David Finlay was a recent guest on Total Engagement with Matt Koon, and spoke about the grueling nature of training in Japanese dojos. Finlay said it is hard, but it’s more or less steeped in tradition, dating back to how the first class of New Japan trainees were brought in:
“I think it’s just tradition. This is how the first class of New Japan dojo young boys trained. Probably way harder than now, but it’s more of a tradition thing than anything. Plus, it does weed out people who don’t want it. Every class has at least one young boy who runs away. We had it, the guys after us had it, they don’t call it running away they call it ‘escape’. I like it because I asked myself “Do I really want to wrestle that bad?” It’s kind of all I’m good at, so I didn’t really have a choice. Also, if I went home, my father would kill me. I kind of got through it because of fear. It’s hard.”
Finlay spoke about his father’s reputation following him in Japan, saying it worked in positive ways, but also pushed his to work just as hard:
“That kind of went out the window when I got there, I feel like. As much as it can, because people who my dad was friendly with tended to take a liking to me early on. But, I think they expected just as much out of me once I got there, which I was happy about. I’m highly susceptible to special treatment because of my dad.”
Finlay also talked about his relationship with Juice Robinson, comparing him to the big brother he never had:
“Juice is like a big brother to me. I’m the oldest of three kids, so he’s kind of like the big brother I never had. He came into the Dojo in September, I had only gotten there in April. He got my number from somebody before he arrived, I don’t know who. He’s like “Hey man, my name’s Joey, what are you guys doing?” I told him we were doing 1000 squats a day, and I think by the time he got there the most squats he ever had to do was 300. He was waking up, working in England and waking up early to do squats and prepare.
Our relationship is pretty silly, pretty fun, we’re always together. Out hotel rooms are usually right next to each other and we usually have the same schedule too. We’re pretty close, to say the least.”
Related: David Finlay On Being ‘Hornswoggle’s Brother’, His Experience As A Young Lion In Japan
