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| Johnny Smith | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | John Robert Hindley |
| Born | (1965-08-07)7 August 1965 (age 59)[1] Warrington, Cheshire, England[1] |
| Spouse | Jane Hindley |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Dynamite Smith Johnny Smith John Savage Junior Royal The Manxman |
| Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 248 lb (112 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Warrington, Cheshire, England |
| Trained by | Ted Betley |
| Debut | January 1982[1] |
| Retired | 9 April 2003 |
John Robert Hindley (born 7 August 1965) is an English retiredprofessional wrestler, better known by thering nameJohnny Smith. He is best known for his appearances withAll Japan Pro Wrestling.[2][1]
Hindley was trained by his uncle Ted Betley, initially in Winwick, Warrington, and then Port Erin, Isle of Man. He made his debut in January 1982 at the age of 16 at Gloucester Leisure Centre, under the name Junior Royal. A year later, he changed his ring name to John Savage, while wrestling in Germany. In July 1985, he would wrestle under the name The Manxman. His last match for Joint Promotions was held on 31 March 1986, losing to veteran Barry Douglas. Soon after, he moved across the Atlantic to Canada with his wife Jane. Smith would continue to return seasonally to Germany and Austria for theCatch Wrestling Association's summer season of tournaments throughout his career.
Joining Stampede Wrestling in June 1986, Hindley was billed asDavey Boy Smith's brother, Johnny Smith.[1] Two months later, he defeatedGama Singh to win his first championship, theStampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship. He would hold onto the title for over a month, before losing the title toLes Thornton.
In 1987, he went on his first Japanese tour inNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).
Initially a babyface, he turned heel in March 1988 as he joined forces withGama Singh's Karachi Vice stable and began disrespecting theHart family, going so far as to berating Davey Boy's wifeDiana and feuding withOwen Hart.[3]
In the spring of 1988, he began a feud withChris Benoit over the British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight title. In June 1988, he defeated Benoit to win his second British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight title, but lost it back to Benoit a week later. However, Smith rebounded another week later and defeated Benoit for his third British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight title. In July 1988, he began feuding withBiff Wellington, which also included a hair vs. hair match in September, which Smith lost, but attacked Wellington after the match and cut his hair instead. In January 1989, Smith's third reign as British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight champion came to an end as he lost the title to Chris Benoit in a death match.
In February 1989, he began feuding withDynamite Kid after interfering during a British Bulldogs-Karachi Vice rematch, attacking him from behind and cutting his hair. The feud also included a series of chain matches, dubbed the Battle of Britain. In May, Dynamite had turned on Davey Boy Smith and Johnny began teaming with Dynamite asThe British Bruisers, feuding with Davey Boy andChris Benoit. In July 1989, he defeated Benoit to win his fourth and final British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight championship, but lost it back to Benoit a day later.
From June to August 1987, Smith wrestled in Japan forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling as part of its "Summer Big Fight Series". During the tour, he primarily teamed with other foreign wrestlers, includingBad News Allen,Buzz Sawyer, andCrusher Bam Bam Bigelow. His opponents includedAntonio Inoki,Keiji Muto,Masa Saito, andSeiji Sakaguchi.[4]
In February 1989, he followedThe Dynamite Kid to wrestle forAll Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and replaced Davey Boy Smith as Dynamite Kid's tag team partner in September 1990, reforming the tag team:The British Bruisers.[1]
In between tours in All Japan, Hindley would wrestle the independent circuit in the United States and Canada, as well as brief stints inExtreme Championship Wrestling. He would also wrestle in Europe forCatch Wrestling Association under the name Dynamite Smith.
On 10 April 2003, Hindley collapsed prior to his match at an All Japan Pro Wrestling show.[1] Paramedics were called to the Hiroshima Arena and Hindley was rushed to a local hospital, having lost feeling in some parts of his body, but was in stable condition at a local Japanese hospital.[1] Some believe this incident to be connected to a previous injury. Sometime after the incident, Hindley retired. He was planning to make a comeback in March 2004 forIWA Japan, but chose to remain retired for health reasons.
Hindley is married to a woman named Jane.
Hindley became a police officer for the city ofCalgary.[5]
According to Dynamite Kid's autobiography,Pure Dynamite, Hindley had a modest personality, as he was one of the few foreign wrestlers that did not negotiate anything at all, lettingGiant Baba pay him what he thought was fair. Hindley was also known to be very kind to his fans. One night, a Japanese fan had made a ring jacket for him and was so nice and generous that Johnny didn't have the heart to point out the mistake on it (the misspelling of his first name, which ended up being "Jhonny") to him and wore the jacket throughout his career.
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