50 Fascinating Facts About WWE in The 1980s
36. Fit Finlay Was In WWE’s First Match On UK Soil
This is rather quirky.
The WWF’s first foray into the United Kingdom market happened on 10 October 1989. That night, they held a show taped for Sky TV, and the company came armed with some huge matches. 'First WWF UK Event' (catchy name) was headlined by Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage. Meanwhile, other bouts like Bret Hart vs. Dino Bravo and Jim Duggan vs. The Honky Tonk Man also littered the snazzy undercard.
TV favourites such as Duggan or Hart wouldn't be the first wrestlers fans there live in London saw come through the curtain though. The show opened with a dark match starring several stalwarts of the European scene. Fit Finlay was one of them. He teamed with Mark Rocco and Skull Murphy vs. Al Perez, Dale Wolfe and Tim Horner. Yes, Hornswoggle's da' was in the first ever WWF/WWE match on UK shores.
That sounds crazy, and like a complete clash of eras. Finlay wouldn't become a recognisable star on mainline wrestling telly until his WCW run in the mid-to-late-90s, and he didn't become a WWE star until well after that. The thought of him jogging down the aisle for a WWF match way back in 1989 is pretty out there.
It'd be like finding out Drew McIntyre was in a dark bout at Rebellion 2002. 'Yeah, remember that time big Drew beat Johnny Moss before the cameras started rolling on Booker T vs. Matt Hardy?'.
Finlay's team got the victory too, which also means he won WWE's first ever match on British shores. What a world.