Mid 20th Century
167-615: David Smith (27 November 1962 – 18 May 2002) was an English professional wrestler best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring names Davey Boy Smith and The British Bulldog . Smith won titles within the WWF in three decades, from the 1980s to the 2000s. Though he was never a world champion , Smith nevertheless headlined multiple pay-per-view events in
334-478: A Belfast Brawl rematch a few weeks later. Finlay and Hornswoggle briefly separated when Hornswoggle was stripped of the Cruiserweight title, and briefly moving to Raw with his " illegitimate father", Mr. McMahon . Finlay then feuded with Rey Mysterio by attacking him during a confrontational interview with JBL. At No Mercy , Finlay faked an injury after taking a bump to the outside. Once placed on
501-718: A Winner Takes All triple threat match against Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair . On 16 April 2020, Finlay was among the several WWE employees who were furloughed as part of the COVID-19 budget cuts but returned to work in November of the same year. In November, he was re-hired as a trainer and assistant coach at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida . Finlay has received praise from fellow professional wrestlers and peers. He reportedly assisted in
668-435: A bona fide athletic contest or competition. Professional wrestling is not a combative sport. Wrestling constituting bona fide athletic contests and competitions, which may be professional or amateur combative sport, shall not be deemed professional wrestling under this Part. Professional wrestling as used in this Part shall not depend on whether the individual wrestlers are paid or have been paid for their performance in
835-498: A legitimate eye injury, sidelining him temporarily. He returned on 16 June, attacking ECW World Heavyweight Champion Tommy Dreamer , Christian , and Jack Swagger. At The Bash , he participated in a Championship Scramble match for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, which also included Christian, Swagger and Henry, but Dreamer retained the title. Finlay did not return to ECW after that. He
1002-415: A performing art evolved from the common practice of match-fixing among American wrestlers in the 19th century, who later sought to make matches shorter, more entertaining, and less physically taxing. As the public gradually realized and accepted that matches were predetermined, wrestlers responded by increasingly adding melodrama, gimmickry, and outlandish stunt work to their performances to further enhance
1169-415: A professional wrestling exhibition. All engagements of professional wrestling shall be referred to as exhibitions, and not as matches. In the industry's slang, a fixed match is referred to as a worked match, derived from the slang word for manipulation, as in "working the crowd". A shoot match is a genuine contest where both wrestlers fight to win and are therefore "straight shooters", which comes from
1336-575: A 15-man battle royal . He failed to win as the match was won by former rival Rey Mysterio. Between June and October, Finlay worked in house shows. In October 2010, Finlay retired from WWE and became a backstage producer. Finlay was released by WWE in March 2011 after authorising the interruption of the US national anthem by The Miz during a house show, which offended many, including National Guard members who were in attendance. Finlay stated that his intention
1503-612: A 1998 back injury suffered while in WCW. 2000 would also see Smith arrested for allegedly threatening to kill Diana and her sister Ellie. This would not be Smith's last interaction with the law: following an altercation at "The Back Alley," a Calgary bar, Smith was charged with aggravated assault against 19-year-old wrestler Kody Light after a dispute regarding how Light had spoken to Diana. The charges were later dropped. Andrea Redding, Smith's girlfriend from 2000 to his death, stated that they were planning to get married shortly before his death. He
1670-699: A 20-man battle royal at the Albert Hall on 3 October 1991, which he won by eliminating Typhoon . After entering as the first man in the 1992 Royal Rumble on 19 January, he eliminated Ted DiBiase , Jerry Sags and Haku before being eliminated by the eventual winner Ric Flair . In 1992, due to Smith's newfound popularity in the United Kingdom, the WWF decided to hold its annual SummerSlam pay-per-view in Wembley Stadium in London . The show
1837-465: A Junkyard Invitational involving Ciclope , Jerry Flynn , Johnny Grunge , Hak , Horace Hogan , Brian Knobbs , Hugh Morrus , La Parka , Steve Regal, Rocco Rock , Silver King , Dave Taylor, and Mikey Whipwreck , winning what was initially announced to be for the " WCW Hardcore Championship ", although the actual lineage would not begin until Mayhem (1999) , thus leaving Finlay with a trophy instead of an actual championship. He legitimately suffered
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#17327932426432004-474: A WWF Championship shot against Diesel, winning by disqualification after Bret Hart interfered. At Survivor Series on 19 November, Smith participated in the Wild Card eight-man elimination match, teaming with Shawn Michaels, Ahmed Johnson , and Sycho Sid and facing WWF Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon, Dean Douglas , Owen Hart, and Yokozuna, which they won. On 17 December at In Your House 5 , Smith
2171-413: A background in authentic wrestling no longer mattered. After this time, matches became more outlandish and gimmicky and any semblance professional wrestling had to catch wrestling faded. The personas of the wrestlers likewise grew more outlandish. Gorgeous George , who performed throughout the 1940s and 1950s, was the first wrestler whose entrance into the arena was accompanied by a theme song played over
2338-645: A badly lacerated nerve in his leg during a hardcore match at a house show in Jackson, Mississippi on 25 July 1999, which nearly cost him use of the leg. As he was wrestling Knobbs, he was thrown into a table in the corner of the ring, causing it to shatter and the shards to cut into his leg. He managed to regain use of the limb and would return to WCW at Starrcade by assisting Knobbs in interfering in Norman Smiley 's Hardcore Championship title defense against Meng . Finlay unsuccessfully challenged Smiley for
2505-469: A carny term for a shooting gallery gun whose sights were not deliberately misaligned. Wrestling in the United States blossomed in popularity after the Civil War , with catch wrestling eventually becoming the most popular style. At first, professional wrestlers were genuine competitive fighters, but they struggled to draw audiences because Americans did not find real wrestling to be very entertaining, so
2672-519: A central authority. Nor could any of them stomach the idea of leaving the NWA themselves to compete directly with McMahon, for that would mean their territories would become fair game for the other NWA members. McMahon also had a creative flair for TV that his rivals lacked. For instance, the AWA's TV productions during the 1980s were amateurish, low-budget, and out-of-touch with contemporary culture, which lead to
2839-585: A champion that Curley put forth: Dick Shikat . The National Wrestling Association shut down in 1980. In 1948, a number of promoters from across the country came together to form the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The NWA recognized one "world champion", voted on by its members, but allowed member promoters to crown their own local champions in their territories. If a member poached wrestlers from another member, or held matches in another member's territory, they risked being ejected from
3006-568: A comeback on March 21, 2004, wrestling in a match defeating Jamie Noble at a house show in Glasgow and losing to Heidenreich in a house show in Belfast on October 8, 2004. Promos began airing for his impending in-ring return on 30 December 2005. His gimmick was that of a proud native Irishman who loved to fight. At the age of 47, Finlay made his televised debut on the 20 January 2006 edition of SmackDown! against Matt Hardy , which ended in
3173-484: A degree. Vince Russo, the boss of WCW in 2000, completely disregarded kayfabe by routinely discussing business matters and office politics in public, which alienated fans. I watch championship wrestling from Florida with wrestling commentator Gordon Solie . Is this all "fake"? If so, they deserve an Oscar . Dave Finlay David John Finlay ( Irish : Daithi Eoin Fionnalaigh , born 31 January 1958)
3340-642: A disqualification after he refused to break a five-count while pummelling Hardy against the ropes. After the match, Finlay stomped Hardy's face into the ring steps, establishing himself as a villain . This earned him the nickname "The Fighting Irish Bastard". Finlay continued to establish himself on the SmackDown! roster. During February and March 2006, he feuded with Bobby Lashley that began after he cost Lashley his unbeaten streak by interfering in Lashley's match with JBL at No Way Out . This feud would see
3507-404: A distinct vernacular . It has achieved mainstream success and influence within popular culture , with many terms, tropes , and concepts being referenced in everyday language as well as in film , music , television , and video games . Likewise, numerous professional wrestlers have become national or international icons with recognition by the broader public. In the United States, wrestling
