David Smith (27 November 1962 – 18 May 2002) was an English professional wrestler best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring namesDavey Boy Smith and The British Bulldog.
Smith won titles within the WWF in three decades, from the 1980s to the 2000s. Though he was never a world champion, Smith nevertheless headlined multiple pay-per-view events in the WWF and WCW, in which he challenged for the WWF and WCW World Heavyweight championships. He defeated Bret Hart for the WWF Intercontinental Championship in the main event of SummerSlam 1992 at London's original Wembley Stadium; he also has the distinction of being the inaugural and longest reigning WWF European Champion in a total of 206 days, and to have held the title on the sole occasion where a match for that championship headlined a pay-per-view event, at One Night Only in 1997. Prior to finding singles success, Smith achieved stardom as one half of The British Bulldogs tag team, alongside the Dynamite Kid. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2020.[2]
Early life
Smith was born in Golborne,[3] where he grew up with his father Sid, mother Joyce, brother Terrence, and sisters Joanne and Tracy.[4] Joyce's nephew was Tom Billington, also known as the Dynamite Kid, who was Smith's frequent tag-team partner.[5] He was born with measles in his eyes, which led to him often being the subject of bullying at his school, but he got laser surgery in his 30s.[6][7] Smith enjoyed cricket, football and diving as hobbies.[7]
Professional wrestling career
Early career (1978–1984)
Smith started his training with Ted Betley at 13 after his grandfather and father noticed he needed to be involved in a positive activity. He started competing on ITV's World of Sport in 1978 when he was only 15, wrestling under the name Young David against 18 year old "Wonderboy" Bernie Wright, uncle of future WCW wrestler Alex Wright. Smith filled a spot in the promotion left by his slightly older cousin the Dynamite Kid,[6] who had recently departed to wrestle in Calgary. Mentored by the Dynamite Kid's friend Alan Dennison, in 1979, Smith appeared to have won the British Welterweight championship from Jim Breaks (as the Dynamite Kid had done two years prior) only for the win to be disallowed due to Dennison distracting Breaks. Smith then held Breaks to a 1–1 draw, as a result of which Dennison himself challenged and defeated Breaks for the belt.[8][9] Smith was then spotted by Bruce Hart, who was scouting talent in the UK, and like the Dynamite Kid before him, he travelled to Canada to wrestle for Stu Hart. Hart and Roy Wood trained Smith further in Hart's "Dungeon" and Smith became a key wrestler in Hart's Stampede Wrestling.[7]
During his time in Stampede, he began a feud with the Dynamite Kid,[10][11] and on 9 July 1982, Smith won his first title when he defeated the Dynamite Kid for the Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship.[12] In 1983, Smith debuted in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, where he became involved in a three-way feud with Dynamite Kid and The Cobra (George Takano) over the NWA Junior Heavyweight title. On 7 February 1984, a three-way, one-night tournament was held, and Smith lost to the Dynamite Kid via count-out.[13] After the tournament, Smith and Dynamite Kid formed a tag team in both New Japan and in Stampede Wrestling known as The British Bulldogs. In 1984, the Bulldogs made a shocking move by jumping to New Japan's rival, All Japan Pro Wrestling just before the start of All Japan's annual Tag Team tournament.[14]
Smith made occasional return visits to the UK, appearing on World Of Sport in 1982 where he lost to Dave Finlay in an eliminator match for a shot at the British Heavy Middleweight Championship and 1983 where, as a complaining heel he defeated Bernie Wright in a rematch from the 1978 match.[15][16]
The Bulldogs held the titles for nearly nine months, feuding with the Dream Team and Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik, but the Hart Foundation bested the Bulldogs to win the titles on 26 January 1987.[10] After losing the titles, the Bulldogs gained a mascot, an actual bulldog who went by the name Matilda, and feuded with the likes of The Islanders (who in kayfabe dog-napped Matilda), Demolition, and the Rougeau Brothers.[11] At Survivor Series on 26 November, The British Bulldogs and other face teams won a 10-on-10 Survivor Series tag team match.[18] The following Survivor Series on 24 November 1988 produced the same result.[19]
