event between Shinsuke Nakamura and Samoa Joe and perhaps for the first time in his career, got a sense of what its like to watch his peers from the fans perspective after either being in the ring or watching in the back for years.To me it was weird not to be involved in Takeover, Balor said. I was a little envious of everyone involved. From a personal standpoint, I cant remember the last time I watched a wrestling match from the crowd and I had the opportunity to watch Shinsuke and Joe and it was unbelievable from the contrast to both entrances to their styles. They had me right from the bell. Sometimes I take this for granted because Im doing it. Im in control. But when you see other people do it makes you realize how difficult it is and how much pressure is on them to perform. I felt pressure for both of my friends in the ring. It was great to get an outsiders perspective looking in as opposed to watching on the monitor behind the curtain.As he prepared to leave the green room to get ready for Raw later that night, Balor was still coming to grips with holding his new championship belt and being on Good Morning America with Charlotte the morning after SummerSlam. Just three years ago, he was in Japan with Karl Anderson forming the Bullet Club and now theyre both in the WWE.I was texting Karl Anderson late last night and he goes, Man, how the hell did this all happen? We started Too sweet in front of a 1,000 people in Tokyo a couple of years ago and now were here in the WWE at SummerSlam, Bálor said. Its quite surreal. The amount of work that goes into those 25 minutes Sunday; youre not just talking days of preparation; youre talking years of preparation.Last night was an unbelievable milestone moment in my career. Its something I never, ever expected to happen. Its still really hasnt sunk in yet. 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WASHINGTON -- For the New York Mets, Thursdays rainout postponed an experiment to try Justin Turner in left field. For the Washington Nationals, the downpours were a welcome sight. "Well, this is good," said Washington manager Davey Johnson, looking at the weather radar on the computer monitor in his office. "And even one more rainout would be better." The Mets-Nationals series finale succumbed to Mother Nature on Thursday night before a pitch could be thrown. The game will be made up as part of day-night doubleheader on July 26. This rainout could be the opening salvo of nasty weather affecting both teams over the next few days. With Tropical Storm Andrea headed north, the teams Friday-Sunday series -- the Nationals host Minnesota, the Mets are home against Miami -- could feel the brunt, so the announced changes in their pitching rotations could end up being, well, all wet. Not that the Nationals mind. The rainout means they dont have to promote a starter for Saturdays game in place of Stephen Strasburg, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list this week with a strained lower back muscle. Thursdays starter, Gio Gonzalez, gets moved back to Friday and Nathan Karns gets pushed from Friday to Saturday. Jordan Zimmermann would then pitch on regular rest on Sunday. All weather permitting, of course. "With the number of guys we have on the DL, this is a welcome call," Johnson said. "And then not having to add somebody else, another starter, and then weve got an off-day on Monday. So we would have just really made a bunch of guys move around. This is much betterr.dddddddddddd So Im happy about it." The Mets plan to keep Matt Harvey as their starter Friday, with Shaun Marcum moved from Thursday to Saturday. Jonathon Niese was scheduled to rejoin the rotation Saturday after missing one start with a sore shoulder, but now hell have at least one extra day to make sure hes healthy. The most intriguing name on the Mets lineup sheet Thursday was career infielder Turner, listed as leading off and playing left field. Turner made his first career appearance in the outfield May 8 against the Chicago White Sox when he took over in left after entering the game as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning. Turner has appeared in 37 games this season, including starts at all four infield positions. Hes hitting .288 with six RBIs and a .318 on-base percentage. "Weve been losing games because we cant score," manager Terry Collins said before the game. "So I want to see if we can get the offence going." Collins also said he wanted to rest regular left fielder Lucas Duda, who has been bothered by a tight quadriceps muscle. The manager did not speak to reporters after the game, so it was unclear if he would start Turner in left field against the Marlins. But the manager felt confident about the move, noting before the game that he gave Turner some work at left field during spring training. "He can catch them in practice," Collins said. "He catches them in batting practice and he runs them down. Speeds a little different when the game time starts, so well see. The balls going to find you. Weve seen it everywhere." ' ' '