David Finlay

Finlay in January 2024

###

Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany

**David Stephen Finlay III** (May 16, 1993) is a German-born Irish-American professional wrestler known simply as **David Finlay**. He is currently signed and trained by New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the current and inaugural IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion, while also being a former one-time NEVER Openweight Champion, a former one-time IWGP Tag Team Champion and a former one-time NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion. He is a fourth-generation professional wrestler, following a tradition started by his great-grandfather John Lidell. He is the son of Fit Finlay and was trained by him prior to his professional wrestling debut. He is also the current and seventh leader of Bullet Club.

Finlay was first trained by his father Fit Finlay making his debut with the age of 15. He would make his professional wrestling debut alongside his father. He would spend most of 2013 without having a wrestling match, making his return to wrestling the following year. He would work extensively across Europe for promotions such as Power of Wrestling, All-Star Wrestling, and the European Wrestling Promotion, winning his first title in the same year. He would then enter in the NJPW dojo in 2015, before graduating the year after, after winning his first title the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions before going to the heavyweight divison and beginning frequently teaming with fellow trainee and best-friend Juice Robinson as the team FinJuice until the duo's disbanding in the spring of 2022.

In March 2023, Finlay took over the leadership of Bullet Club, following the departure of previous leader Jay White, since then Finlay became having more cocky and viscious attitude, leading him to win the NEVER Openweight Champion in May 2023, holding it for five months. He became the inaugural IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion in Janaury 2024 after retiring both the IWGP United States and United Kingdom Heavyweight Championships in November 2023.

## Early life

Finlay was born on 16 May 1993, in Hanover to parents Dave Finlay and Melanie Duffin. He has stated that he wanted to be a wrestler since he was young, being inspired by watching his father wrestle. Finlay grew up in a wrestling family, as his father, grandfather and both paternal great-grandfathers were all professional wrestlers, and his paternal aunt was a referee.

## Professional Wrestling Career

### Early Career (2012–2015)

On December 22 Finlay made his debut in professional wrestling at the European Wrestling Promotion when he was against Big Van Walter. In the same day, he and his father Dave Finlay defeated Danny Collins and Robbie Brookside in an Irish Street match. Then he competed in various independent promotions like Universal Independent Wrestling, All-Star Wrestling, and World of Unpredictable Wrestling. On October 10, 2014, Finlay won his first professional wrestling title the POW Junior Championship in a three-way match. He held the title for 314 days before vacating it on 20 August 2015.

### New Japan Pro Wrestling (2015–Present)

#### Early days (2015–2017)

On May 7, 2015, it was announced that Finlay was hired by the Japanese promotion New Japan Pro Wrestling and it was announced that he would participate in the Best of the Super Jr. XXII and that he would be entering in the B block. At his debut match in NJPW and his first match at the Best of the Super Juniors he lost to Alex Shelley he also had a personal attire. At end of the tournament, Finlay lost all of his matches. Later he would compete as one of NJPW's "Young Lions" a class of rookie wrestlers who work mostly against each other early on, wearing all black gear and with no particular ring character, all part of the structured learning process in NJPW. He would later compete with and some matches against fellow Young Lion Jay White some times with him had begun teaming together on a regular basis and with both men trading victories in both singles and tag team competition. On May 19 Finlay was called to replace Matt Jackson at 2016 Best of the Super Juniors. On May 21 to June 7, 2016, Finlay participated at the tournament and only scored 2 points defeating the veteran Gedo. On September 1 Finlay was involved at the Lions Gate Project 3 where he debuted a new wild attire and new finisher named Prima Nocta and he also defeated GO Asakawa. After that Finlay was given a push at the company and he started to win more matches.

On September 25, Finlay won his first champion at NJPW when he, Ricochet, and Satoshi Kojima defeated Bullet Club (Adam Cole and Matt and Nick Jackson) to win the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship where he graduated from his "Young Lion" status. This led to a match on October 10 at King of Pro-Wrestling, where Finlay and Ricochet unsuccessfully challenged The Young Bucks for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. Finlay and Ricochet entered the 2016 Super Jr. Tag Tournament, defeating Gedo and Will Ospreay in the first round. Finlay and Ricochet lost at the semifinals to ACH and Taiji Ishimori. Finlay, Ricochet, and Kojima lost the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship to *Los Ingobernables de Japon* (BUSHI, EVIL and Sanada) in a four-team gauntlet match at Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2017.

