A list of nine WWE Superstars who hail from Ireland

Today, we look at nine wrestlers from the Emerald Isles who've appeared in WWE. This includes names you will know and some you may have missed.

Three athletes represent Ulster, the province that makes up Northern Ireland, and six represent Leinster, the majority of whom were born in the capital city of Dublin. One wrestler billed as being from Dublin, was born in Limerick in Munster while the Belfast Bruiser was born in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland.

To find out more, read on and tell us who your favorite Irish wrestler is.

Paul ‘Tucker’ Gallagher from Belfast, Northern Ireland

Tucker is an Irish wrestler born in Belfast who worked in WWE from 2017 to 2018. Before this, he worked on the independent circuit competing in Pro Wrestling Ulster.

Tucker’s first appearance in WWE as part of the United Kingdom Championship Tournament in 2017. He was beaten by winner Tyler Bate in the first round.

Tucker lost in the first round of the following year's tournament against Joe Coffey. From October to December, he sporadically appeared for the newly created NXT UK until his release at the end of 2018.

Since being released, Tucker has returned to the independent circuit for Titanic Wrestling. He became the AYA Catch Champion on 19th February 2020 at the French premotion AYA Catch.

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Mr. Wrestling, Pat Barrett from Dublin, Ireland

Patrick Barrett, known professionally as Pat or Paddy, wrestled all over the world from 1960 to 1985 appearing in the NWA and WWWF [now WWE] and was known as Mr. Wrestling.

In 1975, he made his way to the World Wide Wrestling Federation, now known as WWE, battling World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino. That June, he held the WWWF Tag Team Championships alongside Dominic De Nucci. They lost the championships to The Blackjacks in August 1975, before returning to NWA.

After his short stint with the WWE, he traveled all over the world before heading back to his native Ireland. He retired in 1985 becoming a trainer.

The Woke Queen of WWE: Aoife Valkyrie from Dublin, Ireland

Aofie Valkyrie has made a name for herself on the Irish independent scene

Irish wrestler Aoife Valkyrie made a name for herself on the Irish and British independent scene. Having trained at the famous Fight Factory Pro Wrestling, she debuted a year into her training in 2015 for Celtic Championship Wrestling under the ring name Valkyrie Cain. She has held two Women’s Championships, one in Over the Top Wrestling and the other in Pro Wrestling Ulster.

As Lady Valkyrie, she teamed up with Debbie Keitel to form The Woke Queens. The two won the Pro Wrestling EVE Tag Team Championship in 2017 and, by 2018, she achieved an even bigger accolade. At an event for Zero1 Ireland/Fight Factory Pro Wrestling, she became the first woman to win the Irish Junior Heavyweight Championship.

Aoife Valkyrie signed with WWE in January 2020 appearing for the NXT UK brand before heading to the US for house shows. After a hiatus due to the pandemic, she returned to WWE and NXT UK remaining undefeated until she came face-to-face with Meiko Satomura in 2021. Since the summer, Valkyrie has been feuding with Jinny on NXT UK.

The Original Irish Lass Kicker of WWE: Velvet McIntyre

Velvet McIntyre brought it to her opponents in the WWF / WWE

Growing up in Ireland with three brothers, she was prepared to join WWF after finishing high school and beginning her training under Sandy Barr.

Before joining WWF/WWE, she wrestled for All-Star Wrestling, NWA Pacific Northwest, Mid-South Wrestling, Stampede Wrestling, and the American Wrestling Association.

McIntyre began her singles career against The Fabulous Moolah at WrestleMania 2 and went on to capture the WWF Women’s Championship on 3rd July 1986. She held it for only six days. For the rest of her WWF/WWE career, she constantly lost matches before the women’s division went on hiatus in 1990.

She retired in 1998 after discovering she was pregnant with twins.

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Big Damo / Killian Dain from Belfast, Northen Ireland

Killian Dain made a name for himself as Big Damo on the UK independent scene

Upon joining the WWE, he went by the name Damo before joining SAnitY and changing his name to Killian Dain. SAnitY had their line-up set, with Dain working alongside his future wife Nikki Cross, Eric Young, and Alexander Wolfe.

The team, excluding Cross, were drafted to SmackDown during the 2018 Superstar Shake-up, but disappointed on the main roaster. It seemed that the powers that be didn’t know what to do with them.

By the 2019 Superstar Shake-up, the team was split up. Eric Young headed to Monday Night RAW, while Wolfe joined Imperium in NXT UK. Dain returned to NXT with an even darker look.

