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Dave Finlay
Born (1959-01-31) January 31, 1959 (age 65) [1]
Greenisland,[1] County Antrim, Northern Ireland[2][3]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Dave Finlay[2]
Fit Finlay[2][4]
Finlay[5]
Sir Finlay
Fit Finley
Finley
Billed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[6]
Billed weight233 lb (106 kg; 16.6 st)[6]
Billed fromBelfast, Ireland[4]
Belfast, Northern Ireland[6]
Trained byTed Betley[2]
Debut1974[7]

David Edward Finlay, Jr.[8] (born January 31,[1] 1959 in Belfast, Northern Ireland)[2] is a professional wrestler and road agent.[2][7] He currently wrestles on the ECW brand of World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Finlay.[6] He has held both the WCW World Television Championship and the WWE United States Championship. He is a third-generation professional wrestler.

Wrestling career

Early career

Finlay's first match was for his father's promotion in Glynn in 1974, when he filled in for a wrestler who no-showed.[9] He began wrestling on a full-time basis in Carrickfergus and throughout the rest of Ireland for the next four years before moving to England in 1978.[7][9] There, he wrestled for various companies under the Joint Promotions banner.[5] Finlay defeated Alan Kilby on June 9, 1982 to win his first title, the Joint Promotions British Heavy Middleweight title.[3] The belt was traded back and forth with various opponents over the rest of the year, but in early 1983, Finlay lost it for the last time.[5] He then won a tournament to crown a new British Light Heavyweight champion and fill the vacant position, defeating Ringo Rigby in the finals.[5]

Finlay soon lost that belt, but then pinned Marty Jones to win the World Mid-Heavyweight title.[5] He traded it back and forth with Jones for over two years before losing it a final time to Jones via disqualification, though he defeated Jones to win Joint Promotions' British Light Heavyweight title. He won a major British title, All-Star's British Heavyweight Championship. Finlay often competed on ITV's World of Sport programme as David "Fit" Finlay.

During this time, Finlay also began to wrestle in Japan, then in Germany and Austria for European promotion Catch Wrestling Association.[7][9] While holding the All-Star title, he teamed with Jones to win the CWA tag titles from Tony St. Clair and Miles Zrno.[5] After losing the All-Star title to Dave Taylor, Finlay began to focus more on the CWA, winning many of their titles.[5]

World Championship Wrestling (1996-2000)

1996-1998

Finlay debuted in World Championship Wrestling in 1995 as the Belfast Bruiser,[3][10] a nickname he had previously used while in the UK. He feuded with Lord Steven Regal in 1996, including an infamous parking lot brawl on Monday Nitro, during which Finlay suffered an eye injury from broken glass, leading to him wrestling with an eyepatch for several months.[citation needed] During the feud, the Bruiser's matches were often interrupted by The Blue Bloods, and on an episode of Saturday Night that aired the night before Uncensored, Regal remarked, "I'm going to send you back to Ireland picking potatoes."[11] At Uncensored, Bruiser won a stiff encounter with Regal by disqualification when the Blue Bloods again rushed the ring and assaulted him; Regal suffered a broken nose during the match.[12] The feud died down thereafter and the Bruiser disappeared into the midcard.

After a hiatus off WCW television, he ditched the Bruiser persona and went by Fit Finlay (frequently misspelled as "Finley" by WCW), on a permanent basis, and sported short, bleached-blond hair. He was given a push upon his return, which culminated in his winning the WCW World Television Championship on May 4, 1998 after pinning Booker T on Nitro, thus setting off a three-way feud with Booker and Chris Benoit, who was also vying for the title.[3] After Finlay lost the belt to Booker at The Great American Bash on June 14, he fell out of the TV title picture. He then entered a feud with Alex Wright, who was angry at Finlay for having ended the wrestling career of his father, Steve Wright. The feud led to a matchup at Halloween Havoc, where Finlay was pinned by Wright.[13]

