Buddy Wayne#Training career
{{Short description|American professional wrestler}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox professional wrestler
|name = Buddy Wayne
|image = Buddy Wayne.JPG
|caption =
|birthname = Steve Finley
|names = Atomic Kid
Buddy Wayne
Canadian Cobra
Steve Finley
Wayne Gillis
|height = 5 ft 6 in
|weight = 180 lb
|birth_date = May 27, 1967
|birth_place = Everett, Washington, U.S.
|death_date = {{Death date and age|2017|6|17|1967|5|27}}
|death_place = Everett, Washington, U.S.
|spouse = {{marriage|Shayna Edwards
|1985}}
|billed =
|trainer = Buddy Rose
Ole Olson
|debut = 1985
|retired =
|family = Ed Moretti (father-in-law)
|children = Nick Wayne (son)
}}
Steve Finley (May 27, 1967 – June 17, 2017), better known by his ring name Buddy Wayne, was an American professional wrestler.{{cite web |last1=Meltzer |first1=Dave |title=Buddy Wayne passes away at 50 years old |date=June 18, 2017 |url=https://www.f4wonline.com/news/other-wrestling/buddy-wayne-passes-away-50-years-old-237571 |publisher=Wresting Observer Figure Four Online |access-date=29 November 2023}} He is the father of Nick Wayne.{{cite web |last1=DSilva |first1=Roy |title=Buddy Wayne: 5 things you need to know about the former WWE star Christian Cage dissed on AEW TV |date=November 23, 2023 |url=https://www.sportskeeda.com/aew/buddy-wayne-5-things-need-know-former-wwe-star-christian-cage-dissed-aew-tv |publisher=Sportskeeda |access-date=29 November 2023}}
Professional wrestling career
Finley was trained by Buddy Rose and Ole Olson in Portland, Oregon.{{cite web |last1=Oliver |first1=Greg |title=Mat Matters: Pacific Northwest Mainstay Buddy Wayne Dead at 50 |date=June 18, 2017 |url=https://slamwrestling.net/index.php/2017/06/18/mat-matters-pacific-northwest-mainstay-buddy-wayne-dead-at-50/ |publisher=slamwrestling.net |access-date=29 November 2023}} He began his wrestling career in 1985 with NWA All-Star Wrestling based in Vancouver, Canada. At one point in the 1980s, he wrestled around the Canadian Maritimes in Grand Prix Wrestling for promoter Emile Duprée using the ring name Wayne Gillis. He also worked under the names the Atomic Kid in the U.S. and Canada and King Cobra while wrestling in Mexico, among others. He spent most of his career in the Pacific Northwest, with stints in smaller promotions such as Championship Wrestling USA where he held the championship. From the 1990s through 2003, he worked a number of enhancement matches in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling against wrestlers such as Ted DiBiase, Bam Bam Bigelow, Edge, Scott Hall, Ricky Steamboat, Diamond Dallas Page, and Shawn Michaels. He had matches featured on WWE Velocity and WWE Heat, including defeats against Tajiri, Mark Jindrak, and Garrison Cade.
Wayne had a history of heart problems and underwent two open-heart surgeries. He returned to the ring in 2013 and often performed alongside his trainees on the independent circuit. Because of this, he never officially retired from in-ring performing. He became a staple in Pacific Northwest Wrestling and one of the most well-known wrestlers in the region.{{cite web |last1=Dubey |first1=Dushyant |title=WWE News: Former WWE Superstar Buddy Wayne passes away |date=June 18, 2017 |url=https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe/wwe-news-former-wwe-superstar-buddy-wayne-passes-away |publisher=Sportskeeda |access-date=29 November 2023}}
= Legacy =
After his son Nick signed for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in 2023, Wayne's death became a central topic of a storyline involving Nick, Wayne's student Darby Allin, Christian Cage, Luchasaurus, and his wife Shayna, with Cage disparaging Wayne's wrestling career while claiming to be Nick's new "father figure."{{cite web |last1=Mutter |first1=Eric |title=Nick Wayne Discusses Difficulty Dealing With Family History In AEW Storyline |date=November 16, 2023 |url=https://www.wrestlinginc.com/1448334/nick-wayne-discusses-difficulty-dealing-family-history-aew-storyline/ |publisher=Busted Open Radio |access-date=29 November 2023}}
Training career
Finley ran the Buddy Wayne School of Wrestling in his hometown of Everett, Washington. He claimed that he loved training other wrestlers even more than performing. His wife Shayna, who is a member of the Giovannetti family and the daughter of Moondog Ed Moretti, continued to run the school after her husband's death.{{cite web |title=Nick Wayne is 16 and Headlining-What Could Be Next?! |date=February 12, 2022 |url=https://slamwrestling.net/index.php/2022/02/11/nick-wayne-is-16-and-headlining/ |publisher=slamwrestling.net |access-date=29 November 2023}} Finley's students included future All Elite Wrestling (AEW) talent Darby Allin and Kevin Knight, who would later wrestle for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).{{cite web |last1=Douglas |first1=Martin |title=The L.A. Dojo standout speaks on always knowing he'd make it as a pro wrestler and more |work=Fanbyte |url=https://www.fanbyte.com/legacy/a-short-interview-with-njpw-young-lion-kevin-knight |access-date=29 November 2023}}{{cite web |last1=Lambert |first1=Jeremy |title=Darby Allin Comments On Using Real Life Fallout With Buddy Wayne In Story With Nick Wayne |url=https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/darby-allin-comments-using-real-life-fallout-buddy-wayne-story-nick-wayne |publisher=Fightful |access-date=29 November 2023}}
Personal life and death
Finley was married to Shayna Edwards from 1985 until his death in 2017.{{Cite web |last=Edwards |first=Shayna |date=September 2, 2017 |title=Ive loved you for 32 years, and I will never ever stop...|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BYh1xN0D8Tp/?hl=en |access-date=August 26, 2024 |website=Instagram|language=en}} They have one son, Nick, who is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and performs under the ring name Nick Wayne.{{cite web|url=https://www.sportskeeda.com/aew/who-shayna-wayne-everything-need-know-woman-confronted-christian-cage |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240826141207/https://www.sportskeeda.com/aew/who-shayna-wayne-everything-need-know-woman-confronted-christian-cage |archive-date=August 26, 2024 |title=Who is Shayna Wayne? Everything you need to know about the woman who confronted Christian Cage |last=DSilva |first=Roy |work=Sportskeeda |date=November 23, 2023 |access-date=August 27, 2024}}
Finley is often confused with another wrestler using the ring name of Buddy Wayne. That wrestler, who faced the likes of Jerry Lawler, was active in the 1960s to 1980s and was famous in the Memphis territory. He died in 2017.
= Death =
Championships and accomplishments
- Championship Wrestling USA
- CW USA Television Championship (5 times)
- International Championship Wrestling
- ICW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- ICW Tag Team Championship (7 times) - with Thunder Warrior, Sumito (2), Ed Moretti, Ken Johnson and Ritchie Magnett (2)
- Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Class of 2022
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked him # 213 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1993
- PWI ranked him # 394 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1994
- Universal Independent Wrestling
- UIW Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
- Universal Wrestling Alliance
- UWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with The Frog
References
{{reflist|25em}}
External links
- {{Professional wrestling profiles|cagematch=7108|wrestlingdata=6015|iwd=buddy-wayne-1380}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wayne, Buddy}}
Category:20th-century male professional wrestlers
Category:20th-century American professional wrestlers
Category:21st-century male professional wrestlers
Category:21st-century American professional wrestlers
Category:American male professional wrestlers