Today, I salute you Mr. Finlay, for being the only guy with a first name that starts with the letter F that’s worth a crap. You’ve made a reputation of being one of the most consummate greats in the biz and you only get better with age. Thank you Dave Finlay, for all the wonderful matches and brawls you have given us over the years.

Sorry, that was starting to sound like a borderline love note.

I would’ve put a CWA match or two on here, but I think I’ll stick with just his matches here in the states.

Here is Fit Finley’s WCW debut from January 27, 1996! Sorry, I don’t know why the videos don’t all align the same way.

• Fit Finlay vs. Lord Steven Regal – Parking Lot Brawl (WCW Monday Nitro 4/29/96)
  

These two had their first match at Uncensored in March where Finlay won by DQ after he was attacked by Regal’s other Blue Blood buddies “Earl” Robert Eaton and “Squire” David Taylor. Good times. Now they are going to meet out in the parking lot because well, we all know it, Finlay loves to fight. Finlay misses Regal and kicks THROUGH a car window. Well that’s not safe at all. Finlay grabs a piece of a cinder block, but Regal kicks it out of his hand and grinds Finlay’s face on it for crying out loud. Finlay fights back and slams what looks like a tire into Regal’s ribs. Regal gets his head bashed into a Chevy Blazer until the front bumper falls off, which is a fun weapon for Finlay. Regal elbow drops Finlay on what appears to be a GMC Jimmy! Finlay chokes Regal with a seat belt while our commentators Bischoff, Mongo and Heenan make as many bad car references and puns as possible. They fight into a truck bed where both guys smash each others heads on the roof. Another car window gets busted thanks to Regal. Now Finlay drops an elbow on the hood of a truck. Bischoff demands the director to go wide because this is just too gruesome. Regal tries a piledriver on a car, but Finlay backdrops him over. Regal tries for the piledriver again and this time he gets it. Holy crap. Cover, 1-2-3. (6:13) Very stiff and brutal stuff. Wow, a piledriver on a car. I can’t get over that. ***

• Fit Finlay vs. Lorenzo – (WCW Saturday Night 3/21/98)
  

Poor Lorenzo. This guy is just a WCW power plant grad who is in for a world of hurt in this match. Finlay debuts his new look that we are all familiar with these days. It’s the beginning of Finlay’s push up to the mid-card compared to being a JTTS. Finlay full-body slams him down and follows with a STIFF toe kick to the back. Lorenzo drops down on Finlay’s head off a leapfrog, so Finlay starts delivering some straight shots to the face. Finlay slams Lorenzo’s chest on the apron and elbows him across the throat. Back in, hotshot gets two. Another STIFF toe kick to the back! Finlay applies a Fujiwara armbar into a hammerlock. Finlay Roll gets two. Lorenzo brings up the knees to block a pump splash, but he charges right into the ringpost. TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER will finish him off. (5:19) So much stiffness on that poor jobber. *

• WCW World Television Champion Booker T vs. Fit Finlay – (WCW Monday Nitro 5/4/98)
  

We now go to the Finlay/Booker/Benoit triangle feud over the TV title. Finlay tries to ground Booker by wrenching on the leg, but Booker fights up into a heel kick. They fight on the floor for a little bit. Back in, Finlay drills Booker with a short-arm clothesline and a double-stomp. Booker slips out of a TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER and hits the AXE KICK. He follows up with the 110^th Street Slam (spinebuster) as Benoit strolls out to ringside. Booker gets distracted and turns around into a TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER! (3:59) I love how Booker tried to fight it off at first, but when it hit, he was dead. Not much of a match, just historic in the sense that it led to the awesome Benoit/Booker best-of-seven series and Finlay’s first title in the US. *½

• Fit Finlay vs. Chris Benoit – (WCW Monday Nitro 6/15/98)
  