Later in 2017, Finlay joined the Taguchi Japan stable. In the mid-2017 Finlay would later graduate to the heavyweight division. On March 25, 2018, at Strong Style Evolved, Finlay attacked Jay White and challenged him to a match for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship. He received his opportunity on April 24, unsuccessfully challenged Jay White for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship.

#### FinJuice (2017–2022)

From November 17 until December 7, Finlay and Juice Robinson took part in the 2018 World Tag League finishing the tournament with a record of eight wins and five losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament. Their final block match against Best Friends (Beretta and Chuckie T.) ended by disqualification, when Chuckie T., who had recently been prone to violent outbursts, attacked Finlay with a chair. On January 5, 2019 at *New Years's Dash*, Finlay and Robinson faced the Best Friends in a rematch, which ended in a disqualification, after Chuckie attacked again Finlay with a chair. This led to a match on January 30 at The New Beginning in USA, where Finlay defeated Chuckie T. On February 23, Finlay injured his shoulder, NJPW would later announce that Finlay would hat to forfeit his place at the 2019 New Japan Cup. It was later revealed to be a torn labrum and that he would be out of action for around six months. Finlay made his return to the promotion on October 14 at King of Pro-Wrestling, saving his partner Juice Robinson from an attack by Lance Archer, while also challenging him to a match for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship. On November 9 at New Japan Showdown in San Jose, Finlay unsuccessfully challenged Archer for his title. From November 16 until December 8, Finlay and Robinson took part in the 2019 World Tag League, which the two won by defeating former IWGP Tag Team Champions *Los Ingobernables de Japon* (EVIL and SANADA) in their last round-robin match.

On January 4, 2020, on the first night of Wrestle Kingdom 14 in Tokyo Dome, Finlay and Robinson defeated the Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship. They lost the titles back to the Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) on February 1 at The New Beginning in USA. In July, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Finlay was unable to work for NJPW events in Japan, leading him to take part in *Lion's Break Collision*series. The following month, Finlay took part in the New Japan Cup USA, as part of the *NJPW Strong* series, losing to eventual winner KENTA in the finals on August 21. Despite being defeated in the finals, Finlay received a rematch against KENTA November 20, at New Japan Showdown for his IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship challenge rights certificate, facing him in a losing effort. From November 15 until December 6, Finlay and Robinson took part in the 2020 World Tag League, finishing the tournament with a record of six wins and three losses, advancing to the finals of the tournament. On December 11, Robinson and Finlay were defeated in the finals by Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa). In March 2021, Finlay took part in the 2021 New Japan Cup, picking up a surprise victory over Jay White, before losing in the semifinals to Will Ospreay on March 20.

On May 3 on the first night of Wrestling Dontaku, Finlay was nominated by Jay White to be his first challenger for the NEVER Openweight Champion. As part of NJPW's working relationship with Impact Wrestling, on July 17, White made his debut for the promotion at Slammiversary, confronting former Bullet Club leader Kenny Omega, and former Buller Club members The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson), before being attacked by Finlay and Robinson. However, before retrieving, White would lay out Finlay with the *Blade Runner*. The following week, White revealed that he was coming for Finlay due to their title match at Resurgence, before stating Finlay would never defeat him again, despite losing to him at the New Japan Cup. On July 30, at *Impact!*, White and Chris Bey, who recently aligned with White in the Bullet Club, attacked Finlay and Robinson at backstage following their match. Three weeks later White and Bey, would face Finlay and Robinson in a tag team match which would end in a disqualification after White hit Robinson with a chair. On August 14, at Resurgence, Finlay unsuccessfully challenged White for the NEVER Openweight Championship.

