Fit Finlay
David John Finlay is a retired Northern Irish professional wrestling trainer and former wrestler. He is signed to WWE as a trainer and assistant coach at the Performance Center, as well as a producer. He is best known for his tenures with World Championship Wrestling from 1996 to 2000 under the ring name Fit Finlay, and in WWE from 2005 to 2010 under the mononymous name Finlay.
Finlay debuted in 1974, and has held over 20 championships around the world throughout his career, including the WCW World Television Championship and the WWE United States Championship. He is also well-known for his coaching to other wrestlers, notably for his training contributions to the WWE women's division.
Early life
Finlay was born in Carrickfergus, County Antrim in 1958. His father, Dave Finlay Sr., is a former amateur and professional wrestler and coach, who was appointed MBE in the 2024 New Year Honours "For Services to Olympic Wrestling in Northern Ireland". His grandfather was also a wrestler, and his sister was a referee. His uncle, Albert Finlay, was a goalkeeper for Glentoran F.C. in the 1960s and 1970s.Professional wrestling career
Early career (1974–1989)
Finlay's first match was for his father's promotion in Glynn in 1974, when he filled in for a wrestler who no-showed. He began wrestling on a full-time basis in his hometown of Carrickfergus and throughout Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland for the next four years before moving to England in 1978. In England, he wrestled for independent promoters such as Jackie Pallo, Orig Williams and Brian Dixon. On a visit to France in August 1980 Finlay made his television debut, teaming with Ian Gilmour as "Scotsmen" to lose to Guy Mercier and Alan Mitchells. Around this time, he began working for various companies under the Joint Promotions banner. Finlay defeated Alan Kilby on 9 June 1982 to win his first title, the Joint Promotions British Heavy Middleweight Championship. He also formed the Riot Squad tag team with Skull Murphy, together winning the 1982 World of Sport Top Tag Team Tournament. At this time, Finlay's then-wife, "Princess" Paula, became his manager. Dressed in a Native American headdress, she would frequently admonish her husband for mistakes in the ring.He then won a tournament to crown a new British Light Heavyweight champion and fill the vacant position, defeating Ringo Rigby in the finals. Finlay soon lost the championship, but later pinned Marty Jones to win the World Mid-Heavyweight Championship. He traded it back and forth with Jones for over two years before losing it a final time to Jones via disqualification. He defeated Jones to win Joint Promotions' British Light Heavyweight Championship. In the second half of the 1980s, he defeated Frank "Chic" Cullen on television for the British Heavy Middleweight Championship, but later lost it to Danny Collins. In 1990 he became a champion at the top of the weight range when he won All Star's British Heavyweight Championship. Finlay often competed on ITV's World of Sport programme as Dave "Fit" Finlay on which he had many matches against Jones, Collins, Big Daddy and "The American Dream" Steve Adonis, as well as on Williams' Welsh language wrestling show, Reslo, for S4C.
Catch Wrestling Association (1986–1995, 1996-1997)
During this time, Finlay also began to wrestle in Japan, then in Germany and Austria for the European promotion Catch Wrestling Association, alongside Paula, who was sometimes billed as Princess Beautiful. While holding the British Heavyweight championship, he teamed with former rival Marty Jones to win the CWA tag title from Tony St. Clair and Mile Zrno. The two would later team back home in the United Kingdom after Jones turned heel in 1992. After losing the British championship to Dave Taylor, Finlay began to focus more on the CWA, winning many of their championships.Finlay teamed with Mark Rocco and Murphy in a 1989 WWF dark match in London, defeating the team of Al Perez, Dusty Wolfe and Tim Horner.On July 3, 1993 he defeated Robert Fasser for the vacated the CWA Intercontinental Title. On November 25, 1995 he defeated Paul Roma for the CWA Mittelgewicht Championship. He left the CWA in December 1995 and went to World Championship Wrestling.
In 1996, he returned to CWA after a stint in WCW. He dropped the CWA Mittelgewicht Championship to Franz Schuhmann in July of that year. His last match with CWA was in September 1997 and returned to WCW. The CWA Intercontinental Title was vacated in October 1998.
World Championship Wrestling (1996–2001)
The Belfast Bruiser (1996)
Finlay made his American wrestling debut in World Championship Wrestling in 1996, going by the ring name of The Belfast Bruiser. Finlay made his WCW debut on 27 January episode of Saturday Night by emerging from the stands to viciously attack Lord Steven Regal, with Tony Schiavone stating "It says Northern Ireland on the back of his jacket", as the only means of identification at the time. He then cut a promo to the camera in which he introduced himself and declared that Regal was an "English pig" who was "paying for 400 years" of English-Irish conflict. This marked the beginning of a lengthy feud between the Bruiser and Regal. Bruiser won his first match in WCW on 10 February episode of Saturday Night by defeating enhancement talent Mike Marcello. The feud played out over subsequent Saturday Night episodes in which the Bruiser and Regal's stablemates The Blue Bloods interfered in each other's matches. The Bruiser won a stiff encounter with Regal by disqualification at Uncensored when the Blue Bloods again rushed the ring and assaulted him after Regal suffered a broken nose during the match. The following night on Nitro, Bruiser suffered his first loss in WCW against Randy Savage.After Regal pinned the Bruiser in a parking lot brawl on 29 April episode of Nitro, the feud died down thereafter. The injuries sustained from the match would lead to Bruiser being removed from his scheduled tag team match with Regal at Slamboree. Finlay would then take a hiatus off WCW television he returned to Catch Wrestling Association, while abandoning the Belfast Bruiser persona in the process.
