STRONGEST MAN IN WRESTLING – THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF THE BRITISH BULLDOG

“There is no bull-, in this British Bulldog”

Always loved that little promo from WM 7 and there is no doubt about that line bc The British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith was legitimately 1 of the strongest men in the wrestling business and is IMO, the most underrated wrestler of all time. When people talk about the greatest wrestlers, Davey’s name doesn’t usually come up unless you are talking about Tag Teams but even then, Dynamite usually gets all the attention and Davey is an afterthought. But on top of all the amazing British Bulldog Tag Matches, Davey established himself with a GOAT level singles match vs Bret Hart at SummerSlam 1992 in front of 80,000+ in Wembley Stadium. The forgotten rematch vs Bret for the WWF Title at In Your House 5 is a ***** match and right up there with the Wembley match. In the Tag with Owen, Davey had what I feel is still the greatest match in RAW history vs Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels. He entered the Royal Rumble #2 and was less than an inch away from winning it. Part of the legendary 1997 Hart Foundation and the 10 Man Tag at Canadian Stampede. I think the lows of his life and career make people forget what how incredible he was in the ring. At his best there was nobody he couldn’t hang with and was a legitimate main event talent. At his worst, he was still just as a good as a lot of people on any roster. Unfortunately the pedal to the floor style he adopted early in his career combined with excessive use of PEDs brought on significant back and knee injuries which caused a reliance on pills and other substances for most of his life. Drugs and alcohol destory your brain pathways, affecting so many things like decision making, empathy, intelligence, so it’s tough to think about how much better he could have been if his life had gone a direction that kept him away from drugs.

The British Bulldog was always 1 of my favourite wrestlers as a kid before I had any idea that he was connected to the Harts so this is long overdue. I remember being so shocked and sad when I learned that he passed away, I think I still have the front page of the Winnipeg Sun announcing his death with his picture covering the entire page. At one point I had his autograph from a signing he did with Owen, he was a heel so he didn’t interact much but I said I was glad he broke the Warlord’s full nelson and he gave me a little smile and a wink. My sister ended up tearing it in half along with Owen’s when she was mad at me one day and I def still give her shit about that to this day haha Davey hasn’t got a documentary yet which is a shame so a lot of the information is from the new book Dynamite and Davey: The Explosive Lives of the British Bulldogs by Steven Bell. An absolutely incredible look at both men that does their lives and legacies justice so I highly recommend buying the book bc there is so much more in there that I didn’t put in here. But as I said, long time coming to write something about 1 of my favourite wrestlers so I hope everyone enjoys the look at The British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith.

Davey was born 27 November 1962 in Golborne, Lancashire, England and was a kind, optimistic kid with an excitement for life but was def more of a folower than a leader. His 1st pro wrestling match was May 1978 in England and he would make his TV debut on World of Sport four months later so the talent was there right from the start. Max Crabtree the brother of Big Daddy,UK wrestlings biggest star, saw Davey as the next Dynamite Kid as he booked Davey the same way as Dynamite to start, as the fall guy in Tag matches with Big Daddy for the likes of Giant Haystacks and King Kong Kirk. Fans fell in love with his underdog persona just like they did for Dynamite. Davey was very skinny and used to get teased by the other wrestlers which really bothered him bc he was fit and could wrestle 2 hours no problem but wasn’t that big muscularly yet. His first big match vs Jim Breaks, the man Dynamite beat for his 1st major title. 2 out of 3 falls, Breaks gave ‘Young David’ the 1st fall for free, David tapped in Rd 3 but scored a pinfall in Rd 4 to score a shocking upset. Breaks demanded a rematch claiming it was really 1-1 so he got one but lost again 2-1. Breaks claimed he was being distracted by Davids corner for the 3rd fall so they built to a 3rd match that had fans excited. It would be for the British Title and would be 12 rounds. David was down 1 most of the match until the end when he used Breaks unsportsmanlike tactics for his advantage to feign injury, lure him in and roll him up to tie it. It ended in a tie so Breaks kept the Title but Young David was becoming a superstar

David wanting to follow his cousin Dynamites success, made the arrangements to move to Calgary to wrestle with the Harts. He was broke and his Grandma had to pay for his 1 way ticket to Calgary, so he went on a wrestling tour of South Africa to make some extra money for the trip. He was bit on the arm by a mosquito while there and it had become infected a couple days before he was to go to Calgary. While David was in South Africa, in Calgary a 17 year old Diana Hart was fawning over pictures of the young wrestler named Young David. Davey arrived in Calgary and as he sat in the living room waiting for Stu, Diana was right there to help him take care of the infection on his arm. Davey expected Tom to treat him like family but instead he was mean and nasty, constantly spiking Davey’s food and drinks with exlax to the point that Davey stopped accepting anything from Dynamite. Just imagine how different life would have been for everyone had Dynamite been the best version of himself and welcomed Davey like family instead of being closer to the worst and bullying him which influenced Davey to move closer to the worst than the best version of himself. Dynamite’s wife Michelle saw what was happening and told Bret so Bret made arrangements to have Davey move in with him.

