AEW announces signing of NJPW faction following surprise Dynamite appearance
Amid plenty of discussion the past few months about his status with NJPW and interest from WWE, David Finlay made a surprise appearance on Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite alongside some old friends.
Now Finlay, Clark Connors and Gabe Kidd are officially under AEW contract as The Dogs, announced by Tony Khan on X.
Finlay appeared after Orange Cassidy and Darby Allin’s victory over Connors and Kidd, hitting both Allin and Cassidy with a shillelagh. The three stood tall afterward, reuniting three key members of the Bullet Club War Dogs faction from NJPW.
It’s unclear as of this time whether the three men are under dual contracts with NJPW or exclusive to AEW. Fightful did report shortly afterward that Finlay’s deal is for multiple years and came together over the last week.
Kidd and Connors have been regulars on AEW TV over the past month, feuding with Allin. Finlay has wrestled once in AEW, losing to Hangman Page back in June 2022.
Finlay’s contract expired with NJPW in February, but he continued to wrestle through last weekend’s New Beginning USA, Kidd’s last NJPW match came in mid-February, and Connors last appeared for the promotion at January’s New Year Dash.
It was reported by Fightful that Finlay and WWE had been in contact, but that he wasn’t factored into any plans.
It was noted on X that the third, fourth and fifth leaders of Bullet Club are now under AEW contract (Kenny Omega, Jay White, Finlay).
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.