So Booker won what turned into the best-of-eight series at the Great American Bash and later that night defeated Finlay to regain the TV belt. This is from the night after the Great American Bash where we get to see what might have transpired if Benoit had beaten Booker instead. A HUGE “Finlay sucks” chant goes up here in Long Island. You can tell Finlay’s trying not to smile. Finlay works a headlock to start and pulls the hair a lot. The crowd reactions in this match are great. Benoit comes back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Finlay falls out to the floor, but Benoit chops him back in the ring. Finlay goes to the eyes and short-arm clotheslines Benoit down for two. Full-body slam sets up a sit-down chinlock. Benoit escapes with an electric chair drop as we go to break. AND WE’RE BACK! Finlay slams Benoit’s chest on the apron and elbows him across the throat. Benoit kicks and chops back, but Finlay thumbs Benoit in the eye again. Hotshot and a European uppercut gets two. Finlay charges into the ringpost, so Benoit follows up with a pair of Germans. Ahh, couldn’t get the third one. Snap suplex leads to the Swandive Headbutt, but Finlay moves. Finlay hits a pump splash as the crowd chants USA, but then they seem to remember that Benoit’s Canadian and stop. Finlay heads up for another one, but Benoit dropkicks him out to the floor. A snap suplex from the apron brings Finlay back in the ring. Benoit runs into a knee for the Finlay Roll. TOMBST-no! CRIPPLER CROSSFACE! Finlay taps out. (9:52) Super fun match and the crowd was into everything. Great finish, too. ***¼

• Fit Finlay vs. Bret Hart – (WCW Monday Nitro 7/14/98)
  

This is a dream match of sorts with two technical greats. As for Bret, this was a weird time for him as he was wrestling primarily in the mid-card against guys like Benoit, Booker T and now Finlay. Bret punches out of a headlock and chokes Finlay in the corner. They poke each other in the eyes to show neither man cares about rules. Finlay drops Bret with a short-arm clothesline. They go to the floor where Bret low-blows Finlay to take back control. Back in, Bret delivers the backbreaker/headbutt to the groin. “We want Flair” chants go up like its 1991 all over again. Finlay brings up his foot to nail Bret off a charge, but Bret gets an atomic drop and a clothesline anyway to set up the SHARPSHOOTER. Once again, Finlay gives up. (4:28) Basically a glorified squash that could’ve been something great if given the time, I believe. **

In July of 1999 shortly after he won the Hardcore Invitational at Bash at the Beach, Finlay was injured at a house show and nearly lost his leg in the process. When he returned from the injury, he was pushed down the card to the point of no return. We fast forward to the end of 2005. WCW is long gone and WWE is the driving force in sports entertainment. Finlay is making a comeback and is looking better than ever. With the more character-driven WWE, Finlay is given more of a personality due to his Irish roots that was really not thought of in WCW when they clearly had the chance. Thus begins one of the best comebacks I’ve ever seen and I’ve watched a lot of wrestling over the years.

• Finlay, JBL & Randy Orton vs. Chris Benoit, Rey Mysterio & Bobby Lashley – (WWE Smackdown 2/24/06)
  

