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. Around this time, he began working for various companies under the
Joint Promotions banner. He also formed the Riot Squad tag team with
Skull Murphy (Peter Northey), together winning the 1982
World of Sport Top Tag Team Tournament. At this time, Finlay's then-wife,
"Princess" Paula (Valdez), 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. 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 (whom he fought on TV during coverage of the 1984 and 1986
FA Cup Final matches) 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,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 (WCW). 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 (WCW) 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 (
Squire David Taylor and
Earl Robert Eaton) 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. 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 (1999), 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. 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 (WWF) in 2001.
World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (2001–2011) Trainer (2001–2004) When WCW was purchased by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF; now WWE), Finlay began working for the company as a trainer for new wrestlers. He trained future
WWE champions John Cena and
Randy Orton and was eventually put in charge of training the
WWE Divas for their matches. After the match, Finlay stomped Hardy's face into the ring steps, establishing himself as a
villain. This earned him the nickname "The Fighting Irish Bastard". Finlay continued to establish himself on the
SmackDown! roster. During February and March 2006, he feuded with
Bobby Lashley that began after he cost Lashley his unbeaten streak by interfering in Lashley's match with
John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) at
No Way Out on 19 February. 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 2 April, 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
Rob Van Dam. Finlay next entered the
King of the Ring tournament on
SmackDown!, defeating his first round opponent
Chris Benoit on 5 May episode of
SmackDown!, before being beaten by his rival Lashley, who advanced to the finals at
Judgment Day on 21 May. Finlay helped the other finalist,
Booker T, defeat Lashley in the King of the Ring finals. At Judgment Day, Finlay lost to Benoit. Beginning on the 26 May episode of
SmackDown!, Finlay was joined by
Little Bastard, who came out from under the ring to attack Finlay's opponents. Finlay then joined forces with
William Regal as loyal subjects of the newly renamed King Booker and his
Court. 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 on 14 July episode of
SmackDown!. Finlay defended the championship on several occasions, often with help from Little Bastard, and even defended it against Regal, his fellow court member, at
The Great American Bash on 23 July. He lost the title to
Mr. Kennedy on the 1 September edition of
SmackDown! in a
Triple Threat match that also involved Bobby Lashley. After the title loss, Finlay continued to attack and wrestle threats to court leader King Booker and his newly won World Heavyweight Championship, including Lashley and
Batista. Finlay defeated King Booker in a non-title singles match and lost in a fatal four-way match at
No Mercy on 8 October for the title. After leaving the court, Finlay continued to feud with Batista. At
Armageddon on 17 December, Finlay and King Booker faced Batista and his partner, WWE Champion
John Cena from Raw but were defeated.
Alliance with Hornswoggle (2007–2009) Shortly after the
Royal Rumble on 28 January 2007 (where Finlay entered the Royal Rumble match as the number two entrant and lasted 32 minutes), Finlay began a feud with
The Boogeyman. At
No Way Out on 18 February, he and Little Bastard defeated The Boogeyman and The Little Boogeyman. Finlay earned a place in the
Money in the Bank ladder match at
WrestleMania 23 on 1 April; however, Mr. Kennedy won
the match. Following this loss, he would feud with Kennedy, after an attack on Little Bastard (now renamed "
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 accidentally spilled coffee on him. The two also became involved with Batista and
The Great Khali. On 18 August episode of ''
Saturday Night's Main Event, Finlay and Khali lost to Batista and Kane. Kane beat Finlay at SummerSlam on 26 August. Finlay defeated Kane in a Belfast Brawl rematch a few weeks later on 14 September episode of SmackDown!''. Finlay and Hornswoggle briefly separated when Hornswoggle was stripped of the Cruiserweight title, and briefly moving to
Raw with his "
illegitimate father",