In November, Finlay and Robinson began feuding with TMDK, after both were attacked by the debuting Jonah. Their feud extended until April 2022, where Finlay, Robinson and Brody King defeated TMDK's Bad Dude Tito, Jonah and Shane Haste in a Chicago Street Fight. The following month, FinJuice disbanded, after Robinson turned heel and joined Bullet Club. Angered at being looked past and left behind, in July, Finlay was granted entry into the 2022 G1 Climax, his first G1 Climax tournament. On August 16, he finished the tournament with a record of three wins and three losses, failing to advance to the semifinals. Despite his failure to advance, Finlay scored three big wins by defeating Shingo Takagi, his former partner Juice Robinson, retrieving the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship belt from him and reigning IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Will Opsreay, whom he returned his title belt, before challenging him to a title match. On August 18, after Opsreay was defeated in the finals of the tournament by Kazuchika Okada, Finlay again challenged him to a title match in post-match interview. On September 25, Finlay unsuccessfully challenged Ospreay for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship.

#### Bullet Club (2023–Present)

On February 18, 2023, at Battle in the Valley, Finlay entered the ring to attack his former partner and longtime rival Jay White, after he was forced to leave NJPW, showing a more cocky and villainous persona. On March 5, after defeating Tomohiro Ishii in the first round of the 2023 New Japan Cup, Finlay was introduced by White's former manager Gedo as the newest member of Bullet Club, becoming the stable's seventh leader, after the departure of White. After the match, Gedo stated that "Bullet Club needded a rebel" and it doesn't matter that White was no longer there. Finlay ended up making it all the way to the finals of the tournament, before losing to SANADA on March 21. During this time, El Phantasmo began questioning Finlay's authority, which in turn, led to him being kicked out of the stable on April 8 at Sakura Genesis after Finlay, KENTA and Taiji Ishimori turned on him. During this, before Phantasmo's expellment, Finlay brutally attacked Tama Tonga, holding his title and challenging Tonga. Soon after, Finlay teased a new member as a replacement Phantasmo's place, with Finlay further revealing it at Capitol Collision on April 15. At Capitol Collision, Finlay called Connors and offered a spot in the Bullet Club, with Connors accepting and leaving with Finlay, revealing himself to be the replacement of El Phantasmo. On May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku, Finlay defeated Tama Tonga to win the NEVER Openweight Championship, winning his first singles title in NJPW. After the match, Phantasmo made his first appearance since being expelled from the stable, attacked Finlay and challenged him to a title match on June 4 at Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall. At Dominion, Finlay (accompained by Bullet Club's newest recruits Clark Connors, Dan Moloney, Gabriel Kidd and Alex Coughlin and Gedo) successfully defended the NEVER Openweight Championship against El Phantasmo, after the stable's constant interference throughout the match. Afterwards, in a post-match interview, Finlay along with the rest of the stable, formed a sub-stable named "War Dogs", with Finlay further stating that in his leadership members could only bring "gold or bodies". From July 16 to August 9, Finlay took part in the 2023 G1 Climax, where he won his block with a record of five wins and two losses, advancing to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, on August 10, Finlay was eliminated from the tournament by Will Ospreay. Following the tournament, on August 12, Finlay and the Bullet Club War Dogs (Coughlin and Kidd) confronted Tonga, Hikuleo and El Phantasmo, with Phantasmo and Hikuleo, who newly reunited after being expelled from Bullet Club, setting their sights on Coughlin and Kidd's Strong Openweight Tag Team Championships, setting up two title matches at Destruction between both sides. On October 9 at Destruction in Ryogoku, Finlay lost the NEVER Openweight Championship back to Tama Tonga.

On November 4 at Power Struggle, Finlay attacked and Jon Moxley and Will Ospreay, after he had defend the IWGP United States (United Kingdom) Heavyweight Championship, before proceding to destroy both UK and the US Championship belts. Afterwards, in a post-match interview, Ospreay proposed a three-way match between him, Moxley and Finlay at Wrestle Kingdom 18 for a new title. On December 11, Sugabayashi revealed the new title would be the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship, with the winner of the match becoming the inaugural champion. On January 4, 2024 at Wrestle Kingdom 18, Finlay defeated Moxley and Ospreay in a three-way match to become the first IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion. After the match, Finlay confronted Nic Nemeth, leading to a brawl between the two men.