By September 2020 he formed a dysfunctional odd couple tag team with Drake Maverick. Dain was released from his contract on 25th June 2021.

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The Belfast Bruiser, Fit Finlay from Carrickfergus, County Antrim, Northern Ireland

Fit Finley is a third-generation Wrestler from Northern Ireland

David ‘Fit’ Finlay is a third generation wrestler. He wrestled all over Ireland before moving to England.

While in England, he won the British Heavy Middleweight Championship in 1982. He also won a tournament for the British Light Heavyweight Championship and went on to win the World Mid-Heavyweight Championship. By 1990 Finlay performed as part of the ITV program World of Sport and won the All-Star’s British Heavyweight Championship.

He also worked in Japan, Germany, and Austria. While at CWA, he held the British Heavyweight Championship and the CWA Tag-Team Championship. He also made his first appearance for WWF/WWE in a dark match.

Finlay worked for WCW from 1996 to 2001. His first feud saw him face off against Lord Steven Regal; delving into 400 years of English-Irish conflict. Finlay was known as the Belfast Bruiser during this time. During his WCW run, he held the World Television Championship. WCW was brought by WWF/WWE in 2001.

Finlay’s first WWF/WWE stint was between 2001 and 2011, spending the first four years at the company as a trainer. He helped train both John Cena and Randy Orton as well as the Divas division.

He returned to the in-ring competition in 2006 when he was 47 years old. His viciousness inside and outside the ring earned him the nickname "The Fighting Irish Bastard." By May of that year, Hornswoggle joined him and Finlay won the United States Championship.

While in WWE, Finlay took part in many different hardcore matches including the Belfast Brawl, a Stretcher match, the Elimination Chamber, and the Money in the Bank ladder matches.

In 2008, he was drafted to ECW before being drafted to SmackDown the following year. His last televised match for WWE took place on the 4th June 2010. He was released from his contract in March 2011 after authorizing The Miz to interrupt the American national anthem during a house show.

Upon his release from WWE, Finlay toured around the world on the independent circuit before retiring from the in-ring competition officially in 2012.

His second WWE stint was between 2012 till 2020. During this time, he returned as a backstage producer. He was involved with British and Irish wrestlers, presenting Tyler Bate with the WWE UK Championship, and giving Becky Lynch the go ahead to take Lana’s place in the 2019 Women’s Royal Rumble. He was released from his contract on 16th April 2020 before returning for the third time in November 2020.

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The Celtic Warrior, Sheamus from Dublin, Ireland

Sheamus has revitalized his career in 2021

Before Sheamus became a pro-wrestler and joined WWE, he had an interesting life. He is fluent in Irish Gaelic, participated in choir, played Gaelic Football and Rugby Union, was an IT technician, and worked as a Bodyguard for Bono, Larry Mullen, and Denise van Outen.

In April 2002, he began training at Larry Sharpe’s Monster Factory before going on to become a fan favorite upon his in-ring debut. His career was be side-lined for two years after suffering a serious neck injury. During this time, Sheamus developed the character we know him best for. He began portraying a Fianna; a type of mythical Irish warrior.

In 2004, he returned to the independent circuit making at the new Irish Whip Wrestling in Dublin. He won the IWW International Heavyweight Championship during a one-day tournament on 28th March 2005. He lost the title that May to D’Lo Brown but regained the championship in October.

His next big feud was against a young Drew Galloway. The two first met on January 28th 2006 and fed into the rivalry between Scottish football teams Rangers and Celtic. He held the championship until August 2006 before being beaten by Galloway.

On 13th November 2006, Sheamus appeared on WWE while they were in Manchester. The next day, him and Galloway got a try-out for the company. A second try-out was offered, with matches in Milan and London leading to developmental contact with WWE.

Upon joining WWE, Sheamus reported to the developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling [FCW]. While there, he held the Florida Heavyweight Championship, but was unsuccessful in gaining the tag-team title before leaving for the main roster.

On 30th June 2009, Sheamus made his main roster debut in ECW. He started a feud with Shelton Benjamin, but that was cut short. He was showcased in the Survivor Series five-on-five match and won number one contender Battle Royal for John Cena’s WWE World Championship. On 13th December 2009, Sheamus won his first major championship in WWE at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs. He became the first Irish-born WWE Champion.

During his 13 years with WWE, Sheamus has held multiple championships. He's a three-time WWE Champion, one-time World Heavyweight Champion, and a three-time WWE United States Champion. He also won King of the Ring in 2010, the Royal Rumble in 2012, and the Money in the Bank ladder match in 2015.