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#17327932426433674-505: A dramatic entrance in the night's main event. The result was a spinal infection that nearly paralysed Smith, hospitalising him for six months. However, while recuperating, Smith's WCW contract was terminated due to his inability to perform. Smith returned to the WWF in September 1999. In keeping with the company's new " Attitude Era ", Smith began wrestling in jeans instead of his usual Union Flag -adorned tights and his theme music
3841-410: A fee, a visitor could challenge the wrestler to a quick match. If the challenger defeated the champion in a short time frame, usually 15 minutes, he won a prize. To encourage challenges, the carnival operators staged rigged matches in which an accomplice posing as a visitor challenged the champion and won, giving the audience the impression that the champion was easy to beat. This practice taught wrestlers
4008-461: A hardcore match on the 1 March episode of Thunder . They feuded with Vampiro , leading to a falls count anywhere match between Finlay and Vampiro at Uncensored , which Finlay lost. Finlay left wrestling in the summer of 2000 and accepted the position of a backstage road agent for WCW. His final match in WCW was at Millennium Final , where he competed twice, firstly in a battle royal and secondly in an Octoberfest Hardcore match against Smiley in
4175-485: A key part in the match at Survivor Series featuring his brothers-in-law Bret and Owen Hart, in which he supported Bret against Owen's benefactor; Bob Backlund. Smith would be knocked unconscious by Owen, allowing Owen to take advantage of his brother's situation. Owen manipulated Bret's mother to surrender to Backlund on Bret's behalf, thus costing Bret to lose the match and the WWF Championship . After entering
4342-784: A key wrestler in Hart's Stampede Wrestling . During his time in Stampede, he began a feud with the Dynamite Kid, and on 9 July 1982, Smith won his first title when he defeated the Dynamite Kid for the Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship . In 1983, Smith debuted in New Japan Pro-Wrestling , where he became involved in a three-way feud with Dynamite Kid and The Cobra ( George Takano ) over
4509-405: A legitimate sport. Firstly, wrestling was more entertaining when it was faked, whereas fakery did not make boxing any more entertaining. Secondly, in a rigged boxing match, the designated loser must take a real beating for his "defeat" to be convincing, but wrestling holds can be faked convincingly without inflicting injury. This meant that boxers were less willing to "take dives"; they wanted to have
4676-470: A live event. He made his televised return on the 25 October episode of Saturday Night as Fit Finlay, sporting a new look of short bleached-blond hair and no mustache. He defeated Barry Houston in his televised return match. He participated in the World War 3 battle royal at the namesake event on 23 November for a future WCW World Heavyweight Championship title shot, but failed to win the match. He
4843-705: A losing effort. Finlay remained in the company as a road agent until WCW was bought by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 2001. When WCW was purchased by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF; now WWE), Finlay began working for the company as a trainer for new wrestlers. He trained future WWE champions John Cena and Randy Orton and was eventually put in charge of training the WWE Divas for their matches. In May 2001, he wrestled three matches in Germany and England. Finlay began working on
5010-742: A match against Gus Sonnenberg in January 1929. Bowser then broke away from the trust to form his own cartel, the American Wrestling Association (AWA), in September 1930, and he declared Sonnenberg to be the AWA champion. This AWA should not be confused with Wally Kadbo's AWA founded in 1960. Curley reacted to this move by convincing the National Boxing Association to form the National Wrestling Association , which in turn crowned
5177-588: A match against The Great Khali, turning both Finlay and Hornswoggle faces . At Armageddon , Finlay was placed in a match with Khali. Finlay scored an upset win after Hornswoggle interfered by hitting Khali in the groin with a shillelagh . Still battling Khali and his translator, Ranjin Singh, with Hornswoggle, he qualified for the Royal Rumble . He drew number 27, but was immediately disqualified when he entered before his time to save Hornswoggle. Hornswoggle, who
Davey Boy Smith - Misplaced Pages Continue
5344-596: A match for that championship headlined a pay-per-view event, at One Night Only in 1997. Prior to finding singles success, Smith achieved stardom as one half of The British Bulldogs tag team, alongside the Dynamite Kid . He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2020 . Smith was born in Golborne, where he grew up with his father Sid, mother Joyce, brother Terrence, and sisters Joanne and Tracy. Joyce's nephew
5511-424: A more literal meaning in those places. A notable example is India's Pro Wrestling League . In numerous American states, professional wrestling is legally defined as a non-sport. For instance, New York defines professional wrestling as: Professional wrestling means an activity in which participants struggle hand-in-hand primarily for the purpose of providing entertainment to spectators and which does not comprise
5678-440: A new city, attendance was high because there was a waiting fanbase cultivated in advance by the cable TV shows. The NWA's traditional anti-competitive tricks were no match for this. The NWA attempted to centralize and create their own national cable television shows to counter McMahon's rogue promotion, but it failed in part because the members of the NWA, ever protective of their territories, could not stomach submitting themselves to
5845-659: A number of ribs (pranks) on the Rougeaus. Curt Hennig also pranked the duo, who, assuming that the Bulldogs were behind that prank as well, retaliated: Jacques Rougeau knocked out four of Dynamite Kid's teeth with a fist filled with a roll of quarters. Though there are various accounts of this situation, many suggest that Billington drew first blood by bullying Rougeau (among many others including The Honky Tonk Man , whom Dynamite brought to tears) in Miami . No disciplinary action
6012-511: A positive activity. He started competing on ITV 's World of Sport in 1978 when he was only 15, wrestling under the name Young David against 18 year old "Wonderboy" Bernie Wright, uncle of future WCW wrestler Alex Wright . Smith filled a spot in the promotion left by his slightly older cousin the Dynamite Kid, who had recently departed to wrestle in Calgary . Mentored by the Dynamite Kid's friend Alan Dennison, in 1979, Smith appeared to have won
6179-829: A registrar for the General Register Office , not the child's parents. Smith married his wife Diana at the Hart house in October 1984. They had two children, Harry (born 2 August 1985 in Calgary ) and Georgia (born 26 September 1987, also in Calgary). In early January 2000, Smith and Diana divorced, with Diana ultimately gaining custody of their son. Shortly after his release from the WWF in 2000, Smith entered an Atlanta drug rehabilitation clinic to treat his addiction to prescription opiate painkillers , including morphine , upon which he had become dependent following
6346-504: A rematch on the 29 October episode of Thunder . Finlay would then team with WCW colleague Jerry Flynn to participate in New Japan Pro-Wrestling 's Super Grade Tag League , with their team losing all of their matches in the tournament and coming in last place. He returned from the tour of NJPW in December and then teamed with Flynn against Brian Adams and Scott Norton in a losing effort at Starrcade . After defeating Van Hammer at
6513-723: A series of jobbers . In late March, Smith returned to All Japan Pro Wrestling for its Champion Carnival tournament. He scored a total of six points, defeating Danny Kroffat , Doug Furnas , and Johnny Ace but losing to Akira Taue , Kenta Kobashi , Mitsuharu Misawa , The Patriot , Stan Hansen , Steve Williams , Terry Gordy , and Toshiaki Kawada . Upon returning from Japan, Smith formed an alliance with top protagonist Sting , and engaged in feuds with top antagonists Sid Vicious and Big Van Vader . At Slamboree on 23 May, Smith wrestled World Heavyweight Champion Vader, winning their title match via disqualification, but since titles do not change hands by disqualification, Vader retained
6680-427: A series of tag team matches, most notably in a victory on Monday Night Raw. On November 23, Smith appeared at Survivor Series in a 10-man elimination match; his partners were Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon , 1-2-3 Kid , and The Headshrinkers . They faced WWF Tag Team Champions Shawn Michaels and Diesel , Owen Hart , Jeff Jarrett , and Jim Neidhart, but Smith was eventually counted out. Smith again played
6847-496: A steel cage match, JBL revealed that Finlay, and not McMahon, was Hornswoggle's father. A week after, on 3 March, Finlay admitted to this fact. At WrestleMania XXIV he was defeated by JBL in a Belfast Brawl, where Hornswoggle also reappeared. As part of the 2008 WWE supplemental draft , Finlay was drafted to the ECW brand . He and Hornswoggle challenged John Morrison and the Miz for
Davey Boy Smith - Misplaced Pages Continue