## Personal life

Finaly is good friends with fellow NJPW wrestler Juice Robinson. On 9 May 2017, Finlay became engaged to girlfriend Ana Scott. The couple married on 13 May 2018. He currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia.

## In wrestling

* **Finishing moves**
	+ *Air Raid Crash* (Running over the shoulder back to belly piledriver)
	+ *Prima Nocta* (Stunner) – early career, used rarely;
	+ *Trash Panda/Into Oblivion* (Brainbuster dropped onto his knee)
	+ *Overkill* (Brainbuster into a knee strike)
	+ *Acid Drop* (Springboard Cutter); adopted from Spike Dudley
* **Signature moves**
	+ Scarf Hold
	+ DDT
	+ Fisherman Suplex
	+ Granby Roll
	+ *Kamikaze Shot* (Rolling Fireman's Carry Slam)
	+ German Suplex
	+ Muffler Hold
	+ Snap Suplex
	+ Spear
* **Nicknames**
	+ "Celtic Prince"
	+ **"The Rebel"**
* **Managers**
	+ **Gedo**
* **Entrance themes**
	+ "Samurai Rock" by Yonosuke Kitamura (2016-2019)
	+ "Rock'n Roll" by Yonosuke Kitamura (2019-2022)
	+ "Final Warning" by [Q]Brick (2022-2023)
	+ **"Generations"** by [Q]Brick (2023-Present)

## Championships and accomplishments

* **Impact Wrestling**
	+ Impact World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Juice Robinson
* **New Japan Pro Wrestling**
	+ IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current)
	+ IWGP Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Juice Robinson
	+ NEVER Openweight Championship (1 time)
	+ NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ricochet and Satoshi Kojima
	+ World Tag League (2019) – with Juice Robinson
* ***Pro Wrestling Illustrated***
	+ PWI ranked him #447 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2015
	+ PWI ranked him #431 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2016
	+ PWI ranked him #431 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2017
	+ PWI ranked him #350 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2018
	+ PWI ranked him #233 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2020

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 David Finlay profile . Cagematch - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved on 2017-04-14.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 David Finlay profile . The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved on 2017-04-14.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 David Finlay profile . New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Retrieved on 2017-06-25.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 David Finlay profile . Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved on 2017-04-14.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `boots`
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Ana Scott and David Finlay's Wedding Website . The Knot. Retrieved on 2019-02-20.
7. ↑ Atlanta, G. A. 2019-01-21. David Finlay .
8. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `njpw`
9. ↑ TMPToW: David Finlay . Podomatic (2017-03-10). Retrieved on 2019-02-20.
10. ↑ 『Super Jr.』メンバー＆全カード決定!　外道が3年ぶり出場!　フィッシュ、オライリー、小松、カベルナリオ、フィンレーらが初出場!  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro-Wrestling* (2015-05-07). Retrieved on 2015-05-07.
11. ↑ Best of the Super Jr.XXII  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro-Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2015-05-22.
12. ↑ 【緊急決定！】『Best of the Super Jr.』のAブロックにデビッド・フィンレー、Bブロックにチェーズ・オーエンズが代打出場！ 【SJ23】  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2016-05-19). Retrieved on 2016-05-19.
13. ↑ Best of the Super Jr.XXIII  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro-Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2016-05-29.
14. ↑ 【“GK”金沢克彦氏が激筆！】闘魂三銃士、第三世代、「夢☆勝ちます」…、9.1『LION’S GATE』目前！ 新日本プロレス“ヤングライオンの系譜”とは？  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2016-09-01). Retrieved on 2016-09-01.
15. ↑ Destruction in Kobe  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2016-09-25.
16. ↑ Rose, Bryan 2016-10-09. NJPW King of Pro Wrestling live results: Kazuchika Okada vs. Naomichi Marufuji . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-10-10.
17. ↑ NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11 live results: Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter* (2017-01-03). Retrieved on 2017-10-04.
18. ↑ Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2016 . *The Internet Wrestling Database*. Retrieved on 2016-09-01.