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David Finlay On His Mindset Ahead Of Global Heavyweight Title Match At NJPW Wrestle Kingdom

January 2, 2024 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas
David Finlay NJPW G1 Climax 33 Image Source: NJPW

David Finlay battles for the inaugural IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18, and he recently spoke about how he’s feeling ahead of the bout. Finley faces Jon Moxley and Will Ospreay at the PPV for the inaugural Championship, and he spoke with Cultaholic Wrestling’s Desert Island Graps to preview the match. You can see some highlights below, per Fightful:

On his mindset ahead of Wrestle Kingdom: “I mean there’s no denying this is make or break for me. There’s not too many more opportunities that I will come across if I don’t absolutely nail this one and come out on top. Moxley and Will’s names are both synonymous with the IWGP US Championship, as well as other people that I really despise. Then Will fashioned the UK Championship because he was like, ‘I have no ties to the States, why would I defending a title for a country I don’t even care about?’ Which is kind of why I broke both of them. I have no ties to anywhere, so I don’t care about the flag on the belt. I know it meant a lot to Mox, I know it meant a lot to Will. So I wanted to break his shiny toys.”

On how he would want to build the legacy of the Global Heavyweight Championship: “I’ve thought about this a lot, and the thing that comes to mind is, so in the third David in my family. My dad and my grandfather weren’t very original with naming. Im I’m third one of those. I’m a fourth-generation wrestler in my family, so again, someone else’s footsteps. I’m the fifth Bullet Club leader. More boots to fill. So this is my chance, I get to finally be the first at something. I get to cement my own legacy, no strings attached, no shadows. That’s another reason I smashed the old belts. I’ve vied for the US Title four or five times unsuccessfully, so that’s not my legacy. I gotta create my own legacy from the ground up.”