David Finlay States That NJPW Offered Him Salaried Deal When AEW Launched

NJPW put the offer on the table when AEW got started.

The latest guest to sit down with Chris Jericho for a recording of Talk Is Jericho was David Finlay. The Dogs member went over his career in pro wrestling and dove into his run in New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

Finlay said he had been trying to get under a longer-term contract situation with NJPW, but they did not put it on the table until AEW started.

“Shout out AEW,” Finlay smiled. “AEW started, and I was on a weekly thing (with NJPW) until they came along and then… for some reason, they were afraid I was gonna leave,” he laughed. “Almost. So I was able to get locked in for the remainder of — it was like a yearly thing but, I don’t know, for five or six years, I was on salary.”

Finlay is signed to All Elite Wrestling and has been with the company since early 2026. He is leading The Dogs with Clark Connors and Gabe Kidd.

If the quote in this article is used, please credit Talk Is Jericho with an H/T to Fightful for the transcription.