Fit Finlay: An Unsung Hero of the Women's Evolution

David ‘Fit’ Finlay. For most wrestling fans of a certain age, the “Man Who Loves To Fight” holds a special place in their heart. Despite wrestling since the mid-70s, his first mainstream exposure came when he debuted as the Belfast Bruiser in WCW in the mid-90s, and he would go on to begin using his real name and engaging in a brutal feud with fellow European workhorse William Regal. Seriously, go watch the match between the two at WCW Uncensored 96 (the only thing worth watching on that godforsaken show) where Finlay cracked Regal in the face with a straight shot that broke his nose and cracked part of his orbital bone. People simply were not used to that level of brutality in their mainstream wrestling at that time. He would go on to have feuds with Chris Benoit and Booker T. over the Television Championship before moving into the Hardcore division towards the end of WCW’s lifetime. After winning the ill-fated WCW Hardcore Junkyard Invitational at 1999’s Bash At The Beach, he would continue to compete in hardcore matches that would eventually see him nearly lose his leg. Thankfully it would only result in a lacerated nerve which, as someone who has nerve damage in their leg I can attest to, likely results in daily pain.

Upon WWE’s purchase of WCW, Finlay would go onto become a trainer of future stars in the business including much of the star class of OVW talent such as John Cena, Batista, and Randy Orton. But then he was put in charge of a certain division that will most likely go down as his longest legacy in the wrestling business – the Divas division.

In the late ’90s and early 2000s, women’s wrestling had become a shell of what it once was, consisting of little more than eye candy and T&A. Bra and panties or mud wrestling matches was the name of the game, with talent that was hired, mostly by John Laurinaitis, out of modeling magazines and seen as nothing more than a nice diversion from all the beefy and muscley men that filled the rest of the show. 

In the early 2000s, the female roster of WWE was an interesting beast, with talents who had wrestling backgrounds, such as Ivory, Jacqueline, Victoria, and Molly Holly, meshed with talents like Christy Hemme, Torrie Wilson, Ashley Massaro, and Stacy Kiebler. But two talents would begin to change the perception of women’s wrestling with the guidance of Finlay behind the scenes: Trish Stratus and Lita. These were the first two women to really go out and show that while they could just as easily participate in a T&A style match, they were also more than capable of having a great wrestling match and telling a story in the ring.

Many of the women from this era credit Fit tremendously with helping them become their own in the ring and being able to show they were capable workers. In an interview with Chris Van Vliet, Lisa Marie Varon a.k.a. Victoria credited Finlay strongly while discussing the run of matches she had with Trish Stratus.

“All of us girls were going, ‘What can you do super dangerous, where people think you’re freaking knocked out or you knocked your head off?’ We push that envelope. Fit Finlay is the one that created my character and without him, I don’t think I would have been nothing. I wouldn’t have made it.”

Of course, this was not an overnight transition and along the way, Finlay was brought back onto the roster, helping solidify much of the mid-card roster with his bruising style. He would go on to have a run with the United States Championship and be a member of King Bookah’s Court before settling into what would likely become his calling card for many younger fans, as the ‘father’ of his little Leprechaun sidekick Little Bastard, soon to be rechristened as Hornswoggle. He would remain as a staple of the mid-card while still working backstage in an official capacity until 2011 when he orchestrated a stunt involving WWE Champion The Miz interrupting the National Anthem got him untold amounts of heat that resulted in his release.

Following some time on the independents, he would be brought back to WWE a year and change later back in his agent capacity. By this time, women’s wrestling was evolving but was not quite where it would be just a few short years later. The Women’s Championship had been replaced by the horrendous Divas Title. While some of the older style was en vogue with talents like Kelly Kelly, Michelle McCool, and Layla and The Bella Twins (although Nikki really came into her own a few short years later), the introduction of talents like AJ Lee, Natalya Neidhart and eventually Paige really began changing the shape of the division.

By the time the NXT Women’s Division took off thanks to the efforts of the aforementioned Paige, Emma, and the Four Horsewomen of NXT (Charlotte Flair, Bayley, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch) it was time for the Women’s Evolution to truly begin.

Finlay would continue to work backstage with the female talents in an effort to ensure that they were just as capable of putting on not only high-caliber matches, but the best match on the card (as would happen at WrestleMania 32.) Ahead of WWE’s only (at the time of this writing) all-female PPV, Evolution, Nattie Neidhart took to her Calgary Sun spotlight to sing Fit’s praises, including some notable quotes from talent at the time, including Sarah Logan stating emphatically that “When I want to be better in the ring, I watch tapes of Fit Finlay’s old matches.”

One quote from the article really stands out, however, that being from The Boss Sasha Banks.

“With his job to produce multiple women’s matches every single day, Fit is incredible. He knows how to challenge everyone based on their strengths and weaknesses. He always has new ideas to bring to the table and he’s one of the very best producers we’ve ever had. He’s one of the reasons our WWE women’s division is where it is.”

Currently, it is unsure how much impact Finlay is still having on the women’s division, as it appears that Neidhart’s husband TJ Wilson, the former Tyson Kidd, has taken a huge hand in producing the matches for female talent, including every match at the recent WrestleMania 37. If Fit has handed the reins over to Wilson or whether they will continue to work together remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure. The female talent is in a much better spot than they were a decade ago, let alone 20 years ago. And while we absolutely cannot dismiss the talents and drive of all the female talent that have come through the company over the years, it is certain that Fit Finlay may have been one of their biggest cheerleaders and absolutely helped drive the Women’s Evolution in the right direction.