1999-2000

Near the end of his WCW run, he won the "Hardcore Junkyard Invitational" at Bash at the Beach, winning a "hardcore trophy". He legitimately suffered a badly lacerated nerve in his leg during a hardcore match at a house show in Jackson, Mississippi in July 1999, which nearly cost him use of the leg.[3][9] As he was wrestling Brian Knobbs, he was thrown into a table in the corner of the ring, causing it to shatter and the shards to cut his leg.[9] He managed to regain use of the limb and came back later in the year, but by that point, all momentum he had from the Junkyard Invitational win was lost.[5] In 2000, Finlay formed a trio of "Hardcore Soldiers" with Brian Knobbs and Al Green. They feuded with Vampiro; the feud included a match between Finlay and Vampiro at Uncensored, which marked Finlay's last appearance on a WCW pay-per-view.[14] His final match in WCW was at a German house show in November of 2000, losing to Norman Smiley in a hardcore match. When WCW was bought by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), Finlay began working for the WWF as a trainer for new wrestlers.[5][9]

World Wrestling Entertainment (2004–present)

2006

Finlay began work on a comeback in 2004, even wrestling in a match against Jamie Noble at a house show in Glasgow, Scotland, and promos began airing for his impending in-ring return in December 2005. His gimmick is that of a proud native Irishman who loves to fight. His first televised WWE match was on the January 20, 2006 airing of SmackDown! against Matt Hardy, which ended in a disqualification loss for Finlay. After the match, Finlay dragged Hardy to the steel ring steps and smashed Hardy's face into them with his boot, quickly establishing himself as a heel.[15] This helped to give him the nickname, "The Fighting Irish Bastard".

Finlay continued to establish himself on the SmackDown! roster. During February and March 2006, Finlay was involved in an intense feud with Bobby Lashley which began when Finlay cost Lashley his unbeaten streak by interfering in Lashley's match with JBL at No Way Out.[16] This feud would see the pair brawl on many occasions, including a parking lot segment in which Lashley tried to overturn a car onto Finlay. Later, the pair competed in a Money in the Bank qualifier Lumberjack match that Finlay won. During this time, Finlay began to wield a shillelagh as a weapon.

On April 2, Finlay competed at his first WrestleMania, WrestleMania 22. He faced five other WWE Superstars, from both the Raw and SmackDown! brands in a Money in the Bank ladder match which also included Lashley, who won a last chance battle royal. This match was eventually won by then Raw superstar Rob Van Dam.[17]

Finlay next entered the King of the Ring tournament on SmackDown!, defeating his first round opponent Chris Benoit[18] before being beaten by his rival Lashley, who advanced to the finals at Judgment Day.[19] Finlay helped the other finalist, Booker T, defeat Lashley in the King of the Ring finals.[20] At the same pay-per-view, Finlay lost to Chris Benoit.[21]

Beginning on the May 26 episode of SmackDown!, Finlay was joined by The Little Bastard, who came out from under the ring to attack Finlay's opponents.[22] Finlay then joined forces with William Regal as loyal subjects of the newly renamed King Booker and his Court.[23] Both men were later "knighted" by the King, and Finlay briefly used the name Sir Finlay.

During his time as part of the court, Finlay picked up a win against World Heavyweight Champion Rey Mysterio in a non-title match before defeating the court's main foe Bobby Lashley to take Lashley's United States Championship.[24] Finlay defended the championship on several occasions, often with help from Little Bastard, and even defended it against fellow court member William Regal at The Great American Bash.[25] He lost the title to Mr. Kennedy on the September 1 edition of SmackDown! in a triple threat match that also involved Bobby Lashley.[26]

After the title loss, Finlay continued to attack and wrestle threats to court leader Booker and his newly won World Heavyweight Championship, including Lashley and Batista. Finlay defeated Booker in a non-title singles match and lost in a four way match at No Mercy for the title.[27] After leaving the court, Finlay continued to feud with Batista. On the November 10 edition of SmackDown!, he returned to fight Batista in a singles match which he lost after Batista pinned him following a spinebuster.[28]

At Armageddon, Finlay and King Booker faced Batista and his partner, the WWE Champion John Cena from Raw, but were defeated.[29]

2007

Finlay with his kayfabe son Hornswoggle.