7014-442: A stint on the independent circuit and a year after the house show incident, Finlay returned to WWE on 11 July 2012 as a backstage producer. The two sides had been negotiating since WrestleMania XXVIII , but there were situations that delayed the deal being finalised. During the following years, Finlay made some cameo appearances, usually separating brawling wrestlers. He was also one of four wrestlers who presented Tyler Bate with
7181-482: A stretcher, Finlay suddenly rose and attacked Mysterio, forcing Rey to be carried out on the stretcher. The feud continued at Cyber Sunday , where fans voted for the two to face-off in a Stretcher match . Mysterio came out on top, but Finlay retaliated with a victory on the edition of 9 November of SmackDown! . The feud ended when the two faced on opposite teams at Survivor Series , which Finlay's team lost. Finlay reunited with Hornswoggle by coming to rescue him in
7348-525: A stroke. During his time in RWS, Smith wrestled the likes of Jimmy Ocean, Ricky Knight , Drew McDonald , Karl Krammer, Kamikazi, Black Bart, Johnny Angel, Dale Preston, and Iron Duke Lynch, while primarily teaming with Tony Stewart. Smith returned to the WWF at SummerSlam on August 29, 1994, where he immediately became involved in an ongoing family feud between Bret Hart and his brother, Owen Hart . Smith then teamed up with Bret against Owen and Jim Neidhart in
7515-505: A struggling promotion, but they were unsuccessful. Eventually in May 1989, the decision was made to split up the Bulldogs, which caused some problems with All Japan owner Shohei Baba , who was still promoting the Bulldogs as a tag team. On 4 July 1989, Smith, along with fellow wrestlers Chris Benoit , Ross Hart, and Jason the Terrible , was involved in a serious automobile accident. Smith, who
7682-465: A tournament which culminated in him defeating his own tag team partner, Owen Hart, in the finals on 26 February. Hart and Smith later joined forces with Bret Hart , Jim Neidhart , and Brian Pillman to form a new form of the Hart Foundation, a heel faction which feuded with Stone Cold Steve Austin and other American wrestlers. This created an interesting rift between American fans, where
7849-503: A typical American household only received four national channels by antenna, and ten to twelve local channels via UHF broadcasting . But cable television could carry a much larger selection of channels and therefore had room for niche interests. The WWF started with a show called All-American Wrestling airing on the USA Network in September 1983. McMahon's TV shows made his wrestlers national celebrities, so when he held matches in
8016-586: A victory for all the pain to which they subjected themselves. In the 1910s, promotional cartels for professional wrestling emerged in the East Coast (outside its traditional heartland in the Midwest ). These promoters sought to make long-term plans with their wrestlers, and to ensure their more charismatic and crowd-pleasing wrestlers received championships, further entrenching the desire for worked matches. The primary rationale for shoot matches at this point
8183-660: A visit to France in August 1980 Finlay made his television debut, teaming with Ian Gilmour as " Scotsmen " to lose to Guy Mercier (father of Marc Mercier ) and Alan Mitchells. Around this time, he began working 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 . He also formed
8350-543: Is a Northern Irish retired professional wrestler . He is signed to WWE as a trainer and assistant coach at the Performance Center , as well as a producer . He is best known for his tenures with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1996 to 2000 under the ring name Fit Finlay , and in WWE from 2005 to 2010 under the mononymous name Finlay . Finlay debuted in 1974, and has held over 20 championships around
8517-436: Is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama , with the premise that the performers are competitive wrestlers. Professional wrestling is distinguished by its scripted outcomes and emphasis on entertainment and showmanship . The staged nature of matches is an open secret , with both wrestlers and spectators nonetheless maintaining the pretense that performances are bona fide competitions, which
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#17327932426438684-522: Is a former wrestler and wrestling coach and was appointed MBE in the 2024 New Year Honours "For Services to Olympic Wrestling in Northern Ireland". His grandfather was a professional wrestler, and his sister was a referee . His uncle, Albert, was a goalkeeper for Glentoran F.C. in the 1960s and 1970s. Finlay was previously married to his former manager, Princess Paula. He is currently married to Melanie "Mel" Duffin and has three children,
8851-410: Is a true sport. Wrestlers would at all times flatly deny allegations that they fixed their matches, and they often remained in-character in public even when not performing. When in public, wrestlers would sometimes say the word kayfabe to each other as a coded signal that there were fans present and they needed to be in character. Professional wrestlers in the past strongly believed that if they admitted
9018-427: Is generally practiced in an amateur context. No professional league for competitive wrestling exists due to a lack of popularity. For example, Real Pro Wrestling , an American professional freestyle wrestling league, dissolved in 2007 after just two seasons. In other countries, such as Iran and India , wrestling enjoys widespread popularity as a genuine sport, and the phrase "professional wrestling" therefore has
9185-470: Is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction . Professional wrestlers perform as characters and usually maintain a " gimmick " consisting of a specific persona , stage name , entrance theme , and other distinguishing traits. Matches are the primary vehicle for advancing storylines, which typically center on interpersonal conflicts, or feuds , between heroic " faces " and villainous " heels ". A wrestling ring , akin to
9352-470: The 2011 Battle of Los Angeles tournament . He was eliminated from the tournament in the first round by PWG World Champion Kevin Steen . On 28 October 2011, Finlay's debut for Yoshihiro Tajiri 's Smash promotion was announced, when he was revealed as the mysterious "King of Terror", Michael Kovac had promised to bring to the promotion and named first ever Smash Champion StarBuck 's first challenger for
9519-596: The Allied Powers . On 2 April at WrestleMania XI , they defeated The Blu Brothers . At In Your House 2 on 23 July, they failed to win the Tag Team Championship from Owen Hart and Yokozuna . Afterwards, the team briefly began feuding with Men on a Mission . On an August episode of Monday Night Raw , the Allied Powers were supposed to face Men on a Mission but Luger (kayfabe) no-showed
9686-788: The British Heavy Middleweight Championship , but later lost it to Danny Collins. In 1990 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 Dave "Fit" Finlay on which he had many matches against Jones, Collins, Big Daddy (whom he fought on TV during coverage of the 1984 and 1986 FA Cup Final matches) and "The American Dream" Steve Adonis, as well as on Williams' Welsh language wrestling show, Reslo , for S4C . During this time, Finlay also began to wrestle in Japan, then in Germany and Austria for
9853-654: The British Welterweight championship from Jim Breaks (as the Dynamite Kid had done two years prior) only for the win to be disallowed due to Dennison distracting Breaks. Smith then held Breaks to a 1–1 draw, as a result of which Dennison himself challenged and defeated Breaks for the belt. Smith was then spotted by Bruce Hart , who was scouting talent in the UK, and like the Dynamite Kid before him, he travelled to Canada to wrestle for Stu Hart. Hart and Roy Wood trained Smith further in Hart's " Dungeon " and Smith became
10020-502: The Brooklyn Brawler . Over the next two years, Smith was a mid-carder and engaged in a long-running feud with The Warlord , in which he was victorious. He was a fairly popular performer in the United States, but was a huge attraction to fans in the United Kingdom, due in part to the WWF becoming a ratings hit on Sky Sports , as well as the promotion touring the country holding supercards such as UK Rampage. Smith competed in
10187-624: The ECW World Heavyweight Championship in a losing effort. On the 13 March episode of SmackDown , Finlay defeated The Brian Kendrick to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 25 . At the event, Finlay failed to win the match as it was won by CM Punk . In the 2009 Supplemental Draft , Finlay and Hornswoggle were separated when Hornswoggle was drafted to Raw. In late May 2009, Finlay suffered
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#173279324264310354-624: The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board that professional wrestling is not a real sport because its matches have predetermined outcomes. Shortly thereafter, New Jersey deregulated professional wrestling. The WWF then rebranded itself as a " sports entertainment " company. In the early years of the 20th century, the style of wrestling used in professional wrestling matches was catch wrestling . Promoters wanted their matches to look realistic and so preferred to recruit wrestlers with real grappling skills. In