Later in 1988, The Bulldogs left the WWF, in part due to backstage problems, specifically between the Dynamite Kid and the Rougeau Brothers. The Bulldogs had allegedly pulled a number of ribs (pranks) on the Rougeaus. Curt Hennig also pranked the duo, who, assuming that the Bulldogs were behind that prank as well, retaliated: Jacques Rougeau knocked out four of Dynamite Kid's teeth with a fist filled with a roll of quarters.[20] Though there are various accounts of this situation, many suggest that Billington drew first blood by bullying Rougeau (among many others including The Honky Tonk Man, whom Dynamite brought to tears) in Miami.[21] No disciplinary action was taken against Jacques. Billington shortly afterwards quit the WWF over a dispute with WWF management over the issuance of complimentary plane tickets, over which he resigned from the company, and Smith followed suit.[22]
Stampede Wrestling; All Japan Pro Wrestling (1988–1990)
After leaving the WWF, the Bulldogs returned to Stampede Wrestling, and also to All Japan Pro Wrestling. Stampede officials were hopeful that the return of the Bulldogs would revive a struggling promotion, but they were unsuccessful. Eventually in May 1989, the decision was made to split up the Bulldogs, which caused some problems with All Japan owner Shohei Baba, who was still promoting the Bulldogs as a tag team. On 4 July 1989, Smith, along with fellow wrestlers Chris Benoit, Ross Hart, and Jason the Terrible, was involved in a serious automobile accident.[23] Smith, who was not wearing a seatbelt at the time, needed 135 stitches after slamming his head through the windscreen and being thrown 25 feet onto the pavement.[6][11][23] He recovered, and the Bulldogs continued teaming in All Japan against teams such as Joe and Dean Malenko, Kenta Kobashi and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, and The Nasty Boys.[23] Personal problems began to surface between Smith and Billington, and Smith later left All Japan to return to the WWF.
Return to World Wrestling Federation (1990–1992)
British sensation (1990–1992)
Smith returned to the WWF in 1990,[10] where he was pushed as the same character from the British Bulldogs' original WWF run, but this time as a singles star under the name "The British Bulldog", which he had trademarked during his earlier tag team run in the WWF, thus preventing his former partner Dynamite Kid from using the name.[11] Smith returned to the WWF at a live event on 6 October, where he defeated Haku.[24] Smith made his televised in-ring return on 27 October episode of Superstars, where he defeated the Brooklyn Brawler.[25]
Over the next two years, Smith was a mid-carder and engaged in a long-running feud with The Warlord, in which he was victorious.[26][27][28] He was a fairly popular performer in the United States, but was a huge attraction to fans in the United Kingdom, due in part to the WWF becoming a ratings hit on Sky Sports,[7] as well as the promotion touring the country holding supercards such as UK Rampage.[29] Smith competed in a 20-man battle royal at the Albert Hall on 3 October 1991, which he won by eliminating Typhoon.[30] After entering as the first man in the 1992 Royal Rumble on 19 January, he eliminated Ted DiBiase, Jerry Sags and Haku before being eliminated by the eventual winner Ric Flair.[31]
Upon returning from Japan, Smith formed an alliance with top protagonist Sting, and engaged in feuds with top antagonists Sid Vicious and Big Van Vader. At Slamboree on 23 May, Smith wrestled World Heavyweight Champion Vader, winning their title match via disqualification, but since titles do not change hands by disqualification, Vader retained the title.[37] The feud continued afterwards,[38][39] and culminated when Smith seemingly won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship from Vader on a tour of England in October, though the decision was reversed. In July, Smith was reportedly involved in an altercation with a man at a bar who was making advances towards his wife.[11] As a result of the ensuing legal issues that followed, WCW released Smith from his contract in December.[10] His final pay-per-view appearance for WCW during this period came at Battlebowl on 20 November, the month prior, where he was teamed with Kole in the first round of the Lethal Lottery; they lost to Road Warrior Hawk and Rip Rogers.[40]
Return to England (1994)
