| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | David Smith (1962-11-27)27 November 1962 Golborne,Lancashire, England |
| Died | 18 May 2002(2002-05-18) (aged 39) Invermere,British Columbia, Canada |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
Spouse | |
| Children | 2; includingDavey Boy Smith Jr. |
| Relative | Thomas Wilton BillingtonDynamite Kid (Cousin) |
| Family | Billington Hart (by marriage) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring names |
|
| Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 260 lb (118 kg)[1] |
| Billed from |
|
| Trained by |
|
| Debut | 1978 |
| Retired | 2002 |
David Smith (27 November 1962 – 18 May 2002) was an Englishprofessional wrestler best known for his appearances in the United States with theWorld Wrestling Federation under thering namesDavey Boy Smith andThe British Bulldog.
Smith won titles within the WWF in three decades, from the 1980s to the 2000s. Though he was never aworld champion, Smith nevertheless headlined multiple pay-per-view events in the WWF and WCW, in which he challenged for the WWF andWCW World Heavyweight championships. He defeatedBret Hart for theWWF Intercontinental Championship in the main event ofSummerSlam 1992 atLondon'soriginal Wembley Stadium; he also has the distinction of being the inaugural and longest reigningWWF 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, atOne Night Only in 1997. Prior to finding singles success, Smith achieved stardom as one half ofThe British Bulldogs tag team, alongside theDynamite Kid. He was inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame in2020.[2]
Smith was born inGolborne,[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 theDynamite 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]
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 onITV'sWorld 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 wrestlerAlex Wright. Smith filled a spot in the promotion left by his slightly older cousin the Dynamite Kid,[6] who had recently departed to wrestle inCalgary. Mentored by the Dynamite Kid's friend Alan Dennison, in 1979, Smith appeared to have won theBritish Welterweight championship fromJim 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 byBruce 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'sStampede 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 theStampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship.[12] In 1983, Smith debuted inNew 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 asThe 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 onWorld Of Sport in 1982 where he lost toDave Finlay in an eliminator match for a shot at theBritish Heavy Middleweight Championship and 1983 where, as a complainingheel he defeated Bernie Wright in a rematch from the 1978 match.[15][16]
The Bulldogs, along with Smith's brothers-in-lawBret Hart andJim Neidhart were brought in to theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) afterVince McMahon bought out Stampede Wrestling.[11] At first, the Bulldogs were able to tour both WWF and All Japan, but eventually McMahon gained exclusive rights to the Bulldogs. Managed byLou Albano,[10] the Bulldogs began a long running feud with Hart and Neidhart, who were now known asThe Hart Foundation. The Bulldogs also feuded with theDream Team (Greg Valentine andBrutus Beefcake), and on 7 April 1986 atWrestleMania 2, with Albano andOzzy Osbourne in their corner, the Bulldogs defeated the Dream Team for theTag Team Championship.[17]
The Bulldogs held the titles for nearly nine months, feuding with the Dream Team andNikolai Volkoff andThe 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 ofThe Islanders (who inkayfabe dog-napped Matilda),Demolition, and theRougeau Brothers.[11] AtSurvivor Series on 26 November, The British Bulldogs and other face teams won a 10-on-10Survivor Series tag team match.[18] The followingSurvivor 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 ofribs (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 includingThe Honky Tonk Man, whom Dynamite brought to tears) inMiami.[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]
After leaving the WWF, the Bulldogs returned to Stampede Wrestling, and also toAll 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 ownerShohei Baba, who was still promoting the Bulldogs as a tag team. On 4 July 1989, Smith, along with fellow wrestlersChris Benoit, Ross Hart, andJason the Terrible, was involved in a serious automobile accident.[23] Smith, who was not wearing a seatbelt at the time, needed 135stitches after slamming his head through thewindscreen and being thrown 25 feet onto the pavement.[6][11][23] He recovered, and the Bulldogs continued teaming in All Japan against teams such asJoe andDean Malenko,Kenta Kobashi andTsuyoshi Kikuchi, andThe Nasty Boys.[23] Personal problems began to surface between Smith and Billington, and Smith later left All Japan to return to the WWF.