10521-561: The Raw and SmackDown! brands in a Money in the Bank ladder match , which also included Lashley, who won a last chance battle royal. This match was eventually won by Rob Van Dam . Finlay next entered the King of the Ring tournament on SmackDown! , defeating his first round opponent Chris Benoit , before being beaten by his rival Lashley, who advanced to the finals at Judgment Day . Finlay helped
10688-539: The Rougeau Brothers . At Survivor Series on 26 November, The British Bulldogs and other face teams won a 10-on-10 Survivor Series tag team match . The following Survivor Series on 24 November 1988 produced the same result. Later in 1988, The Bulldogs left the WWF, in part due to backstage problems, specifically between the Dynamite Kid and the Rougeau Brothers. The Bulldogs had allegedly pulled
10855-417: The Royal Rumble as the second entrant on January 22, 1995, Smith and Shawn Michaels (who was the first entrant) were the final two remaining participants at the end. Smith tossed Michaels over the ropes and celebrated on the second turnbuckle. However, only one of Michaels feet hit the floor and he was able to re-enter the ring and eliminate Smith from behind. Soon after, Smith began teaming with Lex Luger as
11022-536: The Souled Out pay-per-view on 17 January 1999, Finlay was randomly paired with Dave Taylor to participate in a tournament for the vacant World Tag Team Championship , where they lost to The Faces of Fear in a lumberjack match in the opening round, thus moving to the Losers' Bracket, where they defeated Billy Kidman and Chavo Guerrero Jr. in the opening round but lost to Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko in
11189-552: The WWE Tag Team Championship at Night of Champions , but lost. Throughout the rest of 2008, Finlay challenged for the ECW Championship . He, along with Matt Hardy , Chavo Guerrero , The Miz and ECW Champion Mark Henry participated in the first ever Championship Scramble match at Unforgiven , which was won by Hardy won. He defeated Mark Henry on an episode of ECW to earn an opportunity for
11356-589: The WWE UK Championship after Bate won the related tournament in January 2017. After Lana was unable to compete in the 2019 women's Royal Rumble match following an attack by Nia Jax during her entrance, Finlay gave fellow Irish wrestler Becky Lynch permission to replace Lana; Lynch would go on to win the match and subsequently headline WrestleMania 35 , where she would win both the Raw Women's Championship and SmackDown Women's Championship in
11523-590: The World Wrestling Federation (WWF) after Vince McMahon bought out Stampede Wrestling. At first, the Bulldogs were able to tour both WWF and All Japan, but eventually McMahon gained exclusive rights to the Bulldogs. Managed by Lou Albano , the Bulldogs began a long running feud with Hart and Neidhart, who were now known as The Hart Foundation . The Bulldogs also feuded with the Dream Team ( Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake ), and on 7 April 1986 at WrestleMania 2 , with Albano and Ozzy Osbourne in their corner,
11690-557: The independent circuit , to internationally broadcast events at major arenas. The largest and most influential promotions are in the United States , Mexico , Japan , and northwest Europe (the United Kingdom , Germany/Austria and France ), which have each developed distinct styles, traditions, and subgenres within professional wrestling. Professional wrestling has developed its own culture and community , including
11857-431: The spectacle . By at least the early 20th century, professional wrestling had diverged from the competitive sport to become an artform and genre of sports entertainment . Professional wrestling is performed around the world through various " promotions ", which are roughly analogous to production companies or sports leagues . Promotions vary considerably in size, scope, and creative approach, ranging from local shows on
12024-584: The 1920s, a group of wrestlers and promoters known as the Gold Dust Trio introduced moves which have since become staples of the mock combat of professional wrestling, such as body slams, suplexes , punches, finishing moves, and out-of-ring count-outs. By the early 1930s, most wrestlers had adopted personas to generate public interest. These personas could broadly be characterized as either faces (likeable) or heels (villainous). Native Americans, cowboys, and English aristocrats were staple characters in
12191-400: The 1930s and 1940s. Before the age of television, some wrestlers played different personas depending on the region they were performing in. This eventually came to an end in the age of national television wrestling shows, which forced wrestlers to stick to one persona. Wrestlers also often used some sort of gimmick, such as a finishing move, eccentric mannerisms, or out-of-control behavior (in
12358-460: The 1990s, WCW became a credible rival to the WWF, but by end it suffered from a series of creative missteps that led to its failure and purchase by the WWF. One of its mistakes was that it diminished the glamor of its World Heavyweight Championship . Between January 2000 and March 2001, the title changed hands eighteen times, which sapped fan enthusiasm, particularly for the climactic pay-per-view matches. In professional wrestling, two factors decide
12525-653: The Atlantic Athletic Corporation (AAC). The AAC shut down in 1960. In 1958, Omaha promoter and NWA member Joe Dusek recognized Verne Gagne as the world champion without the approval of the NWA. Gagne asked for a match against the recognized NWA champion Pat O'Connor. The NWA refused to honor the request, so Gagne and Minneapolis promoter Wally Karbo established the American Wrestling Association in 1960. This AWA should not be confused with Paul Bowser's AWA, which ceased operations just two months prior. Gagne's AWA operated out of Minnesota . Unlike
12692-770: The Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 23 ; however, Mr. Kennedy won the match . Following this loss, he would feud with Kennedy, after an attack on Little Bastard (now renamed " Hornswoggle ") during the Money in the Bank match, and Jamie Noble for assaulting Hornswoggle after he won the Cruiserweight Championship . Finlay's feud, however, would quickly redirect to Kane after Finlay accidentally spilled coffee on him. The two also became involved with Batista and The Great Khali . At Saturday Night's Main Event XXXV , he and Khali lost to Batista and Kane. Kane beat him at SummerSlam . Finlay defeated Kane in
12859-571: The Bruiser and Regal's stablemates The Blue Bloods ( Squire David Taylor and Earl Robert Eaton ) interfered in each other's matches. The Bruiser won a stiff encounter with Regal by disqualification at Uncensored when the Blue Bloods again rushed the ring and assaulted him after Regal suffered a broken nose during the match. The following night on Nitro , Bruiser suffered his first loss in WCW against Randy Savage . After Regal pinned
13026-609: The Bruiser in a parking lot brawl on 29 April episode of Nitro , the feud died down thereafter. The injuries sustained from the match would lead to Bruiser being removed from his scheduled tag team match with Regal at Slamboree . Finlay would then take a hiatus off WCW television for a stint in Catch Wrestling Association, while abandoning the Belfast Bruiser persona in the process. Finlay returned to WCW on 1 October 1997 by defeating Dave Taylor at
13193-614: The Bulldogs defeated the Dream Team for the Tag Team Championship . The Bulldogs held the titles for nearly nine months, feuding with the Dream Team and Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik , but the Hart Foundation bested the Bulldogs to win the titles on 26 January 1987. After losing the titles, the Bulldogs gained a mascot, an actual bulldog who went by the name Matilda, and feuded with the likes of The Islanders (who in kayfabe dog-napped Matilda), Demolition , and
13360-423: The ECW World Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated by Hardy. Then he started a feud with Henry, and the feud ended when Finlay defeated Henry in a Belfast Brawl match at Armageddon . Finlay entered his third Royal Rumble match at the eponymous pay-per-view on 25 January 2009, where he entered at number 14 and lasted 30 minutes before being eliminated by Kane. At No Way Out , Finlay faced Jack Swagger for
13527-721: The European promotion Catch Wrestling Association . While holding the British Heavyweight championship, he teamed with former rival Marty Jones to win the CWA tag title from Tony St. Clair and Mile Zrno . After losing the British championship to Dave Taylor , Finlay began to focus more on the CWA, winning many of their championships. Finlay teamed with Mark Rocco and Murphy in a 1989 WWF dark match in London, defeating
13694-518: The Hardcore Championship on the 23 December episode of Thunder . In his continued pursuit of the Hardcore Championship, Finlay began regularly teaming with Knobbs as well. At the 2000 Souled Out event, Finlay unsuccessfully challenged Knobbs for the Hardcore Championship in a four-way match, also involving Smiley and Meng. Shortly after, Finlay formed a trio of the "Hardcore Army" with Knobbs and The Dog as they defeated 3 Count in
13861-565: The Hart Foundation were vilified, and Canadian fans, who revered the Hart Foundation. Smith and Owen dropped the WWF Tag Team Championship to Austin and Michaels, and lost the final match in a tournament for the vacant WWF Tag Team Championship to Austin and Dude Love . Smith lost the European Championship to Shawn Michaels on 20 September at One Night Only . Smith was booked in the main event to defend
