[7.0] "A guy that bring mixtured feelings. Always the ugly duckling on Hontai, David was only able to lean on his father's name until he fully developed some personality by teaming with Juice Robinson in 2018. The party loving, good vibing and rocking dude he was back then was fun, but made him get overshadowed by Juice's flamboyant gimmick. Fast forward to 2022, Juice joins Bullet Club, effectively ending FinJuice, and many wondered what would be Finlay's next step, and the answer came in the form of the G1, where Finlay, with a new and awesome theme song and arsenal of moves shined with his new Rebel gimmick, pinning the biggest bets for the tournament, including Juice. After that, a stellar match with Ospreay sealed Finlay as a great singles wrestler and again, many wondered his next step. Then in 2023, Jay White loses a loser leaves NJPW match, and as he was about to say goodbye, Finlay assaulted him from behind and claimed his jealousy of him and his accomplishments. Suddenly, the next month, here is Finlay as the new leader of Bullet Club, something that I cringed hard and I still do to this day, because he tries so hard to sound angry and menacing, but it comes out as if he was crying that someone hurt his feelings. The other members outshine him and that makes me sad, because I like Finlay, and I blame Gedo for this."
[7.0] "gotta give credit where credit is due. He is not competent, at least now, to hold the BC leader banner, but few can say they are capable of. He is not fit of the tremendous amount of spotlight put upon him and he has delivered okay if not satisfactory. He has always been serviceable if not out shadowed by Juice, and all this push has helped him to improve. He will unfortunately be known as the less capable Jay White for at least a few years."
[9.0] "What an amazing heel he became! His ring work is not bad, he can put a heel performance, get booed by the crowd and put the face over. It's his charisma that amazes me, he can cut good promos, he has very heelish facial expressions and he simply has the IT Factor. I always thought he was better than Juice, but i could never imagine he would become this good. To understand his heel work, watch his match against Tama Tonga from Wrestling Dontaku, or his post match attack on Will Ospreay and Jon Moxley from Power Struggle"
[5.0] "The nicest thing I can say about David Finley is that he has considerably better matches than his dad. For most of the time I have known him, he has been a lower card guy. His push to the top of bullet club mainly appears to be a huge busted flush at least with western audiences."
[1.0] "YeahNo. this isnt bullet club material. David Finlay isnt a convincing leader and could easily be replaced by Coughlin, Kidd or Moloney. Saddling him with Gedo has only exacerbated his shortcomings as a talker, only having one line thats really good. You can see why NJPW didnt trust him truly until the pandemic."
[3.0] "I don't like david Finlay at all, he is in my opinion an uncharismatic heel and still far from that a good leader of the great Bullet Club clan. Even in the ring he is average and does not make me want to see his matches. In my opinion, it would take a complete change of character because that does not work!"
[7.0] "He's getting a lot better. It's become a trend to hate him and bullet club now, but he's brought this aggression to bullet club with the war dogs that hasn't been seen since the beginning. He has a way to go to get to the world title, but he's definitely getting a lot better"
[5.0] "His new look is a huge improvement, but once the bell rings the charisma just doesn't translate. I can't see him ever reaching the heights of IWGP World Champion or even close. Not sure what the end game is."
[6.0] "Perfectly serviceable but I've always found him pretty bland and forgettable, particularly in his babyface days with Juice. I like his new found attitude as BC leader, though I don't imagine he has the capability to be as successful as prior leaders."
[4.0] "I just don't get it. David Finlay to me doesn't seem like Bullet Club material, and yet New Japan decided to make him the new leader after Jay left Japan. He may have great matches on his record like his matches against Ospreay, but he doesn't really sell me as the man to restore Bullet Club. If his face run was going stale, maybe they could've done something different, but nope! Maybe Finlay can bounce back from this slope, but I'm not feeling it with him right now."
[9.0] "It took a little bit, but I am sold on heel David Finlay. His more aggressive persona and in ring style have made him a much more compelling wrestler. I don't think he needs to be competing for the World title but should definitely use his current NEVER run to establish himself further."
[9.0] "There are a lot of negative opinions about Finlay, but he seems to have created this situation on purpose.As a heel, I think his method is correct"
[8.0] "It remains to be seen if David can bring in results as the latest leader of BULLET CLUB, sufficed to say with the legacy of that role, he has a lot to live up to. I've always liked David in the ring but he was missing a certain IT factor, hopefully, he finds it with his new Heel persona."