Mr. McMahon. Finlay then feuded with Rey Mysterio by attacking him during a confrontational interview with JBL. At
No Mercy on 7 October, Finlay faked an injury after taking a
bump to the outside. Once placed on a stretcher, Finlay suddenly rose and attacked Mysterio, forcing Mysterio to be carried out on the stretcher. The feud continued at
Cyber Sunday on 28 October, where fans voted for the two to face-off in a
Stretcher match. Mysterio came out on top, but Finlay retaliated with a victory on the edition of 9 November of
SmackDown!. The feud ended when the two faced on opposite teams at
Survivor Series on 18 November, which Finlay's team lost. Finlay reunited with Hornswoggle by coming to rescue him in a match against The Great Khali, turning both Finlay and Hornswoggle
faces. At
Armageddon on 16 December, 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. Still battling Khali and his translator, Ranjin Singh, with Hornswoggle, he qualified for the
Royal Rumble on 27 January 2008. He drew number 27, but was immediately disqualified when he entered before his time to save Hornswoggle. Hornswoggle, who was also a competitor in the Rumble, was disqualified as well. Finlay fought in the SmackDown
Elimination Chamber match to determine the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship at
No Way Out on 17 February, ultimately being pinned after a
chokeslam on the steel floor by
The Undertaker. 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 by JBL in a steel cage match, JBL revealed that Finlay, and not McMahon, was Hornswoggle's father. A week after, on 3 March, Finlay admitted to this fact. At
WrestleMania XXIV on 30 March, Finlay was defeated by JBL in a Belfast Brawl, where Hornswoggle also reappeared. As part of the
2008 WWE supplemental draft on 25 June, Finlay was drafted to the
ECW brand. He and Hornswoggle challenged
John Morrison and the Miz for the
WWE Tag Team Championship at
Night of Champions on 29 June, but lost. Throughout the rest of 2008, Finlay challenged for the
ECW Championship. He, along with
Matt Hardy,
Chavo Guerrero, The Miz and
ECW Champion Mark Henry participated in the first ever Championship Scramble match at
Unforgiven on 7 September, which was won by Hardy. Finlay defeated Mark Henry on an episode of
ECW to earn an opportunity for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated by Hardy. Then Finlay started a feud with Henry, and the feud ended when Finlay defeated Henry in a Belfast Brawl match at
Armageddon on 14 December.
Brand switches and departure (2009–2011) Finlay entered his third Royal Rumble match at the
Royal Rumble on 25 January 2009, where he entered at number 14 and lasted 30 minutes before being eliminated by Kane. At
No Way Out on 15 February, Finlay faced
Jack Swagger for the
ECW Championship in a losing effort. On the 13 March episode of
SmackDown, Finlay defeated
The Brian Kendrick to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match at
WrestleMania 25 on 5 April. At WrestleMania, Finlay failed to win the match as it was won by
CM Punk. In the
2009 Supplemental Draft, Finlay and Hornswoggle were separated when Hornswoggle was drafted to Raw. In late May, Finlay suffered a
legitimate eye injury, sidelining him temporarily. He returned on 16 June episode of
ECW, attacking ECW Champion
Tommy Dreamer,
Christian, and Jack Swagger. At
The Bash on 28 June, he participated in a Championship Scramble match for the ECW Championship, which also included Christian, Swagger and Henry, but Dreamer retained the title. Finlay did not return to
ECW after that. He was traded to the SmackDown brand on 29 June. He went on to form part of
John Morrison's team at
Survivor Series on 22 November, but was eliminated by
Sheamus, and his team eventually lost. Finlay began pursuing the
Intercontinental Championship by feuding with
Drew McIntyre, which he failed to win. His final televised match in WWE was on the 4 June 2010 episode of
SmackDown, where he competed in a 15-man
battle royal. He failed to win as the match was won by former rival Rey Mysterio. Between June and October, Finlay worked in house shows. In October 2010, Finlay retired from WWE and became a backstage producer. Finlay was released by WWE in March 2011 after authorising the interruption of the
US national anthem by
The Miz during a house show, which offended many, including
National Guard members who were in attendance. Finlay stated that his intention was to intensify the audience's dislike of the Miz in preparation for the latter's
WrestleMania XXVII main event match against
John Cena for the Miz's WWE Championship, but accepted full responsibility for his dismissal.