14028-534: The King, and Finlay briefly used the name Sir Finlay . During his time as part of the court, Finlay picked up a win against World Heavyweight Champion Rey Mysterio in a non-title match before defeating the court's main foe Bobby Lashley to take Lashley's United States Championship . Finlay defended the championship on several occasions, often with help from Little Bastard, and even defended it against Regal, his fellow court member, at The Great American Bash . He lost
14195-545: The NWA Junior Heavyweight title. On 7 February 1984, a three-way, one-night tournament was held, and Smith lost to the Dynamite Kid via count-out. After the tournament, Smith and Dynamite Kid formed a tag team in both New Japan and in Stampede Wrestling known as The British Bulldogs . In 1984, the Bulldogs made a shocking move by jumping to New Japan's rival, All Japan Pro Wrestling just before
14362-408: The NWA, at which point his territory became fair game for everyone. The NWA would blacklist wrestlers who worked for independent promoters or who publicly criticized an NWA promoter or who did not throw a match on command. If an independent promoter tried to establish himself in a certain area, the NWA would send their star performers to perform for the local NWA promoter to draw the customers away from
14529-408: The NWA, which only allowed faces to be champions, Gagne occasionally allowed heels to win the AWA championship so that they could serve as foils for him. In August 1983, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), a promotion in the north-east , withdrew from the NWA. Vince K. McMahon then took over as its boss. No longer bound by the territorial pact of the NWA, McMahon began expanding his promotion into
14696-474: The Riot Squad tag team with Skull Murphy (Peter Northey), together winning the 1982 World of Sport Top Tag Team Tournament. At this time, Finlay's then-wife, "Princess" Paula Valdez, became his manager . Dressed in a Native American headdress , she would frequently admonish her husband for mistakes in the ring. He then won a tournament to crown a new British Light Heavyweight champion and fill
14863-631: The WWF European Championship on SmackDown! on 26 October. He lost the title to Val Venis in a triple threat match on 12 December at Armageddon . On 6 May 2000 in London , Smith defeated Crash Holly for the Hardcore Championship. Holly regained the title from Smith in New Haven, Connecticut on 11 May episode of SmackDown! . Smith's last televised match with the WWF was on Sunday Night Heat , when he burst into Eddie Guerrero and Chyna 's locker room, accusing Guerrero (who
15030-505: The WWF and WCW, in which he challenged for the WWF and WCW World Heavyweight championships. He defeated Bret Hart for the WWF Intercontinental Championship in the main event of SummerSlam 1992 at London 's original Wembley Stadium ; he also has the distinction of being the inaugural and longest reigning WWF European Champion in a total of 206 days, and to have held the title on the sole occasion where
15197-484: The WWF for WCW, along with Bret Hart and Neidhart, soon afterward. Smith rejoined WCW in late 1997, and began a feud with Steve McMichael , who was complaining about all the wrestlers coming from "Up North" . Smith and Neidhart later formed a tag team, but were only featured sparingly on WCW Thunder . They challenged for the World Tag Team Championship on several occasions, but failed to win
15364-597: The WWF. Smith returned to the WWF in 1990, where he was pushed as the same character from the British Bulldogs ' original WWF run, but this time as a singles star under the name "The British Bulldog", which he had trademarked during his earlier tag team run in the WWF, thus preventing his former partner Dynamite Kid from using the name. Smith returned to the WWF at a live event on 6 October, where he defeated Haku . Smith made his televised in-ring return on 27 October episode of Superstars , where he defeated
15531-538: The World Wrestling Federation, Smith debuted in Eastern Championship Wrestling in December 1992, defeating Jimmy Snuka . In January 1993, Smith signed with World Championship Wrestling , debuting at SuperBrawl III on 21 February, defeating "Wild" Bill Irwin . Over the following weeks, he scored a series of wins on WCW WorldWide , WCW Main Event , and WCW Saturday Night , defeating
15698-401: The arena's loudspeakers, his being Pomp and Circumstance . He also wore a costume: a robe and hairnet, which he removed after getting in the ring. He also had a pre-match ritual where his "butler" would spray the ring with perfume. In the 1980s, Vince McMahon made entrance songs, costumes, and rituals standard for his star wrestlers. For instance, McMahon's top star Hulk Hogan would delight
15865-418: The art of staging rigged matches and fostered a mentality that spectators were marks to be duped. The term kayfabe comes from carny slang. By the turn of the 20th century, most professional wrestling matches were "worked" and some journalists exposed the practice: American wrestlers are notorious for the amount of faking they do. It is because of this fact that suspicion attaches to so many bouts that
16032-561: The audience by tearing his shirt off before each match. The first major promoter cartel emerged on the East Coast, although up to that point, wrestling's heartland had been in the Midwest. Notable members of this cartel included Jack Curley , Lou Daro, Paul Bowser and Tom and Tony Packs. The promoters colluded to solve a number of problems that hurt their profits. Firstly, they could force their wrestlers to perform for less money. As
16199-520: The belt against Michaels. However, Michaels convinced Vince McMahon that he should win, as it would create build-up not only for his impending rematch with Bret Hart , but also for a rematch against Smith at the next British pay-per-view. Smith reluctantly agreed, and fans at the event, who gave Smith an ovation, voiced their displeasure by viciously booing Michaels and littering the ring with garbage. On 9 November at Survivor Series in Montreal , Smith
16366-490: The best in them". WWE Wrestler Batista has credited Finlay as "the unsung hero who changed the direction of his career" and personally requested Finlay to induct him in the Hall of Fame ceremony. Former WWE wrestler and trainer Lance Storm and former AEW wrestler/executive and current WWE wrestler Cody Rhodes have also praised Finlay's mentoring skills and for putting new talents over. Finlay's father, Dave Finlay Sr. ,
16533-424: The cartel grew, there were fewer independent promoters where independent wrestlers could find work, and many were forced to sign a contract with the cartel to receive steady work. The contracts forbade them from performing at independent venues. A wrestler who refused to play by the cartel's rules was barred from performing at its venues. A second goal of the wrestling cartels was to establish an authority to decide who
16700-418: The case of heels). The matches could also be gimmicky sometimes, with wrestlers fighting in mud and piles of tomatoes and so forth. The most successful and enduring gimmick to emerge from the 1930s were tag-team matches. Promoters noticed that matches slowed down as the wrestlers in the ring tired, so they gave them partners to relieve them. It also gave heels another way to misbehave by double-teaming. Towards
16867-423: The character in shows must be considered fictional, wholly separate from the life of the performer. This is similar to other entertainers who perform with a persona that shares their own name. Some wrestlers also incorporate elements of their real-life personalities into their characters, even if they and their in-ring persona have different names. Kayfabe is the practice of pretending that professional wrestling
17034-512: The commission. The Commission did on very rare occasions hand out such authorizations, such as for a championship match between Jim Londos and Jim Browning in June 1934. This decree did not apply to amateur wrestling, which the commission had no authority over. Wrestling fans widely suspected that professional wrestling was fake, but they did not care as long as it entertained. In 1933, a wrestling promoter named Jack Pfefer started talking about
17201-540: The current fashion of wrestling is the universal discussion as to the honesty of the matches. And certainly the most interesting phrase of this discussion is the unanimous agreement: "Who cares if they're fixed or not—the show is good." Newspapers tended to shun professional wrestling, as journalists saw its theatrical pretense to being a legitimate sport as untruthful. Eventually promoters resorted to publishing their own magazines in order to get press coverage and communicate with fans. The first professional wrestling magazine
17368-530: The eldest of whom, David , was born in Germany. His children have been involved in wrestling, either at the amateur or professional level. His eldest son. David, has wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling since 2015. His daughter, Alanna, won the Georgia state championship during her youth. His youngest son, Brogan , trained for a brief time at the New Japan Pro-Wrestling dojo before