Bret had some fun with Davey too saying that a van would round up all the cats that weren’t indoors and take them to the pound so Davey would hunt for strays and bring them to Bret’s so the van wouldn’t get them lol that was his true character, someone that had such a big heart he was chasing down stray cats to rescue them. At a charity softball game the Harts were part of, Dynamite was crushing HRs while Davey was swinging and missing at everything. But something about Davey made the crowd cheer for him more than Dynamite. Before 1 at bat, Bruce yelled to Davey to try a left handed bat as everyone snickered but Davey got the last laugh when he crushed a Home Run. The romance between Davey and Diana continued to bloom even as Dynamite warned him that Hart daughters were off limits and Stu would send him home if he found out. The Harts wanted to start Davey in a program with Dynamite, prob the best chance to get over. Fans would think Dynamite would beat him easy but they had Davey put up a great fight and to his credit, Dynamite tried to make him look like a million bucks. It worked and the fans went crazy for the first match. The Match happens May 1 1981, ended double count out. Rematch a week later, Davey won via rollup in a shocking upset but Dynamite drop kicked the ref in the back and when the ref came to, he thought it was Davey and reversed the decision which incensed the crowd.

Davey would sneak over to Dynamites place (gotta maintain kayfabe) to talk about the matches when Davey saw all the steroids in Dynamites fridge. Still self conscious about his size, Davey asked if he should start and Dynamite says that he has to if he wants to make it. But typical Dynamite injected him with milk instead of roids so the next day on the bus, Dynamite and the boys were mooing and meowing at Davey until Neidhart yelled out “Bax ya daft bastard he injected you with milk!” lol funny but sad to know it was these kind of things that caused the change in Davey’s character to embrace bullying. You would think you could trust someone when it comes to injecting a substance into your body smh. Dynamite called him Bax after a simple natured character on a kids show so Davey did not like the name but had to tolerate it. On the next tour, Dynamite suggested that it was time for Davey to get juice and said he would take care of him. Bret tried to warn Davey that you never let anyone cut you, do it yourself or don’t do it at all reiterating that he can’t trust Dynamite. But Davey basically worshipped his cousin and went along with anything he said and did. In the match Dynamite took a scalpel and cut deep into Daveys forehead, Davey panicked and pulled away causing the blade to slice deeper in Daveys head and cutting across his scalp. Kayfabe be damned Bret rushed in and took Davey to the hospital fearing he might bleed to death. 22 stitches later, Davey had earned some respect from Dynamite for not complaining or getting mad about it and he started to treat Davey a bit better. Ridiculous that it took something like that to earn Dynamite’s respect.

The momentum slowed for Davey after his matches with Dynamite ended as he was booked with the opening match guys. One trip Davey was riding in the back as Bret and the legendary Lou Thesz sat in the front and Thesz talked to them about his career and how Toots Mondt was the gatekeeper of kayfabe and taught that to him. Suddenly a car drove off a junction at full speed crossing right in front of them forcing Bret to slam on the brakes. They caught up with the car at a red light and Davey not so politely asked them where they learned to drive. Some big, young guys jumped out but Bret and Davey weren’t about to lose face in front of Lou Thesz so the got out and beat the shit out of them lol Davey started getting used to the wrestling life and started playing his own pranks like instigating a boring chant during one of Jim Neidharts matches which set Jim off lol Davey and Dynamite were both getting seriously jacked with their steroid and workout routines benching 450lbs. Davey, Dynamite, Bret and Jim had become an inseparable 4some, all in relationships and running towns with Stampede. These were happy times. Davey and Dynamite resumed their feud with a huge match for the World Mid-Heavyweight title during Stampede week, the biggest week of the year. Davey wasn’t as big muscularly as Dynamite yet but bc he was taller he carried it much better and looked huge. After a great back n forth match, Davey executed a perfect German suplex and got the 3 count. Almost didn’t happen tho. Dynamite was leaving to Japan and most wanted the belt to stay on him but Bret wanted it on Davey to make Davey a star and help Stampede while they were gone. It was Dynamite who finally spoke up, agreeing with Bret saying Davey was ready and could hold it down until they got back. Big moment for Dynamite to call him Davey instead of Bax, meant he saw Davey as an equal now.

Davey had become very close with Bret while living together and obsessively going over matches to try and get better. Bret would give Davey advice and the next match he would implement it. Despite being great friends, they had never worked together one on one in the ring bc they were both baby faces but one night heading into a show in Regina, neither had a match so they decided to do a babyface vs babyface match. Crowd didnt know how to react at first wanting to cheer both men but quickly started to get into it as Bret and Davey put on a fantastic match that had the crowd on fire by the end. A sign of things to come. Davey’s temper got the better of him again after another traffic incident where a car blew a red light forcing the van of wrestlers to slam on the brakes but the car followed them with the passengers throwing beer bottles at the van. At a red light, Davey got out to fight them but they sped away. The car ended up stopped at a police checkpoint but that didnt stop Davey who went after the guys in the car and hip tossed the cop that tried to stop him. Obv he was arrested and risked being deported at minimum. Davey finally got a shot in Japan working under a red and white mask to do a 1 match tour vs The Cobra, a man Davey had worked with alot in Stampede so New Japan was confident it would be a great match. After 20 min of awesome action, the fans were going nuts chanting for Dynamite Kid bc they thought it was him, that’s how good Davey was.

On the flight home, Davey made acquaintance of Bruce Allen who offered to help promote Stampede in the Vancouver area and after telling Stu who was on board, business in Vancouver doubled and even tripled at some shows. Davey’s success vs The Cobra convinced the New Japan office that they could do big business with Dynamite and Davey as a tag team so they made an offer to them as a tag team as well as singles entries into the tournament to crown a new WWF Junior Heavyweight Champion. The tournament was bittersweet as Davey and Dynamite tore the house down with each other and vs The Cobra but Dynamite would injure his back and start his rapid downfall as a wrestler and person. The matches were all back to back and Davey had a great match vs The Cobra and was completely gassed when he faced Dynamite next but Dynamite took care of Davey and structured the match to give him a breather and when Davey caught his breath, they went at it full tilt to the delight of the crowd. Last match was Dynamite vs Cobra and in a huge achievment, Dynamite became the new WWF Junior Heavyweight Champion as the crowd went wild.