Independent circuit and retirement (2011–2012) in November 2011 After being released from WWE, Finlay was contacted by
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) several times, but was unable to agree upon contractual terms. On 20 August 2011, Finlay made his debut for
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), taking part in the
2011 Battle of Los Angeles tournament. He was eliminated from the tournament in the first round by
PWG World Champion Kevin Steen. On 28 October 2011, Finlay's debut for
Yoshihiro Tajiri's
Smash promotion was announced, when he was revealed as the mysterious "King of Terror", Michael Kovac had promised to bring to the promotion and named first ever
Smash Champion StarBuck's first challenger for the title. On 24 November at
Smash.23, Finlay defeated StarBuck to become the new Smash Champion. On 19 February, Finlay made his first successful defence of the Smash Championship, defeating Tajiri. Prior to the event, Smash had announced that it would cease its operations on 14 March, which led to Finlay vacating the Smash Championship after the title defence. On 6 November 2011, Finlay wrestled in the main event of a
Stampede Wrestling show in
Barrie, Ontario in a losing effort against
Harry Smith. On 21 January 2012, Fit Finlay returned to DOA Pro Wrestling in
Portland, Oregon to face Ethan H. D. for the DOA Heavyweight Championship. On 12 May 2012, at
Border Wars, Finlay made his debut for
Ring of Honor (ROH), unsuccessfully challenging
Roderick Strong for the
ROH World Television Championship. On 24 May, Finlay made his debut for
Wrestling New Classic (WNC), the follow-up promotion to Smash, defeating
Akira in the main event. Two days later, Finlay defeated
Zeus in the main event of another WNC event. Finlay's first tour of WNC concluded on 27 May, when he, Akira and
Syuri defeated
Kana,
Mikey Whipwreck and Tajiri in a six-person main event. On 24 June at ROH's
Best in the World 2012: Hostage Crisis iPPV, Finlay was defeated by
Michael Elgin. Finlay returned to WNC on 20 September, when he defeated
Ray Mendoza Jr. in the main event at
Korakuen Hall. Following the match, Finlay announced that he was done with WNC for the time being due to re-signing with WWE. Despite no longer scheduled to make appearances for WNC, Finlay was named the head of the WNC Championship Committee. On 6 October 2012 at Hangover No.5 in
Hanover, Germany, an EWP World Heavyweight Championship match between challenger Finlay and champion
Cannonball Grizzly ended in a no contest when Finlay's cornerman
Robbie Brookside turned on him and attacked both competitors then challenged Finlay to a Liverpool street fight. Finlay agreed provided this could be a tag team contest and he could team with his son
David Finlay Jr. Consequently, Finlay wrestled his retirement match on 22 December 2012 at the same venue, teaming with his son
David Finlay Jr. to defeat Brookside and
"Dirty" Dan Collins in an Irish street fight.
Return to WWE (2012–present) Finlay returned to WWE on 11 July 2012 as a backstage producer. During the following years, Finlay made some cameo appearances, usually separating brawling wrestlers. He was also one of four wrestlers who presented
Tyler Bate with the
WWE UK Championship after Bate won the related tournament in January 2017. After
Lana was unable to compete in the
2019 women's Royal Rumble match following an attack by
Nia Jax during her entrance, Finlay gave fellow Irish wrestler
Becky Lynch permission to replace Lana; Lynch would go on to win the match and subsequently headline
WrestleMania 35, where she would win both the
Raw Women's Championship and
SmackDown Women's Championship in a
Winner Takes All triple threat match against
Ronda Rousey and
Charlotte Flair. On 16 April 2020, Finlay was among the several WWE employees who were furloughed as part of the
COVID-19 budget cuts but returned to work in November of the same year. In November, he was re-hired as a trainer and assistant coach at the
WWE Performance Center in
Orlando, Florida. ==Legacy==