In January 1994, Smith returned home to the United Kingdom and wrestled for Ring Wrestling Stars (formerly Joint Promotions). He was brought into the company by Max Crabtree to be his next top star after Big Daddy retired in December 1993 after suffering a stroke. During his time in RWS, Smith wrestled the likes of Jimmy Ocean, Ricky Knight, Drew McDonald, Karl Krammer, Kamikazi, Black Bart, Johnny Angel, Dale Preston, and Iron Duke Lynch, while primarily teaming with Tony Stewart.[41]
Smith returned to the WWF at SummerSlam on August 29, 1994, where he immediately became involved in an ongoing family feud between Bret Hart and his brother, Owen Hart.[42] Smith then teamed up with Bret against Owen and Jim Neidhart in a series of tag team matches, most notably in a victory on Monday Night Raw.[11] On November 23, Smith appeared at Survivor Series in a 10-man elimination match; his partners were Intercontinental ChampionRazor Ramon, 1-2-3 Kid, and The Headshrinkers. They faced WWF Tag Team ChampionsShawn Michaels and Diesel, Owen Hart, Jeff Jarrett, and Jim Neidhart, but Smith was eventually counted out. Smith again played a key part in the match at Survivor Series featuring his brothers-in-law Bret and Owen Hart, in which he supported Bret against Owen's benefactor; Bob Backlund. Smith would be knocked unconscious by Owen, allowing Owen to take advantage of his brother's situation. Owen manipulated Bret's mother to surrender to Backlund on Bret's behalf, thus costing Bret to lose the match and the WWF Championship.[43]
After entering the Royal Rumble as the second entrant on January 22, 1995, Smith and Shawn Michaels (who was the first entrant) were the final two remaining participants at the end. Smith tossed Michaels over the ropes and celebrated on the second turnbuckle. However, only one of Michaels feet hit the floor and he was able to re-enter the ring and eliminate Smith from behind.[44] Soon after, Smith began teaming with Lex Luger as the Allied Powers.[10] On 2 April at WrestleMania XI, they defeated The Blu Brothers.[45] At In Your House 2 on 23 July, they failed to win the Tag Team Championship from Owen Hart and Yokozuna.[46] Afterwards, the team briefly began feuding with Men on a Mission. On an August episode of Monday Night Raw, the Allied Powers were supposed to face Men on a Mission but Luger (kayfabe) no-showed the match; Smith found a replacement in the WWF Champion Diesel. During the match, Smith unexpectedly attacked Diesel and turnedheel for the first time in his WWF career, helping Men on a Mission beat up Diesel and aligning himself with Jim Cornette's stable with Owen Hart and Yokozuna, who had been his adversaries just a month earlier, thus disbanding the Allied Powers.[11]
On 22 October at In Your House 4 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Smith received a WWF Championship shot against Diesel, winning by disqualification after Bret Hart interfered.[47] At Survivor Series on 19 November, Smith participated in the Wild Card eight-man elimination match, teaming with Shawn Michaels, Ahmed Johnson, and Sycho Sid and facing WWF Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon, Dean Douglas, Owen Hart, and Yokozuna, which they won.[48] On 17 December at In Your House 5, Smith was granted a title shot against new WWF Champion Bret Hart, but was unsuccessful in winning. A notable incident from this match was that Hart bled during the match, which was controversial because WWF outlawed bleeding at the time.[49] Smith entered the Royal Rumble on January 21, 1996, where he made it to the final four before being eliminated by Michaels.[50] On 18 February at In Your House 6, he lost to Yokozuna by disqualification after Vader interfered.[51] At WrestleMania XII on 31 March, he teamed with Vader and Owen Hart to defeat Yokozuna, Ahmed Johnson, and Jake Roberts.[52]
In 1996, after Shawn Michaels became WWF Champion, Smith was put in a feud with the new champion. The feud was supposedly based on Smith's wife, Diana, accusing Michaels of hitting on her, which angered Smith and made him determined to take the title from Michaels.[53] The two were the main-event of the In Your House 8: Beware of Dog pay-per-view on 26 May, and their match ended in a draw,[54] leading to a rematch on 23 June at King of the Ring, where Smith failed to win the title.[55] Afterwards, Smith formed a tag team with his brother-in-law, Owen Hart, and the two soon won the WWF Tag Team Championship from The Smokin' Gunns. The team defended their titles against teams such as Doug Furnas and Phil LaFon, Vader and Mankind, and The Legion of Doom. In 1997, the WWF created the WWF European Championship, and Smith became the first ever holder of the title, winning a tournament which culminated in him defeating his own tag team partner, Owen Hart, in the finals on 26 February.[56]