At the time, your biggest feuds involved these six men; Benoit/JBL, Lashley/Finlay and Mysterio/Orton. That’s really all you need to know. Mysterio starts off with Orton and gets in some quick kicks on him, but Orton forearms Mysterio down when he tries a wheelbarrow bulldog. Mysterio comes back with a headscissors and sends Orton out to the floor. Orton charges back in the ring into a drop toe-hold into the ropes. Rey wants the 619, but Orton gets out of the way before that can happen and tags in Finlay. Lashley wants Finlay, so Mysterio tags him in. Finlay welcomes him in and catches him with a knee to the gut and starts pounding on the big guy. Lashley puts on the brakes when Finlay tries to whip him into the corner and gives Finlay a backdrop. Lashley nails Orton and JBL in the corner and hits Finlay with a SPEAR. Cover, 1-2-NO! JBL makes the save. All six men pair off with their respective haters of the month, as its BREAKING DOWN IN TULSA! Oops, commercial break. We come back and see Benoit turning JBL over into a SHARPSHOOTER. JBL grabs the bottom rope, but then gets nailed with a running elbow drop to the back by Benoit. Lashley tags back in and hits a belly-to-belly suplex and a backdrop to set up the SPEAR! Lashley covers for 1-2-NO! Finlay has to save. JBL pokes Lashley in the eye and tags in Orton. Lashley floors Orton with a shoulderblock and tags in Mysterio. Rey works on the arm with an arm wringer, but Orton catches him with a forearm and tags in Finlay. Finlay delivers the aggressive seated splash and then goes to a chinlock. Hey, that’s Orton’s spot! Once Finlay has had enough of that, he tags in JBL who provides more pounding. Rey finally ducks a big boot and catches JBL with a headscissors. He tries to come off the ropes, but Finlay knees him in the back to slow him down. Rey turns around and goes for a pescado on Finlay down on the floor, but Finlay blocks it by letting Rey crotch himself on the apron skirt. Hahaha, I love that! Finlay BEATS Rey until he just falls to the floor. While the ref is busy with the other four men in the match, Finlay gives Rey one final hotshot on the apron before getting back in his corner to appear completely innocent. JBL throws Rey back in the ring and covers for 1-2-NO! JBL continues to punish Rey’s lower back, but the crowd won’t stop chanting “Eddie” so JBL puts Rey in a bearhug to work on his back some more. Rey punches out, but then gets nailed with a shoulderblock for two. Benoit makes the save, but Finlay sneaks in and slaps the chinlock back on Rey as the ref tends to Benoit. Haha, ref Jimmy Koderas didn’t see the tag and actually makes Finlay get out of the ring. JBL tags in Orton, who lets Rey slide over towards his corner, and then stomps on his lower back when he gets too close. Orton hits a pair of knee drops for two. Uhh ohh, Orton applies his spastic chinlock. Mysterio gets to the ropes and then catches a charging Orton in the face with a boot out of the corner. Orton charges at Rey again and gets sent into the ringpost shoulder-first via headscissors. Both men crawl to their corners and that can only mean one thing: HOT TAG TO BENOIT! JBL gets the tag on the heel side. Benoit gets the double-arm clothesline on JBL! Backdrop to Finlay! German Suplex to Orton! German Suplex to JBL! German Suplex to Finlay! He signals for the Swandive Headbutt on JBL and delivers! Cover that man! 1-2-NO! Finlay hammers Benoit in the back of the head. Lashley comes in and clears the ring of Finlay while Rey is beating down Orton out on the floor on the other side of the ring. In the ring, Benoit runs into a boot in the corner. JBL comes off the ropes for the CLOTHESLINE FROM HELL, but Benoit counters it into the CRIPPLER CROSSFACE! Finlay quickly breaks it up, but then takes another German Suplex. Meanwhile, JBL is out on the floor kneeled down by the steel steps trying to regroup, but Benoit instead decides it’s a good idea to dropkick JBL’s hand in between the steps and the ringpost. Back in, JBL receives another German Suplex and leans against the ropes. I don’t think that’s a good idea JBL, because here comes Rey with the 619. Rey hits a springboard splash and gets the three-count! He’s one step closer to IMMORTALITY! (15:53) Lashley puts Rey up on his shoulders! Benoit looks so happy! This is a great moment they’re all sharing! Pretty good standard tag formula action. ***

• WWE U.S. Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Finlay – (WWE Smackdown 7/14/06)
  

If you’re wanting to visit bobby-lashley.com, don’t bother. It’s no longer working. We have the powerful rookie vs. the wise old veteran, says Cole. Lashley fights off a chinlock and works the crowd with one hand while he gives Finlay a suplex with the other. HOLY SNAP HE’S STRONG! Finlay takes a walk to the floor as we take a break. We come back to see Finlay throwing Lashley into the ringpost. During the break, Finlay tossed Lashley into the steel steps. Meanwhile, I miss hearing JBL on commentary. Lashley fires back, but Finlay trips him up and applies a Crippler Crossface. Lashley breaks loose and catches Finlay as he comes off the top with a boot. He mounts his comeback with multiple clotheslines and a release belly-to-belly suplex. Finlay rolls out and throws a chair in the ring to break Lashley’s momentum. While the ref gets rid of the chair, Finlay grabs his shillelagh and runs at Lashley. It does no good. Lashley kicks the shillelagh away and delivers a backdrop. Now Lashley has the shillelagh…and throws it up the rampway. Boo! They head to the floor for some brawling. On the other side of the ring, the Little Bastard/Little Monster/Hornswoggle comes up from underneath the ring apron and slides another shillelagh in the ring! While the ref is getting rid of a chair, Finlay BLASTS Lashley with the shillelagh! Ref turns around and counts 1-2-3! Finlay wins the US title! (10:02) This is Finlay 101, folks. Great to see him win the belt, but it was sadly just a transitional period. Also, watching this again reminded just how green Lashley really was. *½

• WWE U.S. Champion Chris Benoit vs. Finlay – non-title match (WWE Smackdown 11/24/06)
  