Alongside his success as a singles competitor, he formed a tag-team with Swiss Superman Cesaro. This was fruitful for both of them, becoming one of the most dominant tag-teams in WWE. Together they won the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship four times, and the SmackDown Tag Team Championship once.

The Prince, Finn Balor from Bray, Co. Wicklow, Ireland

Finn Balor would return to NXT in 2019 and bring with him his old Prince Devitt persona

Before Finn Balor arrived in the WWE, he made his way all around the world, holding championships in Insane Championship Wrestling, Revolution Pro Wrestling, the Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Meanwhile in Japan Balor, as Prince Devitt, would become one of the top Gijin in the company and form the hugely popular stable Bullet Club, while also establishing the Demon King persona.

On 28th July 2014, WWE confirmed that Prince Devitt, now known as Finn Balor, signed with the company and would perform on NXT.

While in NXT, Balor introduced the WWE Universe to the Demon King character. During his first run in NXT, Balor won the 2015 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic with Samoa Joe while also holding the NXT Championship after beating Kevin Owens at Beast in the East in Tokyo, Japan as the Demon King.

In 2016, Balor was drafted to RAW in the WWE Draft. He won the right to face off against Seth Rollins for the newly established WWE Universal Championship during his first night on RAW. Balor defeated Rollins at that year's SummerSlam but vacated the championship due to suffering a torn labrum.

Balor didn't return to TV until April 3rd, the night after WrestleMania 33. His time on the main roster went up and down despite being a two-time WWE Intercontinental Champion. He put on some of the best matches with A.J. Styles, Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Lio Rush.

Balor returned to NXT confronting NXT Champion Adam Cole, before turning heels and repackaging himself as The Prince. He continued to build on his wins over the next year. Balor defeated Cole at NXT: Super Tuesday II for the vacant NXT Championship, making him a two-time champion. He held on to the championship until the return of Karrion Cross at NXT Takeover: Stand & Deliver, ending his second reign at 212 days.

Balor returned to the main roster in 2021. He instantly challenged Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship. Balor then confronted Reigns and challenged for the championship before losing the match on SmackDown. The following week, Balor reappeared as the Demon and will face Reigns for the Universal Championship at Extreme Rules this Sunday, 24th September 2021.

The Man, Becky Lynch from Dublin, Ireland

Becky Lynch had the crowd behind her and changed her destiny in WWE

Becky Lynch is one of the most popular stars in WWE owing to her likable demeanor and take-no-prisoner’s attitude. As of April 2020, she is the highest paid woman and sixth highest paid wrestler overall in WWE.

She is the first WWE star to appear on the cover of ESPN Magazine, the WWE 2K franchise, as well as one of three women to first to main event WrestleMania. She's also the first woman to be named Most Popular Wrestler of the Year by Pro Wrestling Illustrated and the only female performer in WWE history to lead the in merchandise sales.

Becky was born in Limerick before moving to Dublin. She wrestled her brother while also horse riding, swimming, and playing basketball. She was trained by Paul Tracey and Finn Balor. Lynch also trained at NWA UK Hammerlock.

She took a six-year hiatus after suffering a head injury, during which time she worked as a stunt woman on the show Vikings, an air hostess for Aer Lingus, and helped train Kyle O’Reilly. In 2013, Lynch signed a two-year developmental contract with WWE.

During her time in NXT, Becky joined forces with Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Bayley, starting a revolution within the NXT Women’s Division. Her match against Sasha Banks at NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable for the NXT Women’s Championship was critically acclaimed but she never won the title during her time in NXT.

Becky debuted on the main roster in 2015 on Monday Night RAW alongside Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks. Lynch, Flair and Banks faced off at WrestleMania 32 for the newly created Women’s Championship. Flair retained the championship, becoming its first champion.

In the 2016 WWE Draft, Becky was the first woman drafted to SmackDown, going on to become it’s first Women’s Champion at Backlash. She lost the championship to Aliss after just 84 days. In 2018, she competed in the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble match.

At Hell in a Cell, Lynch won the Smackdown Women’s Championship for the second time. Since that win and her transition from the Irish Lass Kicker to The Man, Becky has held the Smackdown Women’s Championship a total of four times, and the RAW Women’s Championship once. Along with this, she won the 2019 Women’s Royal Rumble, took time off in 2020 to have her baby, and got married to Seth Rollins. Becky made her return at the 2021 SummerSlam defeating Bianca Belair and turning heel.