The war between NJPW and All Japan was getting heated as defections from NJPW started becoming more frequent due to poor management but NJPW had an ace up their sleeve due to the relationship with the WWF and having the best Tag Team in the world, The British Bulldogs but that was about to change. Mr Hito, a wrestler that worked Stampede and helped Dynamite and Davey with rooms in Japan in addition to training, management, etc… approached them secretly for a meeting in their Calgary hotel room. Mr Hito was supposed to get a good job with NJPW working with talent but they were not coming through so he was now working for Giant Baba and All Japan. Mr Hito handed them a briefcase with 20 grand in it saying that Baba wants them to work for All-Japan and that they get another 20k when they arrive in Japan as well as guaranteed tours of Japan for $1000 more than Inoki and New Japan were paying them. Davey was hesitant but Dynamite reminded him that they aren’t killing themselves in the ring for nothing and need to make as much money as they can so they both signed the contracts and created shockwaves throughout the wrestling world especially in Japan. More big changes were happening with Stampede as they were the latest territory to get caught up in the WWF machine as Vince McMahon wanted the Stampede TV slots and was offering to buy the company from Stu which was more than he offered to most territories. Stu had little choice but to accept but as part of the deal, Vince agreed to give jobs with the WWF to Bret, Davey, Dynamite and Jim Neidhart and Bruce was given an office job.

In the final days of Stampede, Davey and Dynamite were both babyfaces so they had free reign to tear the house down in tag team matches. Davey got the biggest win of his singles career when he defeated Bad News Allen for the North American Heavyweight Title in front of 7,000 fans in Vancouver thanks to Bruce Allen. Davey would hold that title until Stampede closed its doors. After Dynamite and Bret were only paid $100 for their first match in the WWF, Dynamite was pissed and convinced Davey they should turn the WWF offer down since their new All Japan deals paid more than enough. Bruce Hart violated the deal Stu had with Vince by backing a Stampede restart and even got the Bulldogs to sign with them but when the new management wasn’t going to make Bruce booker, all 3 walked. The Bulldogs landed in Japan and Giant Baba shocked the wrestling world by announcing them as participants for the upcoming tournament. New Japan officials were furious and tried to do anything they could to get the Bulldogs to reverse the deal. Vince McMahon himself even flew out to Tokyo to join New Japan in bargaining with them since All Japan was affiliated with NWA, Vince’s biggest wrestling rival. But in the end, Dynamite returned the belts to New Japan and everyone accepted that the Bulldogs were now working for All Japan.

In the tournament, Davey got to be part of dream match after dream match vs teams like Terry & Dory Funk Jr, Bruiser Brody & Stan Hansen, Harley Race & Nick Bockwinkle while establishing themselves as the best Tag Team in the world. Back in Calgary, Davey was formally charged with assaulting the police officer and was eventually found guilty but only received a fine and probation thanks to Stu using his connection at the Immigration office. As 1985 started, they continued their tour of tearing down every house they wrestled in as the Japanese fans reacted to them like they were gods. Davey with Dynamite by his side, married Diana at the Hart House which was filled with candles and 800 guests. Just before the first WrestleMania, Vince was able to meet with the Bulldogs in a Toronto hotel room and make them an offer to join the WWF while telling them they could have been on WrestleMania making thousands of dollars and big mainstream exposure if they had signed with him earlier. The Bulldogs were smart to leave New Japan as their financial struggles were getting bigger and the deal with WWF was ending bc New Japan coudn’t afford to pay the WWF talent prices. Vince said he would call them the British Bulldogs and they would make big money from merchandise and ticket sales also saying they would win the Tag Team Titles within a year. Davey always let Dynamite do the negotiating and Dynamite liked what he heard so the Bulldogs agreed to come work for Vince. Between this deal and their All Japan deal, they were set to take care of their growing families. In the lobby the Bulldogs ran into Bret and Jim who had just become a heel tag team and the 4 of them were excited knowing they would be working together soon.

‘Rule Brittania’ echoed throughout arenas as The British Bulldogs made their way to the ring in front of adoring WWF crowds. Vince tried to offer them 10,000 per week contracts but they had to be exclusive to the WWF which Dynamite balked at bc they could make up to 100k for 3 months work on their All Japan deals. Shows how good and valuable they were when Vince agreed to let them work both WWF and All Japan something nobody else got to do. The Bulldogs started out working with teams like the Moondogs, The Dream Team and the Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkhoff as the Hart Foundation was still much lower on the card working the B shows while the Bulldogs were on the A shows with Hulk Hogan. Finally on April 27th 1985, the first British Bulldogs vs Hart Foundation match happened and it was incredible with all 4 guys flying and bumping around to make eachother look great. All the road agents were blown away by the match and this led to the Bulldogs and the Harts working together on most shows. These matches were crucial to the careers of Bret and Jim as now everyone knew how good they were too. Fn wish we could see them now. The only weak point with the Bulldogs was neither guy could cut a good babyface promo so Vince put them with Capt Lou ALbano as a manager who could talk for them while they tore it down in the ring. Great manager but he was a bad influence on the Bulldogs bc he liked to party. After the success of WrestleMania, Vince created another big shows called the Wrestling Classic which would feature a big tournament and Davey faced Ricky Steamboat. The action we did see was great but the match was very short and was stopped after Davey appeared to tear his groin missing a dropkick and landing between the ropes.