Nothing’s missing from this video, it just begins right at the bell. This takes place two days before Benoit defends the US title against Chavo Guerrero at Survivor Series. Finlay will be in a Survivor Series match as a part of Team Big Show, but that’s not really relevant here. Ironically enough, this match takes place in the Nassau Coliseum, which is the same arena as the Finlay/Benoit match above in 1998. They go from a really strong tie-up to a really strong Finlay headlock to start. Benoit escapes with a back suplex. Benoit bridges out of a test of strength, but Finlay grabs a hold of the traps. From there, he hooks on a chinlock. Benoit flips out of a slam and hits a German suplex that puts Finlay on the floor, setting up a SUICIDE DIVE~! After the break, Finlay’s working on the leg while the crowd chants “Finlay sucks” just like eight years earlier. Benoit fights back and sends Finlay to the floor with an enziguri. Finlay avoids a baseball slide and shoves Benoit into the steel steps to scrape Benoit’s side! Back in the ring, Finlay goes back to the leg. Elevated half-crab is applied. Benoit gets to the ropes and snaps off a leg whip to try for the Sharpshooter, but Finlay goes to the eyes and trips Benoit up to do further damage on the leg. Benoit starts to chop, so Finlay kicks him in the knee. Nice. Finlay slaps Benoit across the face and then kicks him in the knee while he’s in the corner. Finlay fights off a German with headbutts, but eats a boot as he comes off the middle-rope. Benoit follows up with the Three Amigos and the Hat Trick of Germans. Swandive Headbutt! Here comes Chavo and Vickie Guerrero. Benoit knocks Chavo off the apron while the Little Bastard/Hornswoggle shows up and sneaks in a shillelagh to Finlay. WHACK! Benoit goes down. It’s Celtic Cross time and Finlay picks up the win. (17:21) Good work from Finlay, but I think Benoit could have had a little more offense in this one. Nevertheless, the heels go strong into the PPV as Chavo does a number on Benoit with a pair of Frog Splashes. ***½

I think we’ll just pass on 2007. Don’t think I want to witness a Finlay/Boogeyman feud.

• Finlay (w/Hornswoggle) vs. JBL – Belfast Brawl (WWE WrestleMania 24 3/30/08)
  

The last time we saw Hornswoggle was when he was in his hospital bed being beaten/molested by JBL thanks to a fallaway slam into a cage by none other than JBL. They fight on the floor before the bell sounds. JBL gets sent into the steps and in the ring, Finlay delivers a sitting senton. Back on the floor, Finlay tosses a couple trashcans in the ring. He throws one right to JBL and blindly walks into a trashcan shot. Now JBL beats Finlay down with a trashcan lid and a cookie sheet. Some steel steps gets sent into the ring. JBL wants to powerbomb Finlay on top of the steps, but he takes a backdrop to the mat. Now Finlay attacks with a cookie sheet. JBL hits a big boot and grabs a shillelagh, but Hornswoggle scoots in and pops JBL in the back to save his daddy. He scoots right back out to allow Finlay to grab the shillelagh and nail JBL in the face to knock him out on the floor. Back in the ring, Finlay stomps a trashcan on JBL’s face! Finlay whips out a table and sets it up in the corner. JBL reverses a whip into the table, but gets caught with a clothesline. Finlay grabs the steps, so JBL slides out and slaps Hornswoggle. Now Finlay is pissed! How DARE you touch his son! He slams JBL’s head off the Raw announce table six or seven times! JBL goes to the floor on the other side of the ring. Finlay sees a chance for him to try that new suicide dive he’s been working on and gets blasted in the face with a trashcan lid as he comes through the ropes. Back in, JBL covers for two. Then he heaves a trashcan at Hornswoggle. JBL goes for the CLOTHESLINE FROM HELL, but Finlay blocks with a trashcan. Finlay beats the crap out of JBL with a trashcan lid and then hits the Finlay Roll. Nice! He mixes in a little wrestling with all the brawling. JBL gets thrown through the table, but that only gets two. Finlay grabs the steps and walks over to JBL, but gets caned right in the knee caps. JBL comes off the ropes and nails Finlay with the CLOTHESLINE FROM HELL! Cover, 1-2-3. (8:37) Like most ‘hardcore’ matches in WWE, they’re a lot of fun. However, Finlay could have showed a little aggression since after all he was the victim. **½

Final Thoughts: Some great Finlay moments in here to say the least. I was always a Finlay mark, so to see him back in ’06 was awesome. Aside from his Hardcore Invitational match in ’99, I don’t believe I really missed anything too amazing about Finlay. Other matches I might would check out is his match against Booker at the Great American Bash ’98. I figured his TV title win would make more sense to put on here even though that was a longer, better match. I don’t think I need to sell anybody on Finlay because you either like his style or you don’t.