The British Bulldogs
The British Bulldogs | |
---|---|
Tag team | |
Members | David Smith Tom Billington Matilda (bulldog) Winston (bulldog) |
Billed heights | Smith: 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) Billington: 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) |
Combined billed weight | 218 kg (481 lb) |
Billed from | Wigan, England |
Debut | 1983 |
Disbanded | 1990 |
The British Bulldogs were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of cousins Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid. They competed throughout the 1980s in Britain, North America and Japan and have consistently ranked among the top tag teams in history.[1] Both men died prematurely.[a]
Background
David Smith and Tom Billington were first cousins[4] from Wigan, England, with Billington's father being the brother of Smith's mother. In the 1970s, Smith and Billington both began their careers in Britain. The two were soon invited to join Stampede Wrestling in Canada by talent scout Bruce Hart. Billington went to Canada first and made a revolutionary impact in Stampede with his effortlessly fluid technical wrestling style, and had a feud with his future brother-in-law, Bret Hart. Smith came to Stampede in the early 1980s. During their time together in Stampede, Smith and Billington began a heated feud as Billington provoked Smith by claiming he was "a test-tube baby".[citation needed]
History
Early years (1983–1984)
The Billington-Smith feud continued in
World Wrestling Federation (1985–1988)
In 1984,
The British Bulldogs' first feud was with the Hart Foundation, whom they knew from their Stampede days, and thus they were able to produce a series of outstanding matches that helped to elevate both teams. The Bulldogs' next major feud was with the
The Bulldogs continued their feud with the Dream Team and also defended regularly against the former championship team of
After being given time off to recuperate, the Bulldogs returned to the ring to continue their feud with the Hart Foundation and Davis (who, in the storyline, cheated to help the Hart Foundation win the title). The teams met at WrestleMania III, where the Bulldogs teamed with Tito Santana to take on the trio.[7] The Harts and Davis won the match when Davis hit Smith with Jimmy Hart's megaphone behind the referee's back and covered him for the win.
Toward the end of the Bulldogs' title reign, they were given a bulldog named Matilda, who accompanied them to the ring. She was central to their feud with
The Bulldogs' last pay-per-view appearance was at the 1988 Survivor Series. They wrestled in a twenty-man (ten-team) tag team elimination match. The Powers of Pain won the match by eliminating the heel team Los Conquistadores, thus giving their team (which included The Bulldogs who had earlier been eliminated when Smash pinned Billington) the victory.
The Bulldogs left the WWF after backstage altercations with The Rougeau Brothers. Jacques Rougeau knocked several of Billington's teeth out with a surprise punch.[1][8] Billington claimed it was a dispute with WWF management over issuing of complimentary plane tickets that led to their leaving.[9]
Stampede Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling (1988–1990)
After leaving the WWF, the Bulldogs returned to Stampede Wrestling and also resumed touring with All Japan Pro Wrestling, where they had moderate success as a tag team. They had feuds with the Cuban Commandos and Karachi Vice in Stampede and won the Stampede International Tag Team Championship for the second time on December 12, 1988.[5]
After losing the championship to Karachi Vice on December 30, 1988, Billington became involved in a brutal feud with
On May 5, 1989, the Bulldogs split up in Stampede during a chain match between Dynamite Kid and Johnny Smith.
In September 1990, Smith abruptly withdrew the Bulldogs from AJPW's annual
After the breakup of The British Bulldogs tag team, Smith wrestled for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) 1990–1992, 1994–1997 and 1999–2000, and for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1993 and 1998.
Smith died of a heart attack on 18 May 2002 at the age of 39. Billington, who had been in a wheelchair since August 1997,[10] died on 5 December 2018 on his 60th birthday.
Championships and accomplishments
- All Japan Pro Wrestling
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Ranked #5 in the top 100 tag teams of the "PWI Years" in 2003[citation needed]
- Stampede Wrestling
- 2 times)
- World Wrestling Federation
- 1 time)[14]
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
- Best Wrestling Maneuver (1984) Power clean dropkick
- Tag Team of the Year (1985)
Other media
The British Bulldogs were made into action figures, first in 1986 during the LJN WWF Wrestling Superstars line[15] and in the mid 2000s Classic Superstars line by Jakks Pacific.[16] They were available separate as well as packaged together. The Classic Superstars double pack even included their bulldog mascot, Matilda. Both versions are highly sought after by collectors and prices can be well over hundreds of dollars in mint condition especially for Billington, as figures of him were not produced as much as Smith, who gained fame in both WWF and WCW after the Bulldogs' split while Billington wrestled primarily overseas, most notably in Japan and whose career was cut short due to injuries. Many collectors who have obtained the figures consider them among their most prized pieces.[16]
See also
Notes
- ^ The National Cancer Institute define a premature death as one that occurs before the age of 75[2] as does The Lancet[3]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-55022-683-6.
- ^ Premature death cancer.gov
- PMID 31813773.
- ^ "British Bulldog". WWE. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
- ^ ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ISBN 978-1550227871.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4165-3257-6.
- ^ "Columns - Online World of Wrestling". www.onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
- ^ Tom Billington, Pure Dynamite
- ^ ISBN 978-0-9537097-0-0.
- ^ "AJPW Strongest Tag League Results (1990)". Strong Style Wrestling. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007.
9. Dynamite Kid & Johnny Smith [6]
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Real World Tag League 1984 « Tournaments Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Real World Tag League 1985 « Tournaments Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ "World Tag Team – British Bulldogs". WWE. Archived from the original on 29 November 2005. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
- ^ "Canadian Bulldogs World - Wrestling figure hall of fame".
- ^ a b Binder, Matt (21 May 2014). "WWE: 15 Rarest Wrestling Figures Worth An Absolute Fortune". WhatCulture.com. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
Further reading
- Mick Foley (2000). Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks. HarperCollins. p. 768. ISBN 0-06-103101-1.
External links
- Best of British Bulldog at WWE.com