Finlay

Fonlay's debut 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 villain. 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. 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. Finlay next entered the King of the Ring tournament on SmackDown!, defeating his first round opponent Chris Benoit before being beaten by his rival Lashley, who advanced to the finals at Judgment Day. Finlay helped the other finalist, Booker T, defeat Lashley in the King of the Ring finals. At the same pay-per-view, Finlay lost to Chris Benoit.
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. 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. 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. He lost the title to Mr. Kennedy on the September 1 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 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. 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. At Armageddon, Finlay and King Booker faced Batista and his partner, the WWE Champion John Cena from Raw, but were defeated.
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] 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 fan favorite; 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]
Finlay continued his feud with Khali in 2008. Still battling Khali and his translator, Ranjin Singh, with Hornswoggle, he qualified for the Royal Rumble. 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 Elimination Chamber match at No Way Out, 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 in a Steel Cage match by John "Bradshaw" Layfield, Layfield revealed that Finlay was Hornswoggle's father, and not McMahon. A week after, on March 3, Finlay admitted this. At WrestleMania XXIV he was defeated by Layfield in a Belfast Brawl, where Hornswoggle also reappeared.
As part of the 2008 WWE Supplemental Draft, Finlay was drafted to the ECW brand. He and Hornswoggle challenged The Miz and John Morrison for the WWE Tag Team Championship at Night of Champions, but they failed to win. Throughout the rest of 2008, Finlay challenged for the ECW Championship. He participated in the ECW Championship Scramble match at Unforgiven, but he failed to win the title, although he did have a reign as "interim" champion, which is not officially recognized per the pre-match stipulation. He defeated Mark Henry on an episode of ECW to earn an opportunity for the ECW championship, but was defeated by the champion Matt Hardy. Then he started a feud with Mark Henry, and the feud ended when Finlay defeated Henry in a Belfast Brawl match at Armageddon.
Finlay became the first person to successfully defeat ECW Champion Jack Swagger on the February 3, 2009, edition of ECW, and, as a result, was awarded a title opportunity against Swagger at No Way Out, in which he was unsuccessful. At WrestleMania XXV he was in the Money in the Bank match which CM Punk won. In the 2009 Supplemental Draft, Finlay and Hornswoggle were separated when Hornswoggle was drafted to Raw.
In late May 2009, Finlay suffered a legitimate eye injury, sidelining him temporarily. He returned on June 16, attacking Christian, Tommy Dreamer and Jack Swagger. At The Bash, he participated in a Championship Scramble match for the ECW Championship, but was unsuccessful.
He was traded to the SmackDown brand on June 29, 2009. His first match returning to the brand was against Ricky Ortiz which Finlay won. Finlay competed in fatal four way and triple threat matches to earn a shot at the Intercontinental Championship but failed to win both. On the September 9 episode of Smackdown Finlay defeated Mike Knox in a Belfast Brawl. On the October 23, 2009 episode of Smackdown Finlay, R-Truth, Matt Hardy, and the Hart Dynasty defeated JTG, Eric Escobar, Dolph Ziggler, and Drew McIntyre to qualify for Team Smackdown! at WWE Bragging Rights.On WWE Superstars a few weeks later, he faced Chris Jericho with Jericho coming out with the win.
Category:WWE