World Television Champion (1997–1998)
Finlay returned to WCW on 1 October 1997 by defeating Dave Taylor at a live event. He made his televised return on the 25 October episode of Saturday Night as Fit Finlay, sporting a new look of short bleached-blond hair and no mustache. He defeated Barry Houston in his televised return match. He participated in the World War 3 battle royal at the namesake event on 23 November for a future WCW World Heavyweight Championship title shot, but failed to win the match.He was given a push upon his return, winning the majority of his matches in the mid-card. This culminated in him pinning Booker T to win the World Television Championship on the 4 May 1998 episode of Nitro, thus setting off a three-way feud with Booker and Chris Benoit, who was also vying for the title. Finlay retained the title against Benoit at Slamboree. Finlay also regularly defended the title on weekly WCW television against the likes of Chavo Guerrero Jr., Kaos, The Renegade, Brad Armstrong, Jim Neidhart, Norman Smiley and Psychosis, before losing the World Television Championship back to Booker T at The Great American Bash. Finlay unsuccessfully challenged Booker for the title in a rematch on the 2 July episode of Thunder. He received another title shot for the title against Chris Jericho on the 17 October episode of Saturday Night but the match ended in a time limit draw.
Shortly after his title loss, Finlay began feuding with Alex Wright, who was angry at Finlay for having ended the wrestling career of his father, Steve Wright, which led to a match between the two at Halloween Havoc, where Finlay was pinned by Wright. However, Finlay defeated Wright in a rematch on the 29 October episode of Thunder. Finlay would then team with WCW colleague Jerry Flynn to participate in New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Super Grade Tag League, with their team losing all of their matches in the tournament and coming in last place. He returned from the tour of NJPW in December and then teamed with Flynn against Brian Adams and Scott Norton in a losing effort at Starrcade.
The Hardcore Army (1999–2001)
After defeating Van Hammer at the Souled Out pay-per-view on 17 January 1999, Finlay was randomly paired with Dave Taylor to participate in a tournament for the vacant World Tag Team Championship, where they lost to The Faces of Fear in a lumberjack match in the opening round, thus moving to the Losers' Bracket, where they defeated Billy Kidman and Chavo Guerrero Jr. in the opening round but lost to Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko in the second round. On the 10 June episode of Thunder, Finlay unsuccessfully challenged Rick Steiner for the World Television Championship. In the summer of 1999, Finlay resumed his alliance with Taylor, which also expanded to include former rival Steven Regal, but the trio did not achieve much success. During that time, Finlay began competing in the emerging hardcore division. At Bash at the Beach, he won a Junkyard Invitational involving Ciclope, Jerry Flynn, Johnny Grunge, Hak, Horace Hogan, Brian Knobbs, Hugh Morrus, La Parka, Steve Regal, Rocco Rock, Silver King, Dave Taylor, and Mikey Whipwreck, winning what was initially announced to be for the "WCW Hardcore Championship", although the actual lineage would not begin until Mayhem, thus leaving Finlay with a trophy instead of an actual championship.He legitimately suffered a badly lacerated nerve in his leg during a hardcore match at a house show in Jackson, Mississippi on 25 July 1999, which nearly cost him use of the leg. As he was wrestling Knobbs, he was thrown into a table in the corner of the ring, causing it to shatter and the shards to cut into his leg. He managed to regain use of the limb and would return to WCW at Starrcade by assisting Knobbs in interfering in Norman Smiley's Hardcore Championship title defense against Meng. Finlay unsuccessfully challenged Smiley for the Hardcore Championship on the 23 December episode of Thunder. In his continued pursuit of the Hardcore Championship, Finlay began regularly teaming with Knobbs as well. At the 2000 Souled Out event, Finlay unsuccessfully challenged Knobbs for the Hardcore Championship in a four-way match, also involving Smiley and Meng.
Shortly after, Finlay formed a trio of the "Hardcore Army" with Knobbs and The Dog as they defeated 3 Count in a hardcore match on the 1 March episode of Thunder. They feuded with Vampiro, leading to a falls count anywhere match between Finlay and Vampiro at Uncensored, which Finlay lost. Finlay left wrestling in the summer of 2000 and accepted the position of a backstage road agent for WCW. His final match in WCW was at Millennium Final, where he competed twice, firstly in a battle royal and secondly in an Octoberfest Hardcore match against Smiley in a losing effort. Finlay remained in the company as a road agent until WCW was bought by the World Wrestling Federation in 2001.