Sami Zayn in an impromptu title defense. On 15 April episode of Raw, he lost a non-title match to the debuting Andrade after interference from Zelina Vega. In the 2019 WWE Superstar Shake-up, Bálor moved to the SmackDown brand, making his debut on 16 April episode of SmackDown, defeating Ali in a non-title match. The following week on SmackDown, Bálor was victorious in a rematch against Andrade. At Super ShowDown on 7 June, Balor successfully defended his title against Andrade under his "Demon" persona. At the Extreme Rules kick-off show on 14 July, Bálor lost the championship to Shinsuke Nakamura. The following night on Raw, Bálor was assaulted by "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt after his match. At SummerSlam on 11 August, Bálor was defeated by Wyatt in a singles match. Return to NXT (2019–2021) After a near two-month absence from television, Bálor made his return to WWE programming on 2 October episode of NXT, confronting NXT Champion Adam Cole following the latter's title defense against Matt Riddle and officially announced his return to NXT (as it had grown from a developmental territory in Bálor's first stint into a third global brand within WWE). On 23 October episode of NXT, Bálor turned heel when he aided The Undisputed Era by injuring Johnny Gargano and attacking Tommaso Ciampa. Bálor began a feud with Matt Riddle the next month leading to a match between the two being scheduled for NXT TakeOver: WarGames on 23 November, where Bálor emerged victorious. Following this, Bálor challenged Adam Cole for the NXT Championship on 18 December episode of NXT, which he lost after a distraction from the returning Johnny Gargano. Afterwards, Gargano challenged Bálor to a match at NXT TakeOver: Portland on 16 February 2020, which Bálor won. On 22 April 2020 episode of NXT, Bálor was scheduled to have a match against Velveteen Dream, but Bálor was knocked out by an unknown attacker before he could leave his dressing room. Two weeks later, Bálor concluded that there was a "snake hiding in the long grass back there" and that whoever attacked him wanted a push. Bálor assured the audience that it won't be a push, but rather a squash. Later that night he got in an altercation with Cameron Grimes which resulted in a match between the two the next week. On 13 May episode of NXT, Damian Priest cost Bálor the match by using a