Working for the WWF was paying off as the Bulldogs were not only making big money but becoming household names thanks to an appearance on the A-Team TV show with Hogan and other wrestlers. Unfortunately the WWF also gave the Bulldogs easy access to the steroids and pills they had become dependent on. Davey’s son Harry was born on AUgust 2, 1985 and Davey could not get enough of his son and being a new Dad. Back on the road, Davey, Dynamite, Dan Spivey and Gary Portz formed a 4some called Night Patrol that was always the last to leave the bars. At WrestleMania 2, the British Bulldogs were finally crowned the WWF Tag Team Champions defeating the Dream Team in easily the best match of the show. A few months later the Buldogs would get a dog named Matilda to act as their mascot while they were in the ring. Dec 13 1986 was the day that all the excess finally caught up with the Dynamite Kid. The Bulldogs had a Tag match vs Don Muraco and Bob Orton Jr and after a leap frog over Orton, Dynamite just collapsed and was barely able to roll himself out of the ring. Since Dynamite was such a great seller, it took the boys a minute to realize he was actually hurt but they got him to the back and he was whisked to the nearest hospital. In the end he had destroyed his lumbar spine with steroids and pills and would need major surgery with the doctors recommending he retire from wrestling. Good luck with that haha Dynamite would somehow get himself into the ring 6 weeks later to drop the Tag Titles to the Hart Foundation bc he thought if he just gave up the belt, Vince would put it on another team. On Jan 26, 1987 the Hart Foundation defeated The British Bulldogs to win the Tag Titles ending what would be the only title reign for the best Tag Team in the world.

The Bulldogs would get their biggest paycheque to date working WrestleMania 3 in front of 93,193 fans at the Pontiac Silverdome in a 6 man tag with Tito Santana vs The Hart Foundation and Danny Davis. Dynamite was barely holding things together. In Sept 1987, Davey’s daughter Georgia was born and it became clear fatherhood was what suited Davey best. He was a kid at heart so the time spent with his children brought out his playful side and let him get reacquainted with the things he really loved in life like diving, swimming, water skiing, playing video games, etc.. he was apparently awesome at video games and would quickly get good at any game he played. Man he would’ve loved this era of wrestling. During time off, Davey would wrestle for Stampede to help Stu and in 1988 put on a great, bloody match vs Bret in a 4 corner chain match where you were chained to your opponent and had to touch all 4 turnbuckles in a row to win. But after this Vince put a stop to them working for Stampede bc it was enhancing the competition. WrestleMania 4 saw the Bulldogs joined by Koko B Ware take on the Islanders and Bobby Heenan after the Islanders stole Matilda from ringside weeks earlier. Not the typical spot for the Bulldogs and this bothered Dynamite who needed to be near the top of the card but the 24k cheque calmed him for the time being. While Dynamite was deteriorating fast, Davey was just hitting his prime with a perfect mix of size and athleticism and at 25 years old, Davey was now the star of the Bulldogs.

Next they would feud with the Rougeau Brothers including the first match at the inaugural SummerSlam PPV in 1988. The Bulldogs last PPV match was part of the 10 team Tag at Survior Series 1988 but the Rougeau’s would be the beginning of the end for Dynamite. Over the years the Bulldogs were known as cruel bullies constantly spiking drinks with pills, cutting up clothes, defecating in bags, tossing lit cigarettes in Jake Roberts snake Damian’s bag, mistreating Matilda, nothing was off limits to these guys but their bullying finally caught up to them. Dynamite had been relentlessly bullying Jacques Rougeau and when Jacques tried to finally stand up for himself, Dynamite beat the shit out of him in front of the boys. Jacques felt he had no choice but to respond so days later as Dyanmite was walking into the bulding, Jacques was waiting and sucker punched Dynamite over and over while holding a roll of quarters in his hand. It was 1 sided considering the initial sucker punch knocked out Dynamites teeth and when it was over, all his front teeth were knocked out and his mouth was all cut up requiring significant stitches. Dynamite was a shell of himself after this as he always carried himself as the Alpha and had the reputation as 1 of the toughest guys in the locker room so to be knocked out in front of the boys like that just sucked the life out of him. After this incident, The Bulldogs walked out of the WWF and would never wrestle there as a team again. They went back to Stampede and it was more of a disaster than a good thing. Dynamite was a horrible influence on Davey Boy changing him from a good natured, fun loving guy to a mean spirited, merciless bully even lighting a rookie wrestlers bed on fire while the wrestler was sleeping. Back in Stampede, there was nobody to challenge them on anything so they had free reign to do as they pleased and that obviously caused a lot tension in the locker room. The Bulldogs were back doing tours for All Japan for the first time in a long time which upset both the in ring and backstage dynamics considering the Bulldogs were Tag Champs and Dynamite was working as the booker.

Stampede business was near rock bottom so there was an idea to do a tour called the ‘Dogfight of the Decade’ that would see Dynamite vs Davey headline with Dynamite turning heel to kick it off. The program initially got off to a great start with a strong promo from Dynamite but Ed Whalen’s disdain for the violence and blood that would be expected by the fans in this feud really handcuffed them and blunted the impact of the story. On the 3rd stop of the tour, the wrestlers went stir crazy on the log drive to get there and were indulging in every vice and being a menace to all including Bruce who was driving. Dynamite was more dangerous than ever after the Jacques Rougeau fight bc he was looking to restore his reputation of the toughest in the locker room so when Bruce confronted him in the locker room, Dynamite broke his jaw. Bruce was supposed to be Owen’s best man the next day but had his jaw wired shut so Dynamite was told he wouldn’t be attending the wedding and in response Dynamite said fuck them and quit Stampede. Other wrestlers quit in protest so the Stampede crew was late leaving to the next show and Ross was driving fast so he could make up time but it was raining so on a curve in the road they hydroplaned and were about to go right off a cliff when they smashed into a motorhome. They would all be dead if they hadn’t hit the motorhome but the impact sent Davey head first into the windshield and severely injured others in the vehicle. The doctors said if he didn’t have such a muscular neck, he would be dead. 135 stiches later, Davey had herniated discs in his neck with impaired eyesight and was facing a long road to recovery.