At the Royal Rumble, Finlay participated in his first Royal Rumble match. He drew number 2 and started out against the number one entry, Ric Flair. He was eliminated 12th by Shawn Michaels.[30] Shortly after the Royal Rumble, Finlay began a feud with The Boogeyman. At No Way Out, he and Little Bastard defeated The Boogeyman and The Little Boogeyman.[31]

Finlay earned a place in the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 23; however, Mr. Kennedy won the the match.[32] Following this, he would feud with Kennedy, after an attack on Little Bastard (now known as Hornswoggle) during the Money in the Bank match, and Jamie Noble for assaulting Hornswoggle after he won the Cruiserweight Championship. Finlay's feud, however, would quickly redirect to Kane after Finlay spilled coffee on him. The two also became involved with Batista and The Great Khali. At Saturday Night's Main Event, he and Khali lost to Batista and Kane.[33] Kane beat him at SummerSlam.[34] Finlay defeated Kane in a Belfast Brawl rematch a few weeks later.[35]

Finlay and Hornswoggle briefly separated when Hornswoggle was stripped of the Cruiserweight title,[36] thus making a full face turn and briefly moving to Raw with his "illegitimate father".

Finlay then feuded with Rey Mysterio by attacking him during a confrontational interview with John "Bradshaw" Layfield.[37] At No Mercy, Finlay would fake an injury after taking a bump to the outside. Once placed on a stretcher, Finlay suddenly rose and attacked Mysterio, forcing Rey to be carried out on a stretcher.[38] The feud continued at Cyber Sunday, where fans voted for the two to face-off in a Stretcher match. Mysterio came out on top,[39] but Finlay would retaliate with a victory on the November 9 edition of SmackDown![40] The feud intensified further when the two faced on opposite teams at Survivor Series.[41]

Finlay would then reunite with Hornswoggle by coming to rescue him in a match against The Great Khali,[42] effectively making Finlay a face; while retaining their mischievous, rule breaking nature, the two became fan favorite underdogs. At Armageddon, Finlay was placed in a match with Khali. Finlay scored an upset win after Hornswoggle interfered by hitting Khali in the groin with a shillelagh.[43]

2008

Finlay continued his feud with Khali in 2008. Still battling Khali and his translator Ranjin Singh together with Hornswoggle, he qualified for the Royal Rumble. He drew number 27, but was immediately disqualified when he entered before his time and hit Big Daddy V and Mark Henry with his shillelagh to save Hornswoggle. Hornswoggle, who was also a competitor in the Rumble, was disqualified as well.[44] Finlay fought in the Elimination Chamber match at No Way Out, ultimately being pinned after a chokeslam on the steel floor by The Undertaker.[45]

Finlay then began making occasional appearances on Raw to protect Hornswoggle from Mr. McMahon, who had been showing him "tough love". After Hornswoggle was injured in a Steel Cage match by John "Bradshaw" Layfield,[46] Layfield revealed that Finlay was Hornswoggle's father, and not McMahon.[47] A week after, on March 3, Finlay admitted this.[48] At WrestleMania XXIV he was defeated by Layfield in a Belfast Brawl, where Hornswoggle also reappeared.[49]

