The British Bulldog

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David Smith EnglandEngland
The British Bulldog.jpg
Data
Ring name (The) British Bulldog
Davey Boy Smith
Young David
height 180 cm
Fighting weight 109 kg - 123 kg
birth November 27, 1962,
Golborne ; Lancashire ; England
death May 18, 2002
Invermere , British Columbia , Canada
Announced from Leeds , England
Manchester , England
Trained by Ted Bentley
Stu Hart
debut 1978

David Boy Smith (born November 27, 1962 in Golborne , Lancashire , England , † May 18, 2002 in Invermere , British Columbia ) was a British wrestler. He was better known by his former ring name "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith and competed mainly for the wrestling leagues World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling .

His son Harry Smith is also a wrestler who currently competes mainly for New Japan Pro Wrestling and was multiple tag team champion both there and at WWE.

Career

Beginnings

Smith began wrestling in 1976 at the age of 14. In addition to his English homeland, he also competed in Germany and Japan. With the help of his cousin Tom Billington , he came to Canada, where he joined the Stampede Wrestling League . In this context, David was signed with Tom Billington by the WWF. David later married Diana Hart, a daughter of Stu Hart.

World Wrestling Federation

Smith and Billington appeared as "The British Bulldog" and won in 1986 at Wrestlemania 2 the tag team titles . At that time, Billington was already suffering from back problems, which eventually led to the two losing their title to the Hart Foundation ( Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart ) .

After losing the title, Smith and Billington took a break. They made a short-term return at Wrestlemania 3 . After SummerSlam 1988, both returned to Stampede Wrestling, where the team was separated. This resulted in a feud between Smith and Billington.

In 1990 Smith returned to the WWF after successfully performing as "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith in Japan . In August 1992 he won the Intercontinental Title at SummerSlam in front of over 80,000 people in a match against his brother-in-law Bret Hart at London's Wembley Stadium . He lost the title to Shawn Michaels in Saturday Night's Main Event on November 8, 1992 and was later fired from WWF at the same time as The Ultimate Warrior for acquiring growth hormones.

World Championship Wrestling / World Wrestling Federation

In 1993 he moved to WCW , where he feuded against Big Van Vader and William Regal , among others . After a bar brawl with a man who had previously flirted with Smith's wife, he was fired from WCW after the brawl made negative headlines around the world.

At SummerSlam 1994 returned Smith returned to the WWF. After the Royal Rumble in 1995 he formed the tag team "The Allied Powers" with Lex Luger , which however was not a great success. After Luger left the WWF, Smith had feuds with his brother-in-law Bret Hart and the then WWF champion Diesel . Smith later joined Big van Vader, Yokozuna and Owen Hart as a member of "Camp Cornette", a stable led by Jim Cornette .

In 1996 he led a feud against WWF Champion Shawn Michaels before winning the tag team titles together with Owen Hart in late 1996, which they lost again in May 1997. They were able to win the title again, but then had to give it up for good. Also in 1997, Smith became the first WWF European Champion . He then joined Bret Hart's stable "The New Hart Foundation".

After the Montreal Screwjob at the Survivor Series in 1997 , Smith went to WCW with Jim Neidhart and Bret Hart. At the event Fall Brawl 1998, he suffered a serious back injury by accidentally running on a built-in ring floor trapdoor body slam . Smith, his partner Jim Neidhart, as well as his opponents Disco Inferno and Alex Wright , were not informed about this trapdoor. Smith and Neidhart won the match, but Smith had to be hospitalized after the event, where he narrowly escaped paralysis . He now paused for six months and was fired from the WCW during this time. In 1999 he returned to the WWF at short notice.

Smith became addicted to pills because of his back injury at WCW. A rehabilitation measure was also unsuccessful. In the course of this addiction, he threatened to kill his wife and one of her sisters. Diana then filed for divorce. The WWF also split from Smith.

death

On May 17, 2002, Smith suffered a fatal heart attack in British Columbia at the age of 39 . His body contained high levels of steroids , which suggested years of anabolic steroid abuse .

successes

title

  • 2 × NWA International Tag Team Championship with Bruce Hart
  • 1 × Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship
  • 2 × Stampede International Tag Team Championship with The Dynamite Kid
  • 2 × Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship

Awards

  • Stampede wrestling
  • Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame
  • PWI "Match of the Year 1992" against Bret Hart
  • PWI place 53 of the "500 best singles wrestlers during the PWI Years in 2003"
  • PWI 5th place in the "100 best tag teams of the PWI Years" with The Dynamite Kid 2003
  • PWI place 84 of the "100 the best tag teams of the PWI Years" with Owen Hart 2003
  • Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • "Tag Team of the Year 1985" with The Dynamite Kid
  • Feud of the Year 1997 starring Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart and Brian Pillman versus Stone Cold Steve Austin

Web links

Commons : Davey Boy Smith  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME The British Bulldog
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Smith, David (real name); Smith, Davey Boy
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English wrestler
DATE OF BIRTH November 27, 1962
PLACE OF BIRTH Golborne
DATE OF DEATH May 18, 2002
Place of death Invermere , British Columbia