Davey worked hard and returned to the ring a few months later headlining Stampede shows for the North American Title and then heading out for another tour of Japan. But Davey was starting to wonder how much longer he wanted to team with Dynamite who could be very selfish. Dynamite def was the star but there was no doubt about who the future was despite the car accident and Davey was eager to see what he could do on his own. Dynamite knew he needed Davey more than Davey needed him at this point and wanted the team to continue long term. Little did they both know that they would work their last matches together on that tour, as a Tag Team vs Shinichi Nakano/Yoshiaki Yatsu and the last time they ever shared the ring together was a 6 man tag with Tiger Mask II as their partner. Dynamite had shoulder surgery so while he was out, Davey did an All Japan tour with Johnny Smith who was Dynamite’s Tag partner in Stampede and was the winner of a 19 man Battle Royal featuring legendary names like Abdullah The Butcher, Giant Baba, Kenta Kobashi, Dr Death Steve Williams and Terry Gordy. This gave Davey the confidence that he could be a singles star. In July 1990, Pat Patterson called Davey to try and get him to sign with the WWF and be given a push as a new singles star and Davey accepted without hesitation, he was ready to distance himself from Dynamite and had a family to think about. Back in the WWF and sporting new braided dreds, Davey and Diana decided it was time to move to Florida and avoid the big taxes they paid in Calgary so they bought a house there. Davey never told Dynamite about signing with the WWF or moving to Florida knowing both would enrage him, he had to hear it through the rumour mill and it’s sad to say that they never spoke to or saw each other ever again.

Davey started his WWF career working with Haku and made a strong showing in the 1991 Royal Rumble eliminating Haku, Rick Martel and Mr Perfect while lasting 37 minutes. Next he moved on to a feud with the Warlord who was an absolute beefhouse and I swear they had 1000 matches if they had 1 lol but the matches were far better than you would think, they actually had some chemistry together. Their feud culminated at WrestleMania 7 when Davey broke the Warlords full nelson and hit the Running Powerslam for the win. As a kid I was a big Bulldog fan and wanted him to look as good as possible so it always annoyed me that Gorilla pointed out Warlods fingers weren’t locked making it less impressive for Davey. I was like c’mon Gorilla you’re on our side don’t point that out lol The WWF did a tour of the UK after WrestleMania and Davey was a massive star, with the crowds in a frenzy turning him into a national treasure. Fans in the UK started watching him as Young David but the UK wrestling scene was dismantled with no hope for the future so when they saw Davey looking like a Greek god and triumphing in the biggest wrestling company in the world, they were all in. Davey would team with Ricky Steamboat and Kerry Von Erich to face Warlord, Hercules and Paul Roma at SummerSlam 1991 but Davey had much higher aspirations than that.

In the fall there was another European tour and Davey was an even bigger star winning Battle Royals in Royal Albert Hall and in Paris with Andre the Giant in his corner helping him win by hitting Earthquake with a crutch in what would be Andre’s final WWF appearance. Davey would team with Bret, Virgil and Roddy Piper to face Ric Flair, the Mountie, Ted Dibiase and Warlord at Survivor Series 1991 being first eliminated by Ric Flair. Obviously not the spot Davey wanted but working with Flair was a big deal for his singles career going forward. During the Undertakers brief WWF Title reign, Davey recieved his first ever WWF Title shots on house shows. Davey entered the 1992 Royal Rumble as the #1 entrant and had another impressive performance lasting 24 minutes in what is arguably the greatest Royal Rumble of all time. WreslteMania 8 did not go as planned with his match vs the Berzerker cut down to a 1 minute squash in Davey’s favour but he refused to short change the fans like that so they just canceled the match. In the spring they set out for another European tour that would really show the star Davey had become when he defeated Ric Flair in Milan. WWF business in North America was stagnant but overseas it was thriving so Vince wanted to take as much advantage of that as he could. Unfortunately a drug test showed that Davey had Ecstacy in his system so he was suspended and Davey was crushed taking it very hard. But there was light at the end of the tunnel in the form of 80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium.

In taking advantage of the UK popularity, Vince scheduled SummerSlam 1992 to take place in England from Wembley Stadium and Bret convinced him that a match vs Davey would be a main event nobody could touch. So it was on but of course something bad had to happen and a few weeks after returning from suspension and winning a 40 man Battle Royal, Davey hurt his knee on a show requiring him to be off for 5 weeks but should be ready for SummerSlam. When the WWF crew arrived in England for SummerSlam, Davey was mobbed everywhere he went and was treated like the biggest rock stars are. Fans were split about 70/30 for Davey and the feud was built on how conflicted the Hart/Smith families were so it wasn’t out of the question to think Bret could win. Tension was def in the air. Pressure was on since this was main eventing over a WWF Title match between 2 of the biggest stars in wrestling, Macho Man Randy Savage and The Ultimate Warrior so they had to deliver. Davey entered first led to the ring by Lennox Lewis waving a Union Jack flag and wearing a beautiful cape with a sequined Union Jack sparkling on it, he may have walked in the challenger but he looked every bit like a champion and the crowd was prob 80/20 for Davey at this point. The fans wanted to see their guy win the Intercontinental Title. Bret walked down the aisle confidently, looking to solidify his legacy in the WWF with a big Title defense on the 2nd biggest show of the year.

