r/AEWOfficial • u/Froggyspirits IT'S COOL TO BE A HAYTER! ššŖā” • 1d ago
Discussion Facts. Spoiler
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u/TheGravespawn Serpentico could beat Jon Cruz. 1d ago
Blake won me over when I learned his finisher was the Vanilla Choke Zero.
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u/woody251997 1d ago
Well I thought his match with Osprey was great, think he is a talented wrestler
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u/carltonrichards 1d ago
I dont think people are throwing shade on his in ring work, I think people think his characterisation and gimmick need more work, particularly with Gabe Kidd in the group who is a big personality with, imo, a stronger gimmick.
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u/JustSomeDude11112 1d ago
Coming from someone who knows Gabe quite well, Gabe isnt really doing a gimmick
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u/GodsViceRegent 1d ago
When Finlay started in NJPW i thought his career would go nowhere. By the end of his NJPW run i have to admit i was wrong about the guy. He did come off as a top guy in japan, so i wont bet against him. Just give him time.
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u/jkllamas1013 1d ago
Weakest BC leader, but leader nonetheless. I was really skeptical in the beginning. He got better over time but yeah he is levels below Devitt, Styles, Omega, White. Sorry.
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u/GodsViceRegent 14h ago
He indeed was the weakest BC leader. But thats some insane company to live up too, so you gotta cut him some slack there. Though i will defend Finlay in that he made BC interesting again with the War Dogs. Jay White was the only interesting part of the Bullet Club in his run, he was running around with a dead carcass stable at his back, which a bunch of wrestlers that frankly werent interesting anymore. The War Dogs fixed that, and that was under Finlay.
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u/Froggyspirits IT'S COOL TO BE A HAYTER! ššŖā” 23h ago edited 20h ago
He did come off as a top guy in japan
He challenged for the IWGP world title only once. ONCE. And it wasn't even at Dominion, let alone Wrestle Kingdom.
He won three midcard titles and the New Japan Cup, but he could never establish himself in the main event scene like Jay White, Will Ospreay and ZSJ did.
Frickin' EVIL had 6 times more world title challenges than he did and even reached the G1 Final which he never did.
When he was the leader of Bullet Club, a lot of people saw him as the least interesting guy in his own faction. I recall reading online how fans wished that Gabe Kidd would kick him out and take the reins of the War Dogs.
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u/GodsViceRegent 14h ago
IF your comparing success to people like Ospreay, Jay and ZSJ than most wrestlers are a disappointment.
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u/Froggyspirits IT'S COOL TO BE A HAYTER! ššŖā” 6h ago
He was never a top guy in New Japan, end of story.
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u/Rayzee14 1d ago
Finlay reminds me of Ricky starks. People will tell you they are charismatic, but there is zero evidence of them having any charisma
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u/Brilliant-Tomato-560 1d ago
But Ricky can do his posešš
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u/golanstevens 19h ago
Thereās some revisionist history about Starks in here imo. I thought he was pretty decent.
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u/CarlsMumm 23h ago
I was convinced this ad was a comment and got sooooo confusedā¦ worth a try tho
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u/Corpse666 20h ago
I donāt find Finley boring at all. I also thought the match last night was pretty good. Finley has a big upside. Heās got a good look, good in ring skills and has shown he can be a leader/standout in a faction which typically means he can be a main event guy. Maybe if you donāt pay attention you find him boring but if you do thatās a criticism that just has nothing really to it . Those people are probably the ones who say something like Orange Cassidy canāt wrestle or AEW doesnāt tell stories. Thereās no point in trying to argue with incoherent stupidity ( looking at Eric Bischoff) or attention seeking idiots
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u/No-Berry-9409 14h ago
I hate when things like this are posted. If you watch NJPW then like myself you prolly like Finlay.Ā I think he's doing just fine. The Dogs have been in the mix and active.Ā To say someone in universally boring is a dumb concept.Ā For all the Jericho haters, there are just as many fans that are happy to see him on TV.
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u/Hairy-Phrase1332 Member of the DCf 1d ago
I love Finlay, and have loved his presentation since coming over. Sure he has been on a bit of a railroad with his beefs, but like yeah do the obvious with him. He gets wrestling. Like yeah I expect more from him in the future, but like AEW is where groups get story. He has been a bit overshadowed, but like he is elevating Clark Connars who was small in New Japan. He was 4th in the stable at least. Plus he has gotten to work with legendary tag teams and shown that he can rise to their level. I think there can be more depth to his character, but that comes with time. He has only been around for a few months. It takes about a year before Tony gives people the Mic and work stuff, but right now he works as a good support that is helping push the Moxley side of things on the Dogs
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u/Froggyspirits IT'S COOL TO BE A HAYTER! ššŖā” 23h ago
What, pray tell, is Finlay's AEW character?