As part of the 2008 WWE Supplemental Draft, Finlay was drafted to the ECW brand.[50]< He and Hornswoogle challenged The Miz And Morrison for the WWE Tag Team Championships at Night of Champions, but they failed to win. Then Finlay participated in the ECW Scramble match at Unforgiven, but he failed to win the title. He defeated Mark Henry on a Episode of ECW to earn an opportunity for the ECW championship, but he failed again after the champion Matt Hardy defeated him with a Twist Of Fate. Then he started a feud with Marke Henry,and the feud ended when Finaly defeated Henry in a Belfast Brawl match at Armaggedon.!-- DO NOT ADD WEEK BY WEEK EVENTS, RUMOURS OR SPECULATION. THIS INCLUDES ANNOUNCED MATCHES THAT HAVE NOT YET OCCURRED. WIKIPEDIA IS NOT A NEWS SITE BUT AN ONLINE ENCYCLOPEDIA. Please see the articles "Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not" and "Wikipedia:Guide to writing better articles" for more information. -->

2009

Finlay became the first person to successfully defeat ECW Champion Jack Swagger on the February 3rd episode of ECW. Because of his win, he was awarded a title opportunity against Swagger for his ECW Title at No Way Out, in which Finlay was unsuccessful.

Personal life

Finlay is married to a German woman and has 3 children, the eldest of which, David, was born in Germany.[7][9] He lives in Georgia, just south of Atlanta.[9] Both Finlay's father and his grandfathers were professional wrestlers, and his sister was a referee.[9]

He was also close friends with Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit, with whom he had many matches throughout their WCW and WWE tenures. He is also a good friend of Dean Malenko, whom he had met during the Super Pro Tournament in their first tours of Japan.

In wrestling

Finlay with his signature Shillelagh.
  • Nicknames
    • Fit Finlay
    • The Fighting Irish Bastard
    • The Battler From Belfast
    • The Fighting Irishman
    • The Man Who Loves To Fight[52]
    • The Belfast Bruiser[4]
    • The Celtic Bruiser[53]
    • The Belfast Brawler[54]

Championships and accomplishments

  • British championships
    • World Middleweight Championship (4 times)
  • Commonwealth Championships
    • CW British Commonwealth Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
    • CW World Middleweight Championship (4 times)
  • Irish championships
    • Irish National Championship (1 time)
  • Joint promotions
    • British Heavy Middleweight Championship (5 times)[3]
    • British Light Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

