Dynamite Kid

Thomas Billington
Data
Ring name	Dynamite Kid Tommy Billington
height	173 cm
Fighting weight	104 kg
birth	5th December 1958 Golborne , Greater Manchester , England
death	5th December 2018
Trained by	Billy Riley Stu Hart Ted Betley
debut	1975
retirement	October 10, 1996

Dynamite Kid (born Thomas Billington in Golborne on December 5, 1958 , † December 5, 2018 ) was a British wrestler .

Youth and career

Billington was born in Golborne, Greater Manchester in 1958 . He was trained by Billy Riley. At the beginning of his career he performed in Europe, including with the Austrian League Catch Wrestling Association .

In 1979 he made his first appearance in Canada at Stampede Wrestling . There he was trained by Stu Hart in the Hart Submission Dungeon . From then on he performed in Europe, Canada (Stampede Wrestling) and Japan ( New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW)). At NJPW he won the WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship .

On August 29, 1984 he made his debut in the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE ). There he formed the tag team "The British Bulldogs" with his cousin Davey Boy Smith . In 1985 Billington feuded with Smith against Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik , then against "The Dream Team" (consisting of Brutus Beefcake and Greg Valentine ). Of these , they won the WWF World Tag Team Championship . Towards the end of 1986 Billington and Smith began a feud against The Hart Foundation ( Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart ), to which they had to surrender the WWF World Tag Team Championship on January 26, 1987 . They later feuded against demolition . In December 1988 Billington left the WWF.

On June 5, 1989, he made his debut at All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he briefly appeared again with Smith as "The British Bulldogs". In 1991 Billington received the All Asia Tag Team Championship with Johnny Smith . In 1993 he left AJPW again in order to appear several times the following year at All Star Wrestling in England and at German Pro Wrestling in Germany . On October 10, 1996, Billington played his last match at Michinoku Pro Wrestling in Japan.

Life after wrestling career

In 1997 he returned to the UK. At that time, his health problems, especially his back, increased. Due to paralysis, he had to rely on a wheelchair at least since the turn of the century. In 2004, part of his left leg was amputated. On November 23, 2013, the WWE announced that Billington had suffered multiple strokes . He died in a UK nursing home on December 5, 2018, his 60th birthday.

successes

• World Wrestling Federation
  • 1 × WWF World Tag Team Championship with Davey Boy Smith
• Stampede wrestling
  • 4 × Stampede British Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion
  • 2 × Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Champion
  • 5 × Stampede International Tag Team Champion 2 × with Davey Boy Smith and 1 × each with The Loch Ness Monster , Kasavudu and Duke Myers
• All Japan Pro Wrestling
  • 1 × All Asia Tag Team Champion with Johnny Smith
• National Wrestling Alliance
  • 1 × NWA International Junior Heavyweight Champion
  • 1 × NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Champion
  • 1 × NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Champion with The Assassin
• Joint Promotions
  • 1 × British Welterweight Champion

Web links

• Dynamite Kid in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Steve Gerweck: Dynamite Kid: Biography. In: gerweck.net. October 12, 2009 (English). 

credentials

1. ↑ Zach Laing: Stampede Wrestling superstar Tom 'The Dynamite Kid' Billington, dead at 60. In: calgarysun.com. December 5, 2018, accessed December 6, 2018 . 
2. ↑ Dynamite Kid suffered stroke, UPDATE: Even multiple strokes, according to WWE. In: cagematch.de. November 25, 2013, accessed December 6, 2018 . 
3. ↑ David Ruivers: Dynamite Kid dies. In: Daily Star . December 5, 2018, accessed December 6, 2018 .