Smith returned to the WWF in 1990,[10] where he waspushed as the samecharacter from theBritish 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 partnerDynamite Kid from using the name.[11] Smith returned to the WWF at alive event on 6 October, where he defeatedHaku.[24] Smith made his televised in-ring return on 27 October episode ofSuperstars, where he defeated theBrooklyn Brawler.[25]
Over the next two years, Smith was amid-carder and engaged in a long-running feud withThe 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 onSky 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 theAlbert Hall on 3 October 1991, which he won by eliminatingTyphoon.[30] After entering as the first man in the1992 Royal Rumble on 19 January, he eliminatedTed DiBiase,Jerry Sags andHaku before being eliminated by the eventual winnerRic Flair.[31]
In 1992, due to Smith's newfound popularity in the United Kingdom, the WWF decided to hold its annualSummerSlam pay-per-view inWembley Stadium inLondon. The show was main-evented by Smith (led to the ring by the then British, Commonwealth & EuropeanHeavyweight Boxing championLennox Lewis) andBret Hart in a match for Hart'sIntercontinental Championship. On 29 August at SummerSlam, in front of 80,355 of his homeland fans, Smith won the title in a match which is regarded by many wrestling experts as the finest in his career.[32] Smith lost the title toShawn Michaels on 14 November atSaturday Night's Main Event XXXI,[33] and was later released by the WWF.[11] According to Bret Hart's book, the reason for Smith's release was that WWF ownerVince McMahon was made aware that Smith andThe Ultimate Warrior were receiving illegal shipments ofhuman growth hormone (HGH) from a crooked pharmacist in England. Due to McMahon beinginvestigated for illegally distributing steroids to WWF wrestlers, Smith and Warrior were released.[21][34]
Shortly after leaving the World Wrestling Federation, Smith debuted inEastern Championship Wrestling in December 1992, defeatingJimmy Snuka.[11]
In January 1993, Smith signed withWorld Championship Wrestling, debuting atSuperBrawl III on 21 February, defeating"Wild" Bill Irwin.[35] Over the following weeks, he scored a series of wins onWCW WorldWide,WCW Main Event, andWCW Saturday Night, defeating a series ofjobbers.[11] In late March, Smith returned toAll Japan Pro Wrestling for itsChampion Carnival tournament. He scored a total of six points, defeatingDanny Kroffat,Doug Furnas, andJohnny Ace but losing toAkira Taue,Kenta Kobashi,Mitsuharu Misawa,The Patriot,Stan Hansen,Steve Williams,Terry Gordy, andToshiaki Kawada.[36]
Upon returning from Japan, Smith formed an alliance with top protagonistSting, and engaged in feuds with top antagonistsSid Vicious andBig Van Vader. AtSlamboree on 23 May, Smith wrestledWorld 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 finalpay-per-view appearance for WCW during this period came atBattlebowl on 20 November, the month prior, where he was teamed withKole in the first round of the Lethal Lottery; they lost toRoad Warrior Hawk andRip Rogers.[40]
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 byMax Crabtree to be his next top star afterBig 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 atSummerSlam 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 andJim Neidhart in a series of tag team matches, most notably in a victory on Monday Night Raw.[11] On November 23, Smith appeared atSurvivor Series in a 10-man elimination match; his partners wereIntercontinental ChampionRazor Ramon,1-2-3 Kid, andThe Headshrinkers. They facedWWF 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 theWWF Championship.[43]
After entering theRoyal 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 withLex Luger as theAllied Powers.[10] On 2 April atWrestleMania XI, they defeatedThe Blu Brothers.[45] AtIn Your House 2 on 23 July, they failed to win the Tag Team Championship from Owen Hart andYokozuna.[46]
Around this time, fans began getting tired of Smith being an English hero and at house shows, fans began chanting "USA, USA" which aggravated Smith and during a show atMadison Square Garden, The Allied Powers took on The Blu Brothers again but before the match, Smith got on the microphone telling the fans to tone down the USA chant, but they refused to and during the match, Smith walk out on Luger. On an August episode ofMonday Night Raw, the Allied Powers were supposed to faceMen 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 andturnedheel for the first time in his WWF career, helping Men on a Mission beat up Diesel and aligning himself withJim Cornette'sstable with Owen Hart and Yokozuna, who had been his adversaries just a month earlier, thus disbanding the Allied Powers.[11]
Smith was to start a feud with Luger in a series of Flag Matches but Luger returned to WCW and the feud was cancelled.
On 22 October atIn Your House 4 inWinnipeg,Manitoba, Smith received a WWF Championship shot against Diesel, winning by disqualification afterBret Hart interfered.[47] AtSurvivor Series on 19 November, Smith participated in the Wild Card eight-man elimination match, teaming with Shawn Michaels,Ahmed Johnson, andSycho Sid and facingWWF Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon,Dean Douglas, Owen Hart, and Yokozuna, which they won.[48] On 17 December atIn 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 theRoyal Rumble on January 21, 1996, where he made it to the final four before being eliminated by Michaels.[50] On 18 February atIn Your House 6, he lost to Yokozuna by disqualification afterVader interfered.[51] AtWrestleMania XII on 31 March, he teamed with Vader and Owen Hart to defeat Yokozuna, Ahmed Johnson, andJake Roberts.[52]
