| Biography | He was called the Belfast Bruiser and his wrestling style showed why.
Dave Finlay was one of a handful of a new, aggressive breed of British wrestlers of the 1980s who could have propelled British wrestling successfully into the twenty-first century had the promotional infrastructure remained in place.
Dave was trained by his father, a former wrestler, and ventured across the Irish Sea to pursue his career in Britain in 1978, already having wrestled professionally in his native Northern Ireland . Finlay was a quick learner and was soon trading blows with the best of them.
He established himself as a television favourite and was able to rank himself alongside Marty Jones and Rollerball Mark Rocco as one of the powerhouses of British wrestling. A win over Alan Kilby allowed him his first championship belt when he took the British Heavy middleweight title in June, 1982. It was to be the first of a series of British championship successes at four weights, including heavyweight; though his talent and charisma made title recognition unnecessary.
The promotional infrastructure began to crumble in the 1980s, and with many wrestlers feeling insufficiently rewarded they found greater appreciation amongst the independent promoters. Finlay joined the trickle that became a torrent of big name wrestlers who left Joint Promotions and worked for Brian Dixons All Star Promotions. Greater recognition came when he formed a successful professional partnership with his wife, Paula, a former wrestler who now acted as his manager. Paula played her role to perfection and only enhanced the drawing power of the talented wrestler. Her unique and memorable contribution to British wrestling is acknowledged in the Heritage Ladies of Wrestling.
With the popularity of British wrestling going into decline talent such as Dave Finlay found overseas work increasingly lucrative (although admittedly British wrestlers had always travelled extensively overseas) and he began working mostly in Germany, Austria, and Japan. Eventually the lure of life across the pond proved irresistible and Dave signed for World Championship Wrestling in 1995, and later worked for WWE. |