The match that followed was 1 of the greatest of all time. Being trained in the Dungeon was no advantage this time as both men had tasted the mats of the Dungeon in Calgary so their toolboxes had the same tools. They tried to wear eachother down without making the big mistake that would cost them the match making the back and forth action unbelievably intense. Davey let his demons get the best of him the night before the match so Bret really had to work extra hard to make up the slack. There were a couple times the match almost went off track when Davey lifted Bret up and dropped him hard on the top of the turnbuckle and the steel bar going across to post as Bret puts it, “almost splitting him in half.” Then when Bret dove over the top rope but Davey forgot to catch him and disaster was narrowly avoided as Bret managed to grab Davey’s head on the way down. But those things were only obvious after the fact when you hear Bret talk about the match, to the normal fan they just seem like part of the match. As the match got longer you started looking for the finish to be Bret to locking in the Sharpshooter or Davey to hit the Running Powerslam but that wasn’t how it ended making the finish that much more shocking. Davey made a mistake and got trapped in the Sharpshooter but with the Wembley crowd begging him not to submit, he somehow made it to the ropes. Davey knew he had to end it now and Bret came off the ropes as Davey ducked for a back drop but Bret used a Sunset Flip to float over for a roll up as Davey dropped to his knees so Bret tried to hook his legs on Daveys shoulder to get him down but Davey had enough strength left to roll forward and trap Bret with his shoulders down for the 3 count. 1 of the biggest pops of all time, the ‘YEAH!’ after the 3 is such a big roar. Davey had done it, going from a jobber to 1 of the biggest stars in wrestling, even bigger than the Dynamite Kid. 80,000 fans going crazy and an industry of his peers glowing with respect after watching the masterpiece put on by Davey and Bret. The show set a merchandise record that stood for decades. Absolutely Davey’s finest hour in wrestling, he had delivered big time.

On Oct 12, Bret won the WWF Title from Ric Flair and for a few brief weeks, the 2 Stampede boys were on top of the wrestling world each holding 1 of the top 2 belts in the industry but as usual bad news was coming. To balance out a babyface WWF Champ in Bret, Vince informed Davey he would be dropping the IC Title to Shawn Michaels so they could have a heel IC Champ and this broke Daveys heart. Other than the Mountie’s 2 day reign, Davey would have the shortest run in the history of the IC Title which is not what he had envisioned when he had his big moment not even 2 months earlier. Things got worse when Davey did the job for Shawn and was called into Vince’s office afterwards and fired. Davey was involved with helping the Ultimate Warrior get HGH shipments and they had been caught so Vince had no choice but to fire Davey adding that he liked Davey seeing him as 1 of his top stars and would look to bring him back when the heat dies down. Davey would do a tour for All Japan, his first in many years and then end up in WCW who was looking to use him to help sell their European tour. The deal was for $1000 a night and a bigger cut of European tours. The first tour Davey headlined was a major success with sold out shows at every stop along with big merchandise sales. WCW knew they had something with Davey so he had an unbeaten run which shot him to the top of the card working with Vader for the title often winning by DQ to really make him shine.

In the summer, Davey started teaming with Sting to take on Vader and Sid leading to the ‘so disgustingly cringy you almost can’t watch’ Beach Blast movie match or whatever lol it was awful and the less said about it the better but if you haven’t seen it you must watch it at least once. That wasn’t the worst part of Davey’s summer by a long shot, he was involved in a confrontation at a club he was at with Diana and their friends. A drunk guy was harrassing Diana so Davey stepped in and the guy grabbed his wrist so Davey put him in a front facelock but when he let go the kid was basically knocked out and fell backwards smashing his head on the ground. He ended up in a coma with permanent serious injuries. Trouble was always able to track Davey down and he would find a way to welcome it. In the fall there was another European tour that was more of the same with sold out crowds buying tons of merch at every stop watching Davey win in singles and Tag action. In typical wrestling fashion, Davey was not given his promised cut of the European tours bc his deal was verbal with Bill Watts who was replaced by Eric Bischoff who decided not to honour the deal. So Davey started not showing up to shows and was quickly fired. The guy that was hurt at the club was now pressing charges against Davey and Bret told Davey he was now wanted by the Calgary Police so Davey went and turned himself in. Davey spent the weekend in jail and thanks to Diana and Stu was able to make bail and have it arranged that he could travel to the UK to wrestle so he had some income. Davey went on a tour as the headliner and was allowed to set up his own merch table maximizing his profits. Dynamite showed up at 1 of the shows before Davey got there looking for a fight but was arrested and taken away before Davey saw him.

At WrestleMania 10, Bret and Owen had one of the greatest matches of all time and this lit a fire under Davey who needed to get back to the WWF where the best of his legacy and his family was. Hulk Hogan actually reached out to Davey about coming to WCW since Hogan had just signed there and liked Davey from time spent together when the British Bulldogs were on Hogan’s cards. Tempting to got to WCW but WWF had the edge and Davey returned in the crowd supporting Bret at SummerSlam 1994 that featured Bret vs Owen in a Steel Cage for the WWF Title. Jim Neidhart hit Davey with a cheap shot before getting in the cage after the match and helping Owen beat down Bret until the other Hart brothers and Davey finally got in there. Right after SummerSlam was another European tour and they were headlined by Davey/Bret vs Owen/Neidhart, the Stampede boys were on top of the world again. Back in the US, Davey worked the Survivor Series PPV on The Bad Guys team with Razor Ramon, 123 Kid, Fatu and Seone vs HBK, Diesel, Jeff Jarrett, Neidhart, Owen and then was in Bret’s corner charged with throwing in the towel if needed while Owen was in Backlunds. Owen caused the Bulldog to get knocked out and then convinced his Mother Helen to throw in the towel as Bret was trapped in the cross face chicken wing making Backlund the new WWF Champion.