In 1996, afterShawn 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 ofhitting on her, which angered Smith and made him determined to take the title from Michaels.[53] The two were the main-event of theIn 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 atKing 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 fromThe Smokin' Gunns. The team defended their titles against teams such asDoug Furnas andPhil LaFon, Vader andMankind, andThe Legion of Doom. In 1997, the WWF created theWWF 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 withBret Hart,Jim Neidhart, andBrian Pillman to form anew form of the Hart Foundation, a heel faction which feuded withStone 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 andDude Love.[57] Smith lost the European Championship toShawn Michaels on 20 September atOne Night Only.[58] Smith wasbooked in the main event to defend the belt against Michaels. However, Michaels convincedVince McMahon that he should win, as it would create build-up not only for his impending rematch withBret 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 atSurvivor Series inMontreal, Smith was part of Team Canada (alongside Jim Neidhart,Doug FurnasandPhilip Lafon), defeating Team USA (Vader,Goldust,Marc Mero and the debutingSteve 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 aSharpshooter.[60] Smith then paid money to leave the WWF for WCW, along with Bret Hart and Neidhart, soon afterward.[7]
Smith rejoined WCW in late 1997, and began a feud withSteve 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 onWCW Thunder. They challenged for theWorld 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 atFall Brawl during his match with Neidhart againstThe Dancing Fools,Disco Inferno andAlex Wright. During the match, while takingbumps, Smith twice landed awkwardly on atrapdoor that had been set up underneath the ring canvas to enableThe Warrior to make a dramatic entrance in the night's main event.[61] The result was aspinalinfection that nearlyparalysed Smith, hospitalising him for six months.[6] However, while recuperating, Smith's WCW contract was terminated due to his inability to perform.[7]
Smith returned to the WWF in September 1999. In keeping with the company's new "Attitude Era", Smith began wrestling injeans instead of his usualUnion 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 ofSmackDown! inAlbany, New York, Smith defeated theBig Boss Man for theWWF Hardcore Championship. Smith forfeited the title later that evening, giving the belt back toAl 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 theWWF Championship, eventuallyturning heel and beginning afeud withThe Rock. Smith headlinedUnforgiven on 26 September as part of a six-man WWF Championship match that was won byTriple H.[63] On 2 October, Smith returned to England as a heel atRebellion, defeatingX-Pac.[64]
Smith defeatedD'Lo Brown for the WWF European Championship onSmackDown! on 26 October.[56] He lost the title toVal Venis in a triple threat match on 12 December atArmageddon.[56] On 6 May 2000 inLondon, Smith defeatedCrash Holly for the Hardcore Championship. Holly regained the title from Smith inNew Haven, Connecticut on 11 May episode ofSmackDown!. Smith's last televised match with the WWF was onSunday Night Heat, when he burst intoEddie Guerrero andChyna'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 thatHeat, in which both men were disqualified. AfterHeat, WWF announced that Smith had again left the WWF on 15 May 2000.[11] Smith would take a hiatus from wrestling.
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 two tag-team matches with his son,Harry Smith the previous weekend in Manitoba, Canada.[5][6] Smith competed at Top Rope Championship Wrestling on 5 May and 11 May, teaming with Harry Smith in both matches and with Zack Murcury in his second match.[65] He had also considered another return to the WWF.[10]
Due to his training inStu Hart's Dungeon, Smith was renowned for both his technical skill along with his power moves, frequently performing multiplegorilla press slam variations and adelayed 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 aRunning powerslam.[1]
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.[66][67]
Smith married his wife Diana at theHart house in October 1984.[7] They had two children,Harry (born 2 August 1985 inCalgary) and Georgia (born 26 September 1987, also in Calgary).[7] In early January 2000, Smith and Diana divorced. Shortly after his release from the WWF in 2000, Smith entered anAtlantadrug rehabilitation clinic to treat hisaddiction to prescriptionopiate painkillers, includingmorphine, upon which he had become dependent following a 1998 back injury suffered while in WCW.[68] 2000 would also see Smith arrested for allegedly threatening to kill Diana and her sister Ellie.[69] 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.[70] Andrea Redding, Smith's girlfriend from 2000 to his death, stated that they were planning to get married shortly before his death.[4][5]
He was a supporter ofManchester United FC.[71]
Smith died on 18 May 2002[72] after suffering aheart attack while on holiday inInvermere, British Columbia, with his girlfriend Andrea Redding, who wasBruce Hart's estranged wife.[73] 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 fromnatural causes associated with anenlarged heart.[74] Bruce Hart claimed "Davey paid the price with steroid cocktails and human-growth hormones".[75] Two funeral services were held, one by Andrea and the other by the Hart family.[5]Bret Hart attended both.[21]
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | WWF WrestleMania | Video game debut. Cover athlete |
| 1992 | WWF Super WrestleMania | Genesis version only |
| 1996 | WWF In Your House | |
| 1998 | WWF War Zone | |
| WCW/nWo Revenge | ||
| 1999 | WCW/nWo Thunder | |
| WCW Nitro | Nintendo 64 only | |
| 2000 | WWF No Mercy | |
| 2002 | Legends of Wrestling II | |
| 2004 | Showdown: Legends of Wrestling | |
| 2005 | WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 | |
| 2009 | WWE Legends of WrestleMania | |
| 2010 | WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 | Downloadable content |
| 2012 | WWE '13 | |
| 2015 | WWE 2K16 | |
| 2016 | WWE 2K17 | |
| 2017 | WWE 2K18 | |
| 2018 | WWE 2K19 | |
| 2020 | WWE 2K Battlegrounds | Downloadable content |
| 2022 | WWE 2K22 | Downloadable content |
| 2023 | WWE 2K23 | |
| WrestleQuest | ||
| 2024 | WWE 2K24 | |
| 2025 | WWE 2K25 |
On March 24, 2024, Smith was the subject of theBiography: WWE Legends.
Citations
Twenty man over the top rope Battle Royal: The British Bulldog eliminated Typhoon to win
Bibliography