10 Most Outstanding Career Revivals In WWE
6. Fit As A Fiddle
Debuting in 1974, Belfast-born wrestler Dave ‘Fit’ Finlay was a mainstay of the European and Japanese scene for two decades before he made the move to the US in 1995. He wrestled for WCW for five years, before suffering nasty lacerations in a hardcore match against one of the Nasty Boy and severing nerves in his leg. Unable to feel anything below the knee, Finlay retired in 2000.
Given the pattern so far, you’ll have guessed where this goes next. After a punishing year of rehab, Finlay made his return to the ring in January 2006, this time for WWE as an Irish street fighter. Wearing green tights emblazoned with a giant shamrock, carrying a shillelagh and accompanied to the ring by a 'leprechaun', the company had the veteran living the cliché.
The gimmick was cringeworthy, but the comeback was anything but. The man had revolutionised wrestling in the UK with super-workers like Marty Jones, ‘Rollerball’ Rocco and the Dynamite Kid. Their stiff, fast and technical style was a game changer in the eighties, and its influence still is felt today. Back in the moribund WWE of 2006, Finlay wasn’t just a breath of fresh air: he was a tornado.
Finlay worked a full time schedule for the company for another four years before finally returning to a backstage role again. During that time, the no-nonsense forty-eight year old was exciting, innovative and dynamic, wrestling like a man half his age looking to make a statement, and seemed incapable of having a bad match with anyone.