Out of the ring, Davey’s lower back was just getting worse and worse over the years causing him to rely on painkillers more and more, furthering his already out of control addiction to pills. Then the stress of possibly going to jail and also being sued in civil court for 1.3 million just made the painkillers that much more enticing. Davey was spiralling downwards, not as fast as Dynamite did but it eventually catches up to you. After entering #1 in the 92 Rumble, Davey saw himself enter #2 in the 95 Rumble with Shawn Michaels as #1. Nobody ever expected those 2 to be the final 2 in the ring but that’s exactly what happened after 38 minutes of action. Then it happened, Davey clotheslined Shawn over the top rope and it looked like his feet hit the floor, Davey had won the Royal Rumble and would go to WrestleMania to compete for the WWF Title in the main event. ‘Rule Brittania’ started playing as Davey celebrated on the second turnbuckle but all of a sudden Shawn ran up from behind and knocked him over the top to the floor. Shawn’s music started to play and was announced the winner as replays showed only 1 of his feet hit the floor so he was never eliminated. Heartbreaking but amazing drama to finish the match that kept the Bulldog strong in the loss.

The Rumble finish wouldn’t lead to a singles push as Davey ended up in a Tag Team with Lex Luger called the Allied Powers. I actually liked the team as a kid, they had a cool mashup of their themes and I thought they could kick some ass together. But Lex ended up leaving the WWF to shock the world and show up on the debut of WCW Monday Nitro. Davey teased teaming with Diesel after Lex left but quickly turned on Diesel, attacking him during the match and becoming a heel for the first time in his career. Davey was there the night Shawn Michaels got attacked and beat up pretty bad by a bunch of guys outside a Syracuse bar. He was stuck in the backseat of the car when the fight started but eventually got out and pulled a guy off Shawn as 2 others attacked Davey giving him a black and bloodied eye from an eye gouge. Davey was in the main event of the 1st PPV I ever saw in person, In Your House 4 from Winnipeg, and defeated Diesel by DQ after Bret responded when Davey physically provoked him. Next he was part of the Wildcard Match at Survivor Series teaming with Shawn Michaels, Ahmed Johnson and Sid to face Yokozuna, Owen, Razor Ramon and Dean Douglas with Davey, Shawn and Ahmed standing tall at the end.

Bret won the WWF Title from Diesel at Survivor Series which set up another main event match feat Davey and Bret at In Your House 5 in December. A few weeks prior was Stu’s 80th birthday and the family held a special Stampede show with both WWF and WCW allowing their talent to work the show and Bret defeated Davey in the main event. This was funny bc on WWF TV, Davey was pushing that Bret had never beat him so the In Your House match would be the same as SummerSlam 92. Diana started accompanying Davey during this time and really helped establish his heel character in the early days. The match was incredible, just as good as SummerSlam but a completely different match as Bret was a bloody mess after going into the steps hard, I was convinced the blood was legit until I read his book lol the first match was trying to avoid making a mistake, this match was about Bulldog giving Bret a beating. After 21 min of great action, the match ended with a magistral cradle, 1 of my fav pins. Another * match against eachother. Davey and Bret had unbelievable chemistry in the ring, backing it up each and everytime they wrestled. Just wish they had more matches we could watch. Davey would enter 29 in the 96 Rumble but only last 4 minutes and then lost to Yokozuna by DQ at In Your House 6 in February. Out of the ring, Davey had an expert defence team defending him in the case and they were able to pick apart all the falsehoods that the prosecution was claiming like Davey powerbombed the guy instead of him just falling backwards. Davey had to testify on the stand that wrestling was fake and required the co-operation of both people to perform a move like a powerbomb. A doctor confirmed in court that the injuries were consistent with someone falling backwards, not being slammed down so Davey was found to have acted in self defense. Relieved to not be going to jail, the trial still took its toll since the defense cost him over 500k and the stress and anxiety pushed him harder into pills. Things would improve slightly at WrestleMania 12 as he joined Owen and Vader to defeat Ahmed Johnson, Jake Roberts and Yokozuna in a 6 man tag.

During a tour of Kuwait in May, Davey went fishing with Bret and Owen and engaged in an hour long battle with a 3 foot yellow shark that Davey eventually won getting it on board. But when the deck hands went to kill it so they could bring it back to shore, Davey stepped in and ordered them to put in back in the ocean bc he respected the fight and inexhaustible will to live the shark had. That was the real Davey right there. After WCW started gaining big time momentum in the war with the WWF after signing Scott Hall and Kevin Nash from the WWF, Vince tried to counter but making his product edgier and 1 of the first storylines to push the boundaries was Diana accusing Shawn Michaels of making sexual advances to her which enraged the Bulldog. The story was supposed to lead to a security video being shown of Diana being the one to make sexual advances towards Shawn but Davey was unhappy with how that would make Diana look and phoned Stu to fill him in. Stu called up the WWF offices and let them know where he stood on the story so they decided to just wrap it up. Davey and Shawn had a forgettable match at In Your House 8 but the show was a disaster thanks to storm knocking out the power in the building for most of the PPV. It was on for the main event but Shawn was beyond frustrated and just phoned in his performance. The match ended with Bulldog declared the winner after seemingly pinning Shawn on a german suplex but Daveys shoulders were down too so the match was declared a draw.

