Dave Finlay
| Dave Finlay | |
|---|---|
Finlay in 2012
|
|
| Birth name | David John Finlay, Jr. |
| Born |
31 January 1958 Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom |
| Residence | Atlanta, Georgia, United States |
| Spouse(s) |
Princess Paula (m. 1976; div. 1979) Melanie Duffin (m. 1983) |
| Children | 3 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Dave Finlay Finlay Fit Finlay Sir Finlay The Belfast Bruiser Young Apollo |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Billed weight | 230 lb (100 kg) |
| Billed from | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Trained by | David Finlay Senior (father) |
| Debut | 1974 |
| Retired | 2012 |
David John "Dave" Finlay, Jr. (born 31 January 1958) is a Northern Irish professional wrestling trainer, producer and retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he works backstage under the ring name Fit Finlay. He is perhaps best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling (WCW). He has held over 20 championships around the world throughout his career, including the WCW World Television Championship and the WWE United States Championship.
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 Carrickfergus and throughout Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland for the next four years before moving to England in 1978. In England, he wrestled for various companies under the Joint Promotions banner. Finlay defeated Alan Kilby on 9 June 1982 to win his first title, the Joint Promotions British Heavy Middleweight Championship. At this time, Finlay's then-wife, Princess Paula became his manager.
He then won a tournament to crown a new British Light Heavyweight champion and fill the vacant position, defeating Ringo Rigby in the finals. Finlay soon lost the championship, but later pinned Marty Jones to win the World Mid-Heavyweight Championship. He traded it back and forth with Jones for over two years before losing it a final time to Jones via disqualification. He defeated Jones to win Joint Promotions' British Light Heavyweight Championship. In the second half of the 1980s, he defeated Frank 'Chic' Cullen on television for the British Heavy-Middleweight championship, but later lost it to Danny Collins. In 1995 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 David "Fit" Finlay and had many matches against "The American Dream" Steve Adonis.
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