Hart and Smith later joined forces with Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart, and Brian Pillman to form a new form of the Hart Foundation, a heel faction which feuded with Stone Cold Steve Austin and other American wrestlers. This created an interesting rift between American fans, where the Hart Foundation were vilified, and Canadian fans, who revered the Hart Foundation. Smith and Owen dropped the WWF Tag Team Championship to Austin and Michaels, and lost the final match in a tournament for the vacant WWF Tag Team Championship to Austin and Dude Love.[57] Smith lost the European Championship to Shawn Michaels on 20 September at One Night Only.[58] Smith was booked in the main event to defend the belt against Michaels. However, Michaels convinced Vince McMahon that he should win, as it would create build-up not only for his impending rematch with Bret Hart, but also for a rematch against Smith at the next British pay-per-view.[59] Smith reluctantly agreed, and fans at the event, who gave Smith an ovation, voiced their displeasure by viciously booing Michaels and littering the ring with garbage.[59] On 9 November at Survivor Series in Montreal, Smith was part of Team Canada (alongside Jim Neidhart, Doug FurnasandPhilip Lafon), defeating Team USA (Vader, Goldust, Marc Mero and the debuting Steve Blackman).[60] The event became infamous for the "Montreal Screwjob", in which Vince McMahon manipulated the finish of Bret Hart's match and had him lose the WWF Championship to Michaels, despite Hart not submitting when placed in a Sharpshooter.[60] Smith then paid money to leave the WWF for WCW, along with Bret Hart and Neidhart, soon afterward.[7]
Return to World Championship Wrestling (1997–1998)
Smith rejoined WCW in late 1997, and began a feud with Steve McMichael, who was complaining about all the wrestlers coming from "Up North". Smith and Neidhart later formed a tag team, but were only featured sparingly on WCW Thunder. They challenged for the World Tag Team Championship on several occasions, but failed to win the titles. He suffered a knee injury in April 1998 that sidelined him for a month. He suffered another, much more serious injury on 14 September 1998 at Fall Brawl during his match with Neidhart against The Dancing Fools, Disco Inferno and Alex Wright. During the match, while taking bumps, Smith twice landed awkwardly on a trapdoor that had been set up underneath the ring canvas to enable The Warrior to make a dramatic entrance in the night's main event.[61] The result was a spinalinfection that nearly paralysed Smith, hospitalising him for six months.[6] However, while recuperating, Smith's WCW contract was terminated due to his inability to perform.[7]
World Wrestling Federation (1999–2000)
Smith returned to the WWF in September 1999. In keeping with the company's new "Attitude Era", Smith began wrestling in jeans instead of his usual Union Flag-adorned tights and his theme music was to a remix of his previous theme "Rule, Britannia!" and later to rock music (with the sounds of a dog barking as the song began). On 9 September episode of SmackDown! in Albany, New York, Smith defeated the Big Boss Man for the WWF Hardcore Championship. Smith forfeited the title later that evening, giving the belt back to Al Snow, because Boss Man had previously (kayfabe) dog-napped Snow's dog Pepper to win the title from him, and driving him insane in the process.[62] Smith then began pursuing the WWF Championship, eventually turning heel and beginning a feud with The Rock. Smith headlined Unforgiven on 26 September as part of a six-man WWF Championship match that was won by Triple H.[63] On 2 October, Smith returned to England as a heel at Rebellion, defeating X-Pac.[64]
Smith defeated D'Lo Brown for the WWF European Championship on SmackDown! on 26 October.[56] He lost the title to Val Venis in a triple threat match on 12 December at Armageddon.[56] On 6 May 2000 in London, Smith defeated Crash Holly for the Hardcore Championship. Holly regained the title from Smith in New Haven, Connecticut on 11 May episode of SmackDown!. Smith's last televised match with the WWF was on Sunday Night Heat, when he burst into Eddie Guerrero and Chyna's locker room, accusing Guerrero (who was the European Champion at the time) of not treating the belt with the respect it deserved. This led to a European Championship title match on that Heat, in which both men were disqualified. After Heat, WWF announced that Smith had again left the WWF on 15 May 2000.[11] Smith would take a hiatus from wrestling.