17535-405: The end of the 1930s, faced with declining revenues, promoters chose to focus on grooming charismatic wrestlers with no regard for their skill because it was charisma that drew the crowds, and wrestlers who were both skilled at grappling and charismatic were hard to come by. Since most of the public by this time knew and accepted that professional wrestling was fake, realism was no longer paramount and
17702-603: The facade of kayfabe as best as they could. In 1989, Vince McMahon testified before the New Jersey government that professional wrestling was not a true sport and therefore should be exempted from sports-related taxes. Many wrestlers and fans resented McMahon for this, but Lou Thesz accepted it as the smart move as it gave the industry more freedom to do as it pleased, and because by that point professional wrestling no longer attempted to appear real. The demise of WCW in 2001 provided some evidence that kayfabe still mattered to
17869-470: The first place. "Double-crosses", where a wrestler agreed to lose a match but nevertheless fought to win, remained a problem in the early cartel days. At times a promoter would even award a victorious double-crosser the title of champion to preserve the facade of sport. But promoters punished such wrestlers by blacklisting them, making it quite challenging to find work. Double-crossers could also be sued for breach of contract, such as Dick Shikat in 1936. In
18036-539: The follow-up promotion to Smash, defeating Akira in the main event. Two days later, Finlay defeated Zeus in the main event of another WNC event. Finlay's first tour of WNC concluded on 27 May, when he, Akira and Syuri defeated Kana , Mikey Whipwreck and Tajiri in a six-person main event. On 24 June at ROH's Best in the World 2012: Hostage Crisis iPPV, Finlay was defeated by Michael Elgin . Finlay returned to WNC on 20 September, when he defeated Ray Mendoza Jr. in
18203-610: The game is not popular here. Nine out of ten bouts, it has been said, are pre-arranged affairs, and it would be no surprise if the ratio of fixed matches to honest ones was really so high. The wrestler Lou Thesz recalled that between 1915 and 1920, a series of exposés in the newspapers about the integrity of professional wrestling alienated a lot of fans, sending the industry "into a tailspin". But rather than perform more shoot matches, professional wrestlers instead committed themselves wholesale to fakery. Several reasons explain why professional wrestling became fake whereas boxing endured as
18370-460: The government. They pledged to stop allocating exclusive territories to its promoters, to stop blacklisting wrestlers who worked for outsider promoters, and to admit any promoter into the Alliance. The NWA would flout many of these promises, but its power was nonetheless weakened by the lawsuit. Paul Bowser's AWA joined the NWA in 1949. The AWA withdrew from the Alliance in 1957 and renamed itself
18537-526: The independent. By 1956, the NWA controlled 38 promotions within the United States, with more in Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. The NWA's monopolistic practices became so stifling that the independents appealed to the government for help. In October 1956 the US Attorney General's office filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NWA in an Iowa federal district court. The NWA settled with
18704-480: The industry was anything but a competitive sport. The first wrestling promoter to publicly admit to routinely fixing matches was Jack Pfefer . In 1933, he started talking about the industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , resulting in a huge exposé. The exposé neither surprised nor alienated most wrestling fans, although some promoters like Jack Curley were furious and tried to restore
18871-496: The industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , maintaining no pretense that wrestling was real and passing on planned results just before the matches took place. While fans were neither surprised nor alienated, traditionalists like Jack Curley were furious, and most promoters tried to maintain the facade of kayfabe as best they could. Not the least interesting of all the minor phenomena produced by
19038-633: The main event at Korakuen Hall . Following the match, Finlay announced that he was done with WNC for the time being due to re-signing with WWE. Despite no longer scheduled to make appearances for WNC, Finlay was named the head of the WNC Championship Committee. Finlay wrestled his retirement match on 22 December 2012 at Hangover No.5 in Hanover , Germany, teaming with his son David Finlay Jr. to defeat Robbie Brookside and "Dirty" Dan Collins in an Irish street fight. Following
19205-778: The main event of a Stampede Wrestling show in Barrie, Ontario in a losing effort against Harry Smith . On 21 January 2012, Fit Finlay returned to DOA Pro Wrestling in Portland, Oregon to face Ethan H. D. for the DOA Heavyweight Championship. On 12 May 2012, at Border Wars , Finlay made his debut for Ring of Honor (ROH), unsuccessfully challenging Roderick Strong for the ROH World Television Championship . On 24 May, Finlay made his debut for Wrestling New Classic (WNC),
19372-587: The match; Smith found a replacement in the WWF Champion Diesel. During the match, Smith unexpectedly attacked Diesel and turned heel for the first time in his WWF career, helping Men on a Mission beat up Diesel and aligning himself with Jim Cornette 's stable with Owen Hart and Yokozuna, who had been his adversaries just a month earlier, thus disbanding the Allied Powers. On 22 October at In Your House 4 in Winnipeg , Manitoba , Smith received
19539-498: The members of wrestling cartels as the champion drew big crowds wherever he performed, and this would occasionally lead to schisms. By 1925, this cartel had divided the country up into territories which were the exclusive domains of specific promoters. This system of territories endured until Vince McMahon drove the fragmented cartels out of the market in the 1980s. This cartel fractured in 1929 after one of its members, Paul Bowser , bribed Ed "Strangler" Lewis to lose his championship in
19706-466: The month prior, where he was teamed with Kole in the first round of the Lethal Lottery; they lost to Road Warrior Hawk and Rip Rogers . In January 1994, Smith returned home to the United Kingdom and wrestled for Ring Wrestling Stars (formerly Joint Promotions). He was brought into the company by Max Crabtree to be his next top star after Big Daddy retired in December 1993 after suffering
19873-490: The only means of identification at the time. He then cut a promo to the camera in which he introduced himself and declared that Regal was an "English pig" who was "paying for 400 years " of English-Irish conflict. This marked the beginning of a lengthy feud between the Bruiser and Regal. Bruiser won his first match in WCW on 10 February episode of Saturday Night by defeating enhancement talent Mike Marcello. The feud played out over subsequent Saturday Night episodes in which
20040-435: The other finalist, Booker T , defeat Lashley in the King of the Ring finals. At the same pay-per-view, Finlay lost to Benoit. Beginning on the 26 May episode of SmackDown! , Finlay was joined by Little Bastard , who came out from under the ring to attack Finlay's opponents. Finlay then joined forces with William Regal as loyal subjects of the newly renamed King Booker and his Court . Both men were later " knighted " by
20207-402: The pair brawl on many occasions, including a parking lot segment in which Lashley tried to overturn a car onto Finlay. Later, the pair competed in a Money in the Bank qualifier lumberjack match that Finlay won. During this time, Finlay began to wield a shillelagh as a weapon. On 2 April, Finlay competed at his first WrestleMania , WrestleMania 22 . He faced five other WWE superstars from both
20374-437: The platform used in boxing , serves as the main stage ; additional scenes may be recorded for television in backstage areas of the venue, in a format similar to reality television . Performers generally integrate authentic wrestling techniques and fighting styles with choreography , stunts , improvisation , and dramatic conventions designed to maximize entertainment value and audience engagement. Professional wrestling as
20541-553: The previous weekend in Manitoba, Canada. He had also considered another return to the WWF. Due to his training in Stu Hart's Dungeon , Smith was renowned for both his technical skill along with his power moves, frequently performing multiple gorilla press slam variations and a delayed vertical suplex , where he would often hold the opponent in the air for an extended length of time to emphasize his strength. His finishing manoeuvre
20708-585: The price with steroid cocktails and human-growth hormones". Two funeral services were held, one by Andrea and the other by the Hart family. Bret Hart attended both. On March 24, 2024, Smith was the subject of the Biography: WWE Legends . Citations Bibliography (WWF Champion (1 time,unrecognized) Professional wrestling 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling )
20875-717: The promotion's closing in 1991. In the spring of 1984, the WWF purchased Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW), which had been ailing for some time due to financial mismanagement and internal squabbles. In the deal, the WWF acquired the GCW's timeslot on TBS . McMahon agreed to keep showing Georgia wrestling matches in that timeslot, but he was unable to get his staff to Atlanta every Saturday to fulfill this obligation, so he sold GCW and its TBS timeslot to Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP). JCP started informally calling itself World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In 1988, Ted Turner bought JCP and formally renamed it World Championship Wrestling. During
