David Finlay Explains Why He Chose AEW Over WWE, Takes A Dig at His Father

David Finlay shocked the world when he appeared on the March 4, 2026, episode of AEW Dynamite. The two-time IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion attacked Orange Cassidy and Darby Allin, joining his Bullet Club Wardogs stablemates Clark Connors and Gabe Kidd. Following that, Tony Khan announced that Finlay is now officially All Elite.

Ever since news broke that Finlay was exploring his options in North America and exiting New Japan Pro-Wrestling, there was a belief that he would ultimately end up in WWE, where his brother, Uriah Connors, performs on NXT and their father, Fit Finlay, is a producer and assistant coach.

Later, reports emerged that Finlay opted to sign with All Elite Wrestling because WWE wanted him to start at NXT. Dave Meltzer further reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the primary reason David Finlay signed with AEW was his desire to spend more time with his young family and do less overseas work.

Finlay recently gave an interview to WrestleZone, where he opened up about his decision to join Gabe Kidd and Clark Connors in AEW.

“I was in New Japan for 11 years, and every single year, there were rumblings that I was going to leave. Every single year, they kept growing louder and louder. Finally, now, I got over doing a 14-hour flight four times a month and decided I wanted to leave Japan behind. Obviously, I got family ties in another company, and I sat and thought about it. I was like, ‘Well, you know, I’ve never made a dime with my brother. I’ve never made a dime with my father, and I’ve made fat stacks of cash with these boys here. So the choice was easy,” Finlay said.

Gabe Kidd chimed in and took a dig at David’s father, commenting, “**** his dad, bro! He’s not in The Dogs or The Death Riders. **** everyone that is not in The Dogs or The Death Riders, bro! Straight up.”

Finlay doubled down on what Kidd said, as he claimed that his father’s greatest achievement was that he came out of his “nut sack.” He added, “My dad’s greatest accomplishment is the fact that I came out of his nut sack. That’s the greatest thing he has ever accomplished.” Check out David Finlay and Gabe Kidd’s comments below:

🎞️ The Dogs' @THEdavidfinlay explains why he signed with #AEW over WWE.

He also had a hilarious way to share his father's greatest accomplishment. pic.twitter.com/ue0gk7ARS6

— WrestleZone (@WRESTLEZONEcom) March 11, 2026

Finlay and Kidd were in action on last night’s Dynamite. They defeated Orange Cassidy and Darby Allin in a tag team contest.