References

  1. ^ a b c Official WWE Kids Profile
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Fit Finlay profile". Retrieved 2008-01-27. Fit Finlay signed with the WWF as a Road Agent after WCW was purchased.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Nagasaki, Kendo (2005). The Grapple Manual: Heroes and Villains from the Golden Age of World Wrestling. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. p. 33. ISBN 0297844199. {{cite book}}: line feed character in |publisher= at position 20 (help)
  4. ^ a b c d e "WCW Bio". WCW. Retrieved 2008-06-21.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Milner, John M. "Finlay". Retrieved 2008-10-14. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ a b c d e "Finlay Bio". WWE. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Wine, Cheese and Fit Finlay". Miami Herald. 2008-05-08. Retrieved 2008-05-08.[dead link]
  8. ^ Gerweck Profile
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i O'Shea, Fergus (2008-08-26). "I've lived the American dream". The Sun. Retrieved 2008-08-27.
  10. ^ Conner, Floyd (2001). Wrestling's Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Pro Wrestling's Outrageous Performers, Punishing Piledrivers, and Other Oddities. Brassey's. p. 133. ISBN 1574883089.
  11. ^ WCW Saturday Night Report - DDT Digest, 3/23/96
  12. ^ Finlay Bio - Accelerator3359.com
  13. ^ Powell, John (1998-10-26). "Horace causes Halloween havoc". SLAM! Sports. Retrieved 2009-1-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  14. ^ Powell, John (2000-03-20). "Uncensored elevates WCW". SLAM! Sports. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
  15. ^ "Second chance". WWE. 2006-01-20. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  16. ^ "JBL def. Bobby Lashley". WWE. 2006-02-19. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  17. ^ "RVD wins the "Money in the Bank" Ladder Match". WWE. 2006-04-02. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  18. ^ Louie Dee (2006-05-05). "A Man of his word". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  19. ^ Louie Dee (2006-05-12). "Tragic Homecoming". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  20. ^ Brett Hoffman (2006-05-21). "The King is Crowned". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  21. ^ Brett Hoffman (2006-05-21). "A Good Old-Fashioned Fight". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  22. ^ Louie Dee (2006-05-26). "Kiss Him Goodbye". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  23. ^ Brett Hoffman (2006-06-02). "All hail the king". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  24. ^ Brett Hoffman (2006-07-14). "Rey's Revenge". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  25. ^ Brett Hoffman (2006-07-23). "An Old-Fashioned Fight". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  26. ^ Brett Hoffman (2006-09-01). "Signing Bonus". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  27. ^ Steven Schiff (2006-10-08). "Long live the King". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  28. ^ Noah Starr (2006-11-10). "Batista bites back". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-10.
  29. ^ Brett Hoffman (2006-12-17). "Champs prevail". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  30. ^ "Royal Rumble - Entries and Eliminations". WWE. 2007-01-28. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  31. ^ Mike McAvennie (2007-02-18). "Boogeymen come up short". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  32. ^ Mike McAvennie (2007-04-01). "'Bank' on Kennedy! Kennedy!". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  33. ^ Andrew Rote (2007-08-18). "Saturday night's alright for fighting". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  34. ^ Louie Dee (2007-08-26). "Let the Party begin". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  35. ^ Lennie DiFino (2007-09-14). "Forgive and forget?". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  36. ^ Lennie DiFino (2007-09-28). "All things big and small". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  37. ^ Lennie DiFino (2007-09-21). "619: Flight grounded". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  38. ^ Louie Dee (2007-10-07). "Irish eyes are lying". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  39. ^ Lennie DiFino (2007-10-28). "Rolling to victory". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  40. ^ Lennie DiFino (2007-11-09). "Celtic carnage". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  41. ^ Corey Clayton (2007-11-18). "Hardy and The Game survive team turmoil". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  42. ^ Lennie DiFino (2007-11-18). "Friends in low places?". WWE. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  43. ^ Lennie DiFino (2007-12-16). "Protective endeavors". Retrieved 2007-12-17. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help)
  44. ^ Louie Dee (2008-01-27). "Next stop: Orlando". WWE. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
  45. ^ Hillhouse, David (2008-02-18). "Chamber matches dominate No Way Out". SLAM! Sports. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
  46. ^ Greg Adkins (2008-02-18). "Outrage in a Cage". WWE. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
  47. ^ Clayton, Corey (2008-02-25). "The Truth about Hornswoggle, According to JBL". WWE. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
  48. ^ Adkins, Greg (2008-03-03). "Family Outrage". WWE. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
  49. ^ Zoldan, Ben (2008-03-30). "Results: JBL picks up brutal win in Belfast Brawl". WWE. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
  50. ^ "Official 2008 WWE Supplemental Draft Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
  51. ^ Grimaldi, Michael C. (2008-08-12). "Early Smackdown TV report for August 22". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
  52. ^ Steven Schiff (2006-10-08). "Long live the King". WWE. Retrieved 2007-08-13. The Man Who Loves to Fight vowed to stay true to his creed, and King Booker's Royal Court appeared to be on the brink of an epic collapse.
  53. ^ "Flair and Finlay in legendary first". WWE. 2007-07-05. Retrieved 2007-08-13. the Celtic bruiser, Finlay
  54. ^ Mike McAvennie (2007-11-09). "Belfast brawler's Bakersfield beatdown". WWE. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
  55. ^ "WWE The Music, Vol. 8 at Wal-Mart".
  56. ^ "Swaggerin' into the ring". Boston Herald. 2008-03-11. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
  57. ^ "Catch Wrestling Association Title Histories". titlehistories.com. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
  58. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Top 500 Wrestlers of the PWI Years". Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
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