21042-551: The second round. On the 10 June episode of Thunder , Finlay unsuccessfully challenged Rick Steiner for the World Television Championship. In the summer of 1999, Finlay resumed his alliance with Taylor, which also expanded to include former rival Steven Regal , but the trio did not achieve much success. During that time, Finlay began competing in the emerging hardcore division. At Bash at the Beach , he won
21209-440: The stamina for an hours-long fight. Audiences also preferred short matches. Worked matches also carried less risk of injury, which meant shorter recovery. Altogether, worked matches proved more profitable than shoots. By the end of the 19th century, nearly all professional wrestling matches were worked. A major influence on professional wrestling was carnival culture. Wrestlers in the late 19th century worked in carnival shows. For
21376-454: The start of All Japan's annual Tag Team tournament. Smith made occasional return visits to the UK, appearing on World Of Sport in 1982 where he lost to Dave Finlay in an eliminator match for a shot at the British Heavy Middleweight Championship and 1983 where, as a complaining heel he defeated Bernie Wright in a rematch from the 1978 match. The Bulldogs, along with Smith's brothers-in-law Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart were brought in to
21543-506: The team of Al Perez , Dusty Wolfe and Tim Horner . Finlay made his American wrestling debut in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1996, going by the ring name of The Belfast Bruiser . Finlay made his WCW debut on 27 January episode of Saturday Night by emerging from the stands to viciously attack Lord Steven Regal , with Tony Schiavone stating "It says Northern Ireland on the back of his jacket", as
21710-426: The territories of his former NWA peers, now his rivals. By the end of the 1980s, the WWF would become the sole national wrestling promotion in the U.S. This was in part made possible by the rapid spread of cable television in the 1980s. The national broadcast networks generally regarded professional wrestling as too niche an interest, and had not broadcast any national wrestling shows since the 1950s. Before cable TV,
21877-415: The title against Chris Jericho on the 17 October episode of Saturday Night but the match ended in a time limit draw. Shortly after his title loss, Finlay began feuding with Alex Wright , who was angry at Finlay for having ended the wrestling career of his father, Steve Wright, which led to a match between the two at Halloween Havoc , where Finlay was pinned by Wright. However, Finlay defeated Wright in
22044-410: The title from him, and driving him insane in the process. Smith then began pursuing the WWF Championship , eventually turning heel and beginning a feud with The Rock . Smith headlined Unforgiven on 26 September as part of a six-man WWF Championship match that was won by Triple H . On 2 October, Smith returned to England as a heel at Rebellion , defeating X-Pac . Smith defeated D'Lo Brown for
22211-403: The title on weekly WCW television against the likes of Chavo Guerrero Jr. , Kaos , The Renegade , Brad Armstrong , Jim Neidhart , Norman Smiley and Psychosis , before losing the World Television Championship back to Booker T at The Great American Bash . Finlay unsuccessfully challenged Booker for the title in a rematch on the 2 July episode of Thunder . He received another title shot for
22378-421: The title to Mr. Kennedy on the 1 September edition of SmackDown! in a Triple Threat match that also involved Bobby Lashley. After the title loss, Finlay continued to attack and wrestle threats to court leader King Booker and his newly won World Heavyweight Championship, including Lashley and Batista . Finlay defeated King Booker in a non-title singles match and lost in a fatal four-way match at No Mercy for
22545-457: The title. After leaving the court, Finlay continued to feud with Batista. At Armageddon , Finlay and King Booker faced Batista and his partner, WWE Champion John Cena from Raw but were defeated. Shortly after the Royal Rumble , Finlay began a feud with The Boogeyman . At No Way Out , he and Little Bastard defeated The Boogeyman and The Little Boogeyman. Finlay earned a place in the Money in
22712-479: The title. On 24 November at Smash.23 , Finlay defeated StarBuck to become the new Smash Champion. On 19 February, Finlay made his first successful defence of the Smash Championship, defeating Tajiri. Prior to the event, Smash had announced that it would cease its operations on 14 March, which led to Finlay vacating the Smash Championship after the title defence. On 6 November 2011, Finlay wrestled in
22879-490: The title. Afterwards, Smith formed a tag team with his brother-in-law, Owen Hart , and the two soon won the WWF Tag Team Championship from The Smokin' Gunns . The team defended their titles against teams such as Doug Furnas and Phil LaFon , Vader and Mankind , and The Legion of Doom . In 1997, the WWF created the WWF European Championship , and Smith became the first ever holder of the title, winning
23046-613: The title. The feud continued afterwards, and culminated when Smith seemingly won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship from Vader on a tour of England in October, though the decision was reversed. In July, Smith was reportedly involved in an altercation with a man at a bar who was making advances towards his wife. As a result of the ensuing legal issues that followed, WCW released Smith from his contract in December. His final pay-per-view appearance for WCW during this period came at Battlebowl on 20 November,
23213-478: The titles. He suffered a knee injury in April 1998 that sidelined him for a month. He suffered another, much more serious injury on 14 September 1998 at Fall Brawl during his match with Neidhart against The Dancing Fools , Disco Inferno and Alex Wright . During the match, while taking bumps , Smith twice landed awkwardly on a trapdoor that had been set up underneath the ring canvas to enable The Warrior to make
23380-922: The transition of WWE's presentation of the WWE Divas from bra and panties matches to more respectful traditional wrestling. Former WWE Diva Victoria attested: "He made us and molded us. He got to know what made us tick, exposed that, and there was nothing we couldn't do. Today, the girls pick and choose what moves they want to do. If Fit Finlay wasn't around, that wouldn't happen. We worked stiff. We made contact." Other women wrestlers such as Torrie Wilson , Lita , Jazz , Stacy Keibler , Molly Holly , The Bella Twins , Beth Phoenix , Natalya , Trish Stratus , Ruby Riott , Liv Morgan , Sarah Logan , Sasha Banks , Charlotte Flair , Becky Lynch , Lana , Bayley , and Ronda Rousey have credited Finlay for helping them hone their wrestling abilities and find their identities. They described Finlay as "an incredible wrestler and patient coach who treats everyone equally and brings out
23547-519: The trial, witnesses testified that most of the "big matches" and all of the championship bouts were fixed. By the 1930s, with the exception of the occasional double-cross or business dispute, shoot matches were essentially nonexistent. In April 1930, the New York State Athletic Commission decreed that all professional wrestling matches held in the state had to be advertised as exhibitions unless certified as contests by
23714-471: The truth, their audiences would desert them. Today's performers don't "protect" the industry like we did, but that's primarily because they've already exposed it by relying on silly or downright ludicrous characters and gimmicks to gain popularity with the fans. It was different in my day, when our product was presented as an authentic, competitive sport. We protected it because we believed it would collapse if we ever so much as implied publicly that it
23881-615: 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
24048-535: The way of proceedings: the "in-show" happenings, presented through the shows; and real-life happenings outside the work that have implications, such as performer contracts, legitimate injuries, etc. Because actual life events are often co-opted by writers for incorporation into storylines of performers, the lines between real life and fictional life are often blurred and become confused. Special discern must be taken with people who perform under their own name (such as Kurt Angle and his fictional persona ). The actions of
24215-883: 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 independent promoters such as Jackie Pallo , Orig Williams and Brian Dixon . On
24382-420: The wrestlers quietly began faking their matches so that they could give their audiences a satisfying spectacle. Fixing matches was also convenient for scheduling. A real ("shoot") match could sometimes last hours, whereas a fixed ("worked") match can be made short, which was convenient for wrestlers on tour who needed to keep appointments or share venues. It also suited wrestlers who were aging and therefore lacked
24549-425: Was Wrestling As You Like It , which printed its first issue in 1946. These magazines were faithful to kayfabe . Before the advent of television, professional wrestling's fanbase largely consisted of children, the elderly, blue-collar workers and minorities. When television arose in the 1940s, professional wrestling got national exposure on prime-time television and gained widespread popularity. Professional wrestling
