Johnny Smith (wrestler)
Johnny Smith | |
---|---|
Birth name | John Robert Hindley |
Born | Warrington, Cheshire, England | 7 August 1965
Trained by | Ted Betley |
Debut | January 1982[1] |
Retired | 9 April 2003 |
John Robert Hindley (born 7 August 1965) is an English retired
Professional wrestling career
Joint Promotions (1982–1986)
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.
Stampede Wrestling (1986–1990)
Joining Stampede Wrestling in June 1986, Hindley was billed as
In 1987, he went on his first Japanese tour in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).
Initially a babyface, he turned heel in March 1988 as he joined forces with Gama Singh's Karachi Vice stable and began disrespecting the Hart family, going so far as to berating Davey Boy's wife Diana and feuding with Owen Hart.[3]
In the spring of 1988, he began a feud with Chris 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 with Biff 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 with
All Japan Pro Wrestling (1989–2003)
In February 1989, he followed
In between tours in All Japan, Hindley would wrestle the independent circuit in the United States and Canada, as well as brief stints in Extreme Championship Wrestling. He would also wrestle in Europe for Catch Wrestling Association under the name Dynamite Smith.
On 10 April 2003, Hindley collapsed prior to his match at an All Japan Pro Wrestling show.
Personal life
Hindley is married to a woman named Jane.
Hindley became a police officer for the city of Calgary.[4]
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, letting Giant 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.
Championships and accomplishments
- All Japan Pro Wrestling
- Canadian Rocky Mountain Wrestling
- CRMW Heavyweight Championship (2 times)[7]
- Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Class of 2016[8]
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Stampede Wrestling
- 4 times)[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Online World of Wrestling profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
- ISBN 9780786417544.
- ^ "Owen Hart vs. Johnny Smith (August 18, 1989)". youtube. 12 November 2007. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016.
- ^ Wrestling, Slam. "Slam Wrestling Homepage". Slam Wrestling. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- ^ "Real World Tag League 1990 « Tournaments Database « CAGEMATCH - the Internet Wrestling Database".
- ^ "Real World Tag League 1991 « Tournaments Database « CAGEMATCH - the Internet Wrestling Database".
- ^ "CRMW Heavyweight Championship « Titles Database « CAGEMATCH - the Internet Wrestling Database".
- Canadian Online Explorer. 3 April 2016. Archived from the originalon 16 January 2018.
- ^ "Johnny Smith « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - the Internet Wrestling Database".
External links
- Johnny Smith's profile at Cagematch.net, Wrestlingdata.com, Internet Wrestling Database
- John Hindley at IMDb