Dave Finlay

David Edward Finlay
Finlay at a WWE event.
Data
Surname	David Edward Finlay, Jr.
Ring name	David Finlay Fit Finlay Finlay
Additions to names	The Fighting Irish Man The Man Who Loves To Fight The Celtic Bruiser The Belfast Brawler The Belfast Bruiser
height	178 cm
Fighting weight	106 kg
birth	31st January 1958 Belfast , Northern Ireland
Announced from	Belfast , Northern Ireland / Ireland
Trained by	Ted Betley
debut	October 1978
retirement	2012

David Edward Finlay, Jr. (born January 31, 1958 in Belfast , Northern Ireland ), better known by his ring name Finlay , is a Northern Irish wrestler and wrestling coach. In the course of his career he performed a. a. for the two largest wrestling organizations in North America, WCW and WWE . His biggest achievement so far was winning the WWE United States Championship .

Wrestling career

Beginnings in Europe

Finlay started his career in Ireland before moving to the UK in 1978 . There he appeared in various wrestling leagues of the Joint Promotions , with his manager and then wife Paula Finlay at his side. His first title - the Heavy Middleweight Championship - he was awarded on June 9, 1982. Over the rest of the year, he often had to give up this title and then "win it back" until he gave it up for the last time in the spring of 1983. He was then allowed to carry a newly introduced title, the British Light Heavyweightship . He was later also given the title of World Mid-Heavyweight Championship . Finlay achieved great fame in the wrestling scene when he was allowed to hold one of the most important British titles for the first time, the British Heavyweight Championship .

During this time Finlay began performing in Germany and Austria for one of the largest leagues in Europe - the Catch Wrestling Association . As the holder of the All-Star Title , he eventually teamed up with Marty Jones to hold the CWA Tag Team Title. Shortly thereafter, Finlay focused on his international career with performances in Mexico and Japan, which he completed with Chris Benoit .

World Championship Wrestling (1995-2000)

Finlay was best known in the United States through his appearances in the WCW from 1995 to 2000. There he appeared under the stage name Belfast Bruiser and later as Fit Finlay . He was also allowed to perform as a successful wrestler in the WCW. For some time he was named WCW World Television Champion . He later suffered a serious injury to his leg during a wrestling performance, which is why he was almost disabled . He came back after an injury break, but no further great successes were awarded to him.

World Wrestling Entertainment (2001-2011)

After leaving WCW, Finlay appeared in small, independent leagues before deciding to train for WWE wrestlers .

In 2004, he began working on a comeback that became a reality in December 2005. He appeared there as a proud, patriotic, and rowdy Irishman - a popular archetype among Americans . His first ever WWE match was on January 20, 2006 on SmackDown . At WrestleMania 22 he took part in the Money in the Bank Match .

Finlay's only title in WWE was the United States Title , which he was allowed to wear for 49 days. From 2006 Finlay was accompanied by the short wrestler (called "Midget" in English) Hornswoggle , who appeared disguised as an Irish goblin and waited under the ring to be played. In addition to Hornswoggle's help, he also often used a Shillelagh as an illicit ring weapon to win his matches. After a while it turned out that Hornswoggle is Finlay's son and not Mr. McMahon's illegitimate son . But this is just a storyline , he's not Finlay's real son.

At the turn of the year 2007/2008, Finlay was in a feud program with The Great Khali . From February he feuded against John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL for short); Hornswoggle and Mr. McMahon were also involved in this feud. At Wrestlemania XXIV, Finlay lost to JBL in a Belfast Brawl match .

On June 25, 2008 Finlay was allowed to switch to the Tuesday program ECW , in which he often fought for the ECW Championship, but could never win it. At ECW, he also had a feud with Hornswoggle against The Miz and John Morrison .

Finlay was in the course of of Donald Trump prompted WWE superstar exchange switched to the WWE Smackdown roster on June 29 of 2009. For a long time he found himself in an argument with Mike Knox. After that he was only used sporadically and in house shows. In the Smackdown episode on June 4, 2010 in Dallas, Texas, he played a Battle Royal to determine the last participant for a Fatal 4 Way Match. Finlay lost after he was eliminated by Kane . This was his last match on TV. Finlay then returned to house shows and worked behind the scenes as an agent and producer. He was released from the WWE on March 28, 2011.

Independent Leagues (2011-2012)

Since his dismissal from WWE, Finlay has been performing more and more in Europe under the ring name "Fit Finlay". a. competed in several promotional events westside Xtreme wrestling . From March 2nd to 4th, 2012 he took part in wXw 16 Carat Gold 2012 , the most important wrestling event in Europe, where he lost to the British Johnny Moss in the quarter-finals. Here he also took on seminars as a guest trainer for the Westside Dojo to train the students there.

Return to WWE (2012-2020)

In July 2012, it was announced that Finlay has returned to the WWE as an agent and producer. Due to a wave of layoffs, he was released from the WWE on April 15, 2020.

Wrestling successes

World Wrestling Entertainment

• WWE United States Championship (1 ×)

World Championship Wrestling

• WCW World Television Championship (1 ×)
• Hardcore Junkyard Invitational Trophy Winner (1999)

All-Star Promotions

• British Heavyweight Championship (1 ×)

British title

• World Mid-Heavyweight Championship (4 ×)

Catch Wrestling Association

• CWA Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship (1 ×)
• CWA World Tag Team Championship (Germany) (1 × with Marty Jones)

Commonwealth title

• CW British Commonwealth Heavyweight Championship (1 ×)
• CW World Middleweight Championship (1 ×)

Irish title

• Irish National Championship (1 ×)

Joint Promotions

• British Heavy Middleweight Championship (5 ×)
• British Light Heavyweight Championship (2 ×)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0277969/
2. ^ Finlay dismissed
3. ↑ Page of the Westside Dojo ( Memento of the original from February 15, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  

Web links

Commons : Dave Finlay  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Finlay profile on wwe.com