24716-414: Was Tom Billington, also known as the Dynamite Kid , who was Smith's frequent tag-team partner. He was born with measles in his eyes, which led to him often being the subject of bullying at his school, but he got laser surgery in his 30s. Smith enjoyed cricket, football and diving as hobbies. Smith started his training with Ted Betley at 13 after his grandfather and father noticed he needed to be involved in
24883-468: Was a Running powerslam . Some writers have claimed that Smith's middle name was actually "Boy", supposedly as the result of one of his parents mistaking the middle name field on Smith's birth certificate for the gender field. This story is undoubtedly apocryphal - not only was "Davey Boy" a common nickname in England during Smith's youth for boys named David, but British birth certificates are completed by
25050-643: Was a supporter of Manchester United FC . Smith died on 18 May 2002 after suffering a heart attack while on holiday in Invermere, British Columbia , with his girlfriend Andrea Redding, who was Bruce Hart 's estranged wife. He was 39 years old. Forensic scientist Julie Evans stated that although she had found steroids and painkillers in Smith's system, they were not at a life-threatening level. She instead concluded that Smith had died from natural causes associated with an enlarged heart . Bruce Hart claimed "Davey paid
25217-544: Was also a competitor in the Rumble, was disqualified as well. Finlay fought in the SmackDown Elimination Chamber match at No Way Out , ultimately being pinned after a chokeslam on the steel floor by The Undertaker . Finlay then began making occasional appearances on Raw to protect Hornswoggle from Mr. McMahon, who had been showing him "tough love". After Hornswoggle was injured by JBL in
25384-488: Was challenges from independent wrestlers. But a cartelized wrestler, if challenged, could credibly use his contractual obligations to his promoter as an excuse to refuse the challenge. Promotions would sometimes respond to challenges with "policemen": powerful wrestlers who lacked the charisma to become stars, but could defeat and often seriously injure any challenger in a shoot match. As the industry trend continued, there were fewer independent wrestlers to make such challenges in
25551-483: Was given a push upon his return, winning the majority of his matches in the mid-card. This culminated in him pinning Booker T to win the World Television Championship on the 4 May 1998 episode of Nitro , thus setting off a three-way feud with Booker and Chris Benoit , who was also vying for the title. Finlay retained the title against Benoit at Slamboree . Finlay also regularly defended
25718-647: Was granted a title shot against new WWF Champion Bret Hart, but was unsuccessful in winning. A notable incident from this match was that Hart bled during the match, which was controversial because WWF outlawed bleeding at the time. Smith entered the Royal Rumble on January 21, 1996, where he made it to the final four before being eliminated by Michaels. On 18 February at In Your House 6 , he lost to Yokozuna by disqualification after Vader interfered. At WrestleMania XII on 31 March, he teamed with Vader and Owen Hart to defeat Yokozuna, Ahmed Johnson, and Jake Roberts . In 1996, after Shawn Michaels became WWF Champion, Smith
25885-430: Was later released by the WWF. According to Bret Hart's book, the reason for Smith's release was that WWF owner Vince McMahon was made aware that Smith and The Ultimate Warrior were receiving illegal shipments of human growth hormone (HGH) from a crooked pharmacist in England. Due to McMahon being investigated for illegally distributing steroids to WWF wrestlers , Smith and Warrior were released. Shortly after leaving
26052-541: Was main-evented by Smith (led to the ring by the then British, Commonwealth & European Heavyweight Boxing champion Lennox Lewis ) and Bret Hart in a match for Hart's Intercontinental Championship . On 29 August at SummerSlam, in front of 80,355 of his homeland fans, Smith won the title in a match which is regarded by many wrestling experts as the finest in his career. Smith lost the title to Shawn Michaels on 14 November at Saturday Night's Main Event XXXI , and
26219-492: Was not wearing a seatbelt at the time, needed 135 stitches after slamming his head through the windscreen and being thrown 25 feet onto the pavement. He recovered, and the Bulldogs continued teaming in All Japan against teams such as Joe and Dean Malenko , Kenta Kobashi and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi , and The Nasty Boys . Personal problems began to surface between Smith and Billington, and Smith later left All Japan to return to
26386-507: Was part of Team Canada (alongside Jim Neidhart, Doug Furnas and Philip Lafon ), defeating Team USA ( Vader , Goldust , Marc Mero and the debuting Steve Blackman ). The event became infamous for the " Montreal Screwjob ", in which Vince McMahon manipulated the finish of Bret Hart's match and had him lose the WWF Championship to Michaels, despite Hart not submitting when placed in a Sharpshooter . Smith then paid money to leave
26553-571: Was previously considered a niche interest, but the TV networks at the time were short on content and thus were willing to try some wrestling shows. In the 1960s, however, the networks moved on to more mainstream interests such as baseball, and professional wrestling was dropped. The core audience then shrunk back to a profile similar to that of the 1930s. In 1989, Vince McMahon was looking to exempt his promotion (the World Wrestling Federation ) from sports licensing fees. To achieve this, he testified before
26720-478: Was put in a feud with the new champion. The feud was supposedly based on Smith's wife, Diana, accusing Michaels of hitting on her , which angered Smith and made him determined to take the title from Michaels. The two were the main-event of the In Your House 8: Beware of Dog pay-per-view on 26 May, and their match ended in a draw, leading to a rematch on 23 June at King of the Ring , where Smith failed to win
26887-415: Was something other than what it appeared to be. I'm not sure now the fear was ever justified given the fact that the industry is still in existence today, but the point is no one questioned the need then. "Protecting the business" in the face of criticism and skepticism was the first and most important rule a pro wrestler learned. No matter how aggressive or informed the questioner, you never admitted
27054-406: Was taken against Jacques. Billington shortly afterwards quit the WWF over a dispute with WWF management over the issuance of complimentary plane tickets, over which he resigned from the company, and Smith followed suit. After leaving the WWF, the Bulldogs returned to Stampede Wrestling, and also to All Japan Pro Wrestling . Stampede officials were hopeful that the return of the Bulldogs would revive
27221-417: Was the "world champion". Before the cartels, there were multiple wrestlers in the U.S. simultaneously calling themselves the "world champion", and this sapped public enthusiasm for professional wrestling. Likewise, the cartel could agree on a common set of match rules that the fans could keep track of. The issue over who got to be the champion and who controlled said champion was a major point of contention among
27388-570: Was the European Champion at the time) of not treating the belt with the respect it deserved. This led to a European Championship title match on that Heat , in which both men were disqualified. After Heat , WWF announced that Smith had again left the WWF on 15 May 2000. Smith would take a hiatus from wrestling. Before his death on 18 May 2002, Smith had been training with the intent of resuming his career and came out of retirement wrestling in three tag-team matches with his son, Harry Smith
27555-623: Was to a remix of his previous theme " Rule, Britannia! " and later to rock music (with the sounds of a dog barking as the song began). On 9 September episode of SmackDown! in Albany, New York , Smith defeated the Big Boss Man for the WWF Hardcore Championship . Smith forfeited the title later that evening, giving the belt back to Al Snow , because Boss Man had previously ( kayfabe ) dog-napped Snow's dog Pepper to win
27722-577: Was to intensify the audience's dislike of the Miz in preparation for the latter's WrestleMania XXVII main event appearance, but accepted full responsibility for his dismissal. After being released from WWE, Finlay was contacted by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) several times, but was unable to agree upon contractual terms. He began to wrestle again on the independent circuit , making his first appearance on 26 July 2011, defeating Sami Callihan at Evolve 9 . On 20 August 2011, Finlay made his debut for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), taking part in
27889-552: Was traded to the SmackDown brand on 29 June 2009. He went on to form part of John Morrison 's team at Survivor Series , but was eliminated by Sheamus , and his team eventually lost. In late 2009, he began pursuing the Intercontinental Championship by feuding with Drew McIntyre , which he failed to win. His final televised match in WWE was on the 4 June 2010 episode of SmackDown , where he competed in
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