9 Irish wrestlers who have appeared in WWE

The Belfast Bruiser, Fit Finlay from Carrickfergus, County Antrim, Northern Ireland

Fit Finley is a third-generation Wrestler from Northern Ireland

David ‘Fit’ Finlay is a third generation wrestler. He wrestled all over Ireland before moving to England.

While in England, he won the British Heavy Middleweight Championship in 1982. He also won a tournament for the British Light Heavyweight Championship and went on to win the World Mid-Heavyweight Championship. By 1990 Finlay performed as part of the ITV program World of Sport and won the All-Star’s British Heavyweight Championship.

He also worked in Japan, Germany, and Austria. While at CWA, he held the British Heavyweight Championship and the CWA Tag-Team Championship. He also made his first appearance for WWF/WWE in a dark match.

Finlay worked for WCW from 1996 to 2001. His first feud saw him face off against Lord Steven Regal; delving into 400 years of English-Irish conflict. Finlay was known as the Belfast Bruiser during this time. During his WCW run, he held the World Television Championship. WCW was brought by WWF/WWE in 2001.

Finlay’s first WWF/WWE stint was between 2001 and 2011, spending the first four years at the company as a trainer. He helped train both John Cena and Randy Orton as well as the Divas division.

He returned to the in-ring competition in 2006 when he was 47 years old. His viciousness inside and outside the ring earned him the nickname "The Fighting Irish Bastard." By May of that year, Hornswoggle joined him and Finlay won the United States Championship.

While in WWE, Finlay took part in many different hardcore matches including the Belfast Brawl, a Stretcher match, the Elimination Chamber, and the Money in the Bank ladder matches.

In 2008, he was drafted to ECW before being drafted to SmackDown the following year. His last televised match for WWE took place on the 4th June 2010. He was released from his contract in March 2011 after authorizing The Miz to interrupt the American national anthem during a house show.

Upon his release from WWE, Finlay toured around the world on the independent circuit before retiring from the in-ring competition officially in 2012.

His second WWE stint was between 2012 till 2020. During this time, he returned as a backstage producer. He was involved with British and Irish wrestlers, presenting Tyler Bate with the WWE UK Championship, and giving Becky Lynch the go ahead to take Lana’s place in the 2019 Women’s Royal Rumble. He was released from his contract on 16th April 2020 before returning for the third time in November 2020.

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