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David Finlay Adjusting to TV Wrestling After NJPW Run
Confirmed
In Short: David Finlay, a veteran wrestler known for his tag-team expertise, has expressed that he is still adjusting to the demands of television wrestling.
Finlay, who recently concluded a career-defining stint in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), made this revelation during an appearance on 'Talk Is Jericho'.
In a recent interview, Finlay noted, 'Yeah, yeah, I’m still adjusting, I feel like. I had a little bit of experience with working for companies in the States, but it wasn’t completely foreign to me. In New Japan, it’s like, do the match and they’ll catch you. If you’re in the main event, you can go as long as you want, which is cool.'
Finlay’s contract with NJPW expired, making him a free agent, but the company is reportedly still trying to re-sign him.
Finlay’s last match for NJPW was on February 11, where he lost to Callum Newman at New Beginning in Osaka. Despite what seemed like a farewell, Finlay is booked for the New Beginning USA event on February 27.
Finlay’s journey in NJPW included a successful New Japan Cup run in 2021, where he defeated notable opponents such as Chase Owens, YOSHI-HASHI, and Jay White, before narrowly losing to Will Ospreay.
Finlay’s career has seen him transition through various iterations, from his early days in Ireland and the UK to his time in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as Fit Finlay and WWE as Finlay.
In NJPW, Finlay formed the 'FinJuice' tag team with Juice Robinson, and the pair won the Impact World Tag Team Championships.
Finlay’s wrestling lineage is notable, with his father and grandfather also being professional wrestlers, and he has been active in the industry since 1974.
Despite his extensive experience, Finlay acknowledges the precision required in television wrestling, stating, 'We’re on a tight schedule. You gotta be more precise, which is a skill in itself. I like that, of like, alright, how good am I really?'
What this adds
Finlay's adjustment period highlights the different demands of television wrestling compared to live events.
What's confirmed
- Finlay, who recently concluded a career-defining stint in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), made this revelation during an appearance on 'Talk Is Jericho'.
- Finlay’s contract with NJPW expired, making him a free agent, but the company is reportedly still trying to re-sign him.
- Finlay’s last match for NJPW was on February 11, where he lost to Callum Newman at New Beginning in Osaka. Despite what seemed like a farewell, Finlay is booked for the New Beginning USA event on February 27.
- Finlay’s journey in NJPW included a successful New Japan Cup run in 2021, where he defeated notable opponents such as Chase Owens, YOSHI-HASHI, and Jay White, before narrowly losing to Will Ospreay.
- Finlay’s career has seen him transition through various iterations, from his early days in Ireland and the UK to his time in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as Fit Finlay and WWE as Finlay.
- In NJPW, Finlay formed the 'FinJuice' tag team with Juice Robinson, and the pair won the Impact World Tag Team Championships.
- Finlay’s wrestling lineage is notable, with his father and grandfather also being professional wrestlers, and he has been active in the industry since 1974.
What's still developing
- Their tag team victory was televised on March 13th, but was taped seemingly well in advance, as both Finlay and Juice were competing in the New Japan Cup that same week.
- On March 10th, David Finlay stood a tag-team specialised, “good hand” on the overflowing New Japan Pro Wrestling roster.
- From a noteworthy wrestling family, Finlay was born into the industry, making it his permanent home in the latter months of 2012.
- Since graduating from his Young Lionship in 2016, he has mainly focused on tag-team action, forming the “FinJuice” tag team alongside Juice Robinson in summer 2017.
- Winning the Impact World Tag Team Championships looked great at the time, but it has been shadowed by the singles glory David Finlay has achieved in the incredibly short time since.
- They first reported back in December that Finlay was looking to explore free agency.
- Joining NJPW in 2015, Finlay started out as a Young Lion before establishing himself as a babyface, winning the IWGP Tag Team titles once with Juice Robinson.
- David Finlay says he’s still getting adjusted to things.
- “Yeah, yeah,” Finlay responded when asked if he’s still learning to adjust to the TV cameras/hard camera.
- But Finlay eventually recovered and returned to television, forming a largely unsuccessful stable called Hardcore Army with Brian Knobbs and The Dog, a human man who acted like a dog.
- Eventually, ‘Swoggle would be revealed as Finlay’s illegitimate son, putting the final nail in the abortive “Vince McMahon’s long lost son” storyline.
- RELATED: 10 Most Dangerous Wrestlers In WCW History, Ranked Finlay’s greatest on-screen contribution to the show during this period happened in the 2019 Royal Rumble, where he allowed Becky Lynch to take an injured Lana’s place in the match, in what turned out to be an extremely crowd-pleasing moment.