[8.0] "To David Finlay's credit he felt like the clear 3 of 3 foreigner's who joined the NJPW Dojo when he did (the other 2 being White & Juice) but he kept at it. Always improving always finding a way to connect with people. Fingers are crossed this Bullet Club change leads to bigger things because the in ring talent is there the personality seems to be there."
[8.0] "I've only started watching consistenly after WK17, but so far as the new "leader" of BC, I've loved what he's done. Dude can work, and from what I gathered before this turn, he really just needed a character. He's got that now, and I'm hyped for an eventual ELP and Finlay feud."
[7.0] "First rating post-switchblade beatdown, I think Finlay has a lot of potential to try to bring bullet club back to life. He is a good worker, and like i said, has potential to be a good leader for the currently dying BC. This heel persona is great, his new look is so much better than the bland babyface he was with Juice. I like Finlay, and see a bright future ahead"
[6.0] "Really showing himself to be a great worker now he's broken out into singles competition. Understands all the basics, good psychology and selling. Still young so has plenty of time to grow even more. With a bit more character work he probably has a title reign in his future."
[7.0] "Solider Rookie, der uns in Japan absolut in Ordnung repräsentiert. Die Basics sitzen bei ihm schon sehr gut, und seine Uppercuts sind typsch europäisch hart. Was ihm jedoch noch fehlt ist ein guter look, er wirkt einfach wie der nette Abiturient von nebenan, und vielleicht noch ein bisschen Innovation. Aber hey, er ist noch so jung, er wird sich noch verbessern. In 3-5 Jahren traue ich ihm eine ähnliche Rolle wie Karl Anderson zu, Potenzial ist auf jeden Fall da! Edit: Heißer Kandidat für Most Improved Wrestler of 2022! Seit er der "Rebel" ist, spürbar an Selbstvertrauen gewonnen und im Ring an Intensität und Schnelligkeit zugelegt. Ich sehe auf jeden Fall einen Midcard-Titelrun in naher Zukunft!"
[8.0] "One of the most improved wrestlers of the year. I really didn't see much in him while he was tagging with Juice but now he is becoming a dependably good wrestler. Logical moveset, realistic selling and great match-pacing. Hope he improves even more as time goes on."
[8.0] "in 2018 I rated him a 6, but after this year's G1 I gotta bump him all the way to an 8. Phenomenal in ring worker that definitely has room to grow. I see a lot of potential for Finlay in New Japan."
[8.0] "David Finlay is pretty underrated wrestler until G1 Climax 32. Now I think now he proved himself to the fans. He's good wrestler in the ring. I like he's style and also he has great microphone. He's red hot now. I hope he'll win IWGP US championship."
[7.0] "So fast for a heavier wrestler David Finlay is! Loved the start of his match this year with Will Ospreay at the G1. Impressed with the amount of intensity he brings. Seems like he still has to find his gimmick in wrestling, but it's been great watching David Finlay this year."
[4.0] "There have been just a couple times where I thought Finlay might start to turn the corner into something but his lack of charisma in personality and ring work seems to be insurmountable."
[7.0] "I really think Finlay has potential to be an amazing fiery underdog as shown in his matches against Jay White and his match against Ospreay. He can sell his ass off, he has a fun moveset, he's very quick and snappy and still has some time to improve and hopefully develop as a better character. For now he's a 7 but as i said his potential to be a fiery underdog babyface is there."
[8.0] "He's 27 and has more years of development left until he hits his best years. He could be an amazing talent, just depends how hard he works his ass off."
[6.0] "Very much the definition of a low mid card talent: decent when placed into matches with astounding talent but really not anything exciting otherwise. Yes he had a better than average match with NJPW's top heel and Ospreay bumping around for him, but he's been extremely mediocre the last 5 years with barely any astounding matches to discuss and being the weaker side of his tag with Juice. Maybe he'll get better considering his relative youth and experience but for the son of Finlay I just don't see anything thus far."
[5.0] "Hatte während des New Japan Cups 2021 so einen Breakout-Moment, aber so ganz klickt er bei mir nicht. Charisma im durchschnittlichen Bereich, ziemlich austauschbarer Look und insgesamt einfach zu generisch, um aufzufallen. Im Team mit FinJuice ganz gut, weil der halt hier und da bisschen over the top ist und es sich so ausgleicht. Ansonsten ist Finlay für mich ein passabler Wrestler mit Potenzial."