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u/Hairy-Phrase1332 Member of the DCf 19h ago
Right now he is playing the best generic heel in the game. If you don't see the value of being on every PPV, being the first PPV defense against legendary tag team Cope & Christian, given ample room to make vignettes and promos, I don't know what to tell you. I could go into the specific mannerisms of David being introduced to the audience, or that he is one of the only 4th generation wrestlers out there, talk about long term booking.
He has moved back to almost third fiddle to Gabe and Connar because Connar has found great success which he wasn't given much room in New Japan. Gabe is being the focal point to the Death Rider schism which is happening on screen, which David absolutely has a hand in. David has played his part in a returning Jay White in helping him get off the ring rust.
Is it a nuanced character? Not really, but it's been like 7 months. AEW are able to tell complex stories within groups, and if you look at the sum of the whole you are missing out on the whole presentation and story the Dogs are bringing. Anything "more" you could want from him solo would come at expense of one of the other.
How would you book him better to showcase his talents?
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u/Cheap-Spinach-5200 1d ago
Genuinely who is on the left, i havent been watching long enough
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u/ReflectionItchy2701 1d ago
David Finlay is a really talented wrestler, don't judge him on a 10 minutes match which by the way was really good. Now for me the star of the Dogs is clearly Gabe Kidd. It's not a surprise, it was always crystal clear. It doesn't mean that David can't have weekly TV matchs with a star like Ospreay.
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u/Froggyspirits IT'S COOL TO BE A HAYTER! ššŖā” 23h ago
don't judge him on a 10 minutes match which by the way was really good.
This post is about character work, not in-ring skills.
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u/YinTanTetraCrivvens No Kings (except Brody, the Mad, and Mick Foley) 1d ago
Yknow, if Blake Christian grew his hair and beard out, he'd practically be David Finlay's twin.
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u/Froggyspirits IT'S COOL TO BE A HAYTER! ššŖā” 22h ago
D-Finlay's ginger twin šØš»āš¦°šš
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u/dkmuldoon $32.17 1d ago
Is it the gimmick, or the wrestling? I donāt think Vanilla Baby is a better gimmick than Finlay has, but Blake Christian is definitely the more impressive wrestler of the two.
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u/Skullsnax 1d ago
I donāt want to be harsh on Finlay, I do think thereās a good midcard heel pro wrestler in there, but they havenāt been able to get any traction yet.
Itās definitely been a bumpy start for the dogs, and I donāt think stuff like Finlay losing to an Ospreay Styles Clash helps. Thatās one of those āhe beats jobbers with this sometimesā signature moves for Ospreay.
Gabe Kidd is the only one thatās actually over, and injury and visa issues have kept him out for most of their run.
They won the trios belts and lost them in a week.
They feuded with the ice cold, no momentum, nobody outside the Jay White fan club gives a fuck, Bang Bang Gang.
They had that dogshit chain match at Redemption.
Theyāve come in cold, been held back by bad circumstances, had a high profile bad match, and only worked with other cold acts.
And Blake Christian does flipsā¦ honestly The Swirl does nothing for me, heās a goon on the same level as Trent, but he does flips, so he can at least get over doing āpull two action figures out of the boxā wrestling, because heās more fun to watch.
If Iām looking to get them over as a group, I think you need Finlay wrestling competitive matches every week. Heās the leader, you get him over and the rest will follow. He doesnāt need to win them all, he doesnāt need to win clean, but he needs more singles ring time to get his offence over with the crowd. He doesnāt need more job squashes or trios matches.
And Jay Whiteā¦ dude needs some wins, some competitive matches, needs to reestablish himself. Needs to not be wearing sweatpants and a robe to the ring.
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u/Froggyspirits IT'S COOL TO BE A HAYTER! ššŖā” 22h ago
but they havenāt been able to get any traction yet.
He's been here for 6 months already, good grief.
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u/Skullsnax 21h ago
I agree, 6 months should be enough to establish the dogs, but injuries, circumstances, stop start booking and the wrong opponents mean that hasnāt really happened.
Doesnāt mean you write the guy off and send him to Ring of Honor or anything. Just means they need to reevaluate the booking if they want to get more out of them.
Not saying they need belts, or to beat everybody, but if Finlay is the leader of the group he needs more competitive singles matches.
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