Late career (2002)
Before his death on 18 May 2002, Smith had been training with the intent of resuming his career and came out of retirement wrestling in three tag-team matches with his son, Harry Smith the previous weekend in Manitoba, Canada.[5][6] He had also considered another return to the WWF.[10]
Professional wrestling style and persona
Due to his training in Stu Hart's Dungeon, Smith was renowned for both his technical skill along with his power moves, frequently performing multiple gorilla press slam variations and a delayed vertical suplex, where he would often hold the opponent in the air for an extended length of time to emphasize his strength. His finishing manoeuvre was a Running powerslam.[1]
Personal life
Some writers have claimed that Smith's middle name was actually "Boy", supposedly as the result of one of his parents mistaking the middle name field on Smith's birth certificate for the gender field.[65][66] This story is undoubtedly apocryphal - not only was "Davey Boy" a common nickname in England during Smith's youth for boys named David,[67][68][69] but British birth certificates are completed by a registrar for the General Register Office, not the child's parents.[70]
Smith married his wife Diana at the Hart house in October 1984.[7] They had two children, Harry (born 2 August 1985 in Calgary) and Georgia (born 26 September 1987, also in Calgary).[7] In early January 2000, Smith and Diana divorced, with Diana ultimately gaining custody of their son. Shortly after his release from the WWF in 2000, Smith entered an Atlantadrug rehabilitation clinic to treat his addiction to prescription opiate painkillers, including morphine, upon which he had become dependent following a 1998 back injury suffered while in WCW.[71] 2000 would also see Smith arrested for allegedly threatening to kill Diana and her sister Ellie.[72] This would not be Smith's last interaction with the law: following an altercation at "The Back Alley," a Calgary bar, Smith was charged with aggravated assault against 19-year-old wrestler Kody Light after a dispute regarding how Light had spoken to Diana. The charges were later dropped.[73] Andrea Redding, Smith's girlfriend from 2000 to his death, stated that they were planning to get married shortly before his death.[4][5]
Smith died on 18 May 2002[75] after suffering a heart attack while on holiday in Invermere, British Columbia, with his girlfriend Andrea Redding, who was Bruce Hart's estranged wife.[76] He was 39 years old. Forensic scientist Julie Evans stated that although she had found steroids and painkillers in Smith's system, they were not at a life-threatening level. She instead concluded that Smith had died from natural causes associated with an enlarged heart.[77] Bruce Hart claimed "Davey paid the price with steroid cocktails and human-growth hormones".[78] Two funeral services were held, one by Andrea and the other by the Hart family.[5]Bret Hart attended both.[21]
^Cawthon, Graham (2013). The History of Professional Wrestling: The Results WWF 1990–1999. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. p. 73. ISBN978-1-4935-6689-1.
^Cawthon, Graham (2013). The History of Professional Wrestling: The Results WWF 1990–1999. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. p. 74. ISBN978-1-4935-6689-1.