[7.0] "David Finlay is finally starting to show something, after years of seemingly be willing to coast. While Juice Robinson has the charisma, personality and strong promo ability in the team, Finlay has shown he can hold his own and be a very capable performer. His New Japan Cup run didn't quite have the star making performance it perhaps could have with the Jay White upset, and very good match with Will Ospreay, but there were highly encouraging signs. A great few weeks for Finlay."
[4.0] "I just don't see anything interesting on Finlay. Most of his matches are boring and although he knows how to do the moves technically he doesn't attract any attention to himself, which is the last thing you want in wrestling. Even Juice stands out in the tag team and I don't like him either."
[5.0] "Nearly all of his Young Lion classmates has the starpower and they had important matches and they won important titles but David Finlay couldn't go with them. They gave him a Tag Title because he was unhappy how he was treated and they made him lose it in their first defense. I don't see future with him."
[4.0] "An absolutely unremarkable worker in any way, shape or form, David Finlay's not bad but he gives off the distinct impression he has already reached his peak, which is the opening act. He has such a low ceiling pairing him with Juice Robinson almost killed the latter's momentum. With so many promising Young Lions around him, Finlay had better start to get his act together or he may soon find himself future endeavor'd."
[4.0] "Very poor worker, with an ok look but a flabby gut. David Finlay doesn't care about wrestling, he's just doing it because his father did in the past... and he failed too."
[7.0] "Man merkt, aus welcher Familie er kommt. Bereits in jungen Jahren schon technisch versiert im Ring und man merkt ihm sichtlich an, wie gut ihm seine Zeit in Japan tut. Hat enormes Potential nach oben."
[5.0] "Finlay was always my least favourite of the 2015 batch of young lions also including Tanaka, Komatsu, and White. But that's still quite an achievement. I always found his appearance to be weird, especially now that he has 'graduated' from being a young lion and rocks some really odd tights designs and guyliner. I guess he's just trying to figure out what his 'character' is, or its a midlife crisis. Either way, his appearance is a bit off-putting but his in-ring work was always solid. He would always add some charisma and energy to the undercard matches and did appear to have some nice impactful moves. I haven't seen anything that would indicate he could become some great wrestler in future and I'm not sure I see him progressing passed the midcard level, but he's a solid worker as of now."
[8.0] "I like the path that David is taking in his wrestling career by starting with New Japan. He has been developing so much in the ring since "graduated" as a young lion. His future is still long and he will be a great asset to New Japan if he gets built slowly and there's no better company than New Japan to do it."
[8.0] "Finlay has improved leaps and bounds since the start of 2016. Not only should he be a key member of the Junior division in 2017, but he may even be able to get himself a Jr title shot at some point. Future is looking up for Finlay as the Jr division in NJPW continues to thrive."
[8.0] "The first fourth generation superstar is certain to make an impact in the wrestling world, especially now that he's no longer a young lion and getting some exposure as part of the NEVER Openweight 6 man tag champions. He's got big shoes to fill, but I think he's got the potential to fill them nicely. He's proving to be a fine brawler, ."
[7.0] "Er ist ein wirklich ordentlicher bis guter Worker. Seine momentane Leistung ist für ein Rookie wirklich gut und er hat sich schon ordentlich entwickelt. Gerade im New Japan best of the Super Jr. Tournament fand ich ihn stark."
[6.0] "Hat sich gut seit seinem ersten Match entwickelt und da ist noch viel Luft nach oben. Mit den Connections seines Vaters ist es wohl nur eine Frage der Zeit, bis er sich seine Sporen in Japan verdient."
[7.0] "Die Entwicklung seit seinem Debüt ist mehr als ordentlich. Das vor zwei Jahren waren halt Exhibition Matches. Da sollte man die Messlatte noch nicht so hoch legen. Dazu die Aufregung, das erste Mal vor Publikum zu stehen. Seine Promo mit der Herausforderung (zu sehen auf wrestling24. de oder dem entsprechenden Youtube-Kanal) war kurz und knackig (deutlich besser als Al-Anis Antwort btw. ) Im Ring dann überzeugend in Technik und Interaktion mit dem Gegner. Go ahead Dave!"
[3.0] "So leid es mir tut, kann ich ihm derzeit noch keine bessere Wertung geben. Im Match gegen Walter hat so ziemlich garnichts gepasst. Im Tagteam mit seinem Vater dagegen war das Timing besser. Aber er muss es auch alleine besser hinbekommen. Da er aber noch ganz am Anfang steht, gebe ich ihm 3 Punkte anstatt 2, wie ich erst vorhatte."