Davey gave his notice after the show but only as a negotiating tactic as he wanted to stay and eventually worked out a 5 year deal worth 250k a year. He had a rematch with Shawn at King of the Ring 96 and they redeemed their previous match by tearing the house down in an awesome match that Shawn won ending their feud. Tragedy struck the Hart family when Davey’s nephew Matt passed away after a quick battle with flesh eating disease. Absolutely brutal and really hard to make sense of. Matt was best friends with his brother Teddy, his cousin Davey’s son Harry and their friend TJ Wilson who we know as Tyson Kidd and the 4 of them idolized Davey and were working hard to become wrestlers. Matt’s death hit Davey hard and just added to the mental anchors he was carrying around. Davey was part of an awesome match at In Your House 9 in front of a hot Vancouver crowd in the main event with Owen and Vader defeating Shawn Michaels, Ahmed Johnson and Sid after Vader pinned Shawn. At SummerSlam, Davey would lose to Sid in a match I have no memory of lol and it was time for a change so Davey started tagging with Owen. The tag team with Owen would breathe life into both of their careers and they quickly tasted gold winning the Tag Titles from the Smoking Gunns at In Your House 10: Mind Games to a huge pop from the Philly crowd who always cheered the heels. Davey and Owen would succesfully defend the titles in a rematch with the Smoking Gunns at In Your House 11: Buried Alive but would be on the losing end with Marty Jannetty and Leif Cassidy against The Godwinns, Doug Furnas and Phil Lafon at Survivor Series. They def had some great matches with Furnas and Lafon. They defended the Tag Titles again at In Your House 12: It’s Time against the Fake Razor and Fake Diesel.

AT Royal Rumble 97, Davey would enter at number 8 and last 8 minutes before being officially eliminated by Owen lol Davey was pissed but Owen insisted it wasn’t him. Furnas and Lafon would defeat Davey and Owen at In Your House 13: Final Four but only by DQ so the Titles didn’t change hands. The boys headed off to another overseas tour where Vince had set up a tournament to crown the first ever European Champion and you knew who the favourite to win that was. Davey defeated Mankind and Vader before he faced Owen in the finals despite being Tag Champs and they had the best match in RAW history up to that point which Davey won by reversing a victory roll. Davey was very happy to win the new Title bc it meant he was a double champion and recognized as 1 of the best in wrestling. Next was WrestleMania 13 where Davey and Owen faced Mankind and Vader but a double countout finish ruined the great match they were having. That finish frustrates me to this day when I watch WM 12. Owen’s selfish antics like helping eliminate Davey from the Rumble and then claiming innocence despite video evidence lol were pushing more and more of Davey’s buttons and things finally cracked the night after WrestleMania when there was a miscommunication between them in a Tag match and they started brawling, finally challenging eachother to a match the next week for the European Title. Next week they started the match with stiff action that was quickly turning into a brawl with Owen bringing in a steel chair until Bret showed up out of nowhere with a mic and started pleading with them both to stop fighting,

“BRET HART: Can’t you see! Can’t you see that this is what all of these people want. Family values…that’s what they want they’ve had us fighting for years. All of these people right here that have had all of us fighting. What are you fighting for!? For what!? To satisfy a bunch of people that don’t know the first thing about family values. Listen to me, I’m asking you, I need ya, I need ya…Yeah USA, you’re talkin about a country that’s based it’s entire history on brother against brother. They’ve got talk shows all over this country with families airing out their family problems bc they all hate each other. That’s what they’ve done, they’ve taken our family and turned us into a bunch of haters. They turned you(Bulldog) against me, we fought, we fought like 2 men in Wembley Stadium and after you won I hugged ya. We came back to America, they turned us against each other. Listen to you and me, look what they’ve done to you(Owen) and me! I was the one that brought you into the World Wrestling Federation. Yeah you(fans) laugh…they push you and they push ya and they push ya. They pushed me, they pushed us against each other. They’ve driven this wedge in between the whole family. You(Bulldog) know, what did they do to Diana. Owen, I’ve known you since you were a baby, I dressed you for school, I dressed you for school everyday, I was the one that made sure you made the school bus. How many times, how many times did I take you, remember that school St Michaels and that teacher, that teacher was pickin on you. I was only 13 years old, I went to that school and I set the teacher straight.

Who was there for you (Owen) more times than I was? Who was the one that even taught you to become a wrestler. Only 2 people in the entire family that really excelled in wrestling and it was you and me and they turned us against each other. They turned me against my own sister Diana. Because Americans don’t understand family! They don’t give a damn about family! Owen, Davey, I’m asking you for your help bc I need ya. Owen, Owen look me in the eye, nobody was there for you more times than I was. I want you to hear me, I want you to hear me loud and clear, I don’t care about these people! Not anymore! Owen, I love ya. I love ya. group hug“

And the 1997 Hart Foundation was born. Fn legendary moment. The Legion of Doom returned to the WWF around this time and began feuding with Davey and Owen defeating them by DQ at In Your House 14: Revenge of the Taker after Bret attacked the ref. Davey returned the favour by hitting Austin with a chair causing Bret to lose by DQ in the main event. Brian Pillman joined the Hart Foundation a week later with Jim Neidhart returning to join shortly after. The Stampede boys were on top of the world once again but this time they would get to enjoy it for a few months. It was such a unique situation with the Hart Foundation being despised heels 1 week somehwere in the US and then beloved heroes the next week somewhere in Canada. Despite worsening back problems and reliance on painkillers, Davey was having the time of his life working with his Stampede brothers travelling all over the world having great matches in front of crazy crowds. Even when it was time for Owen and Davey to drop the Tag Belts to Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin, it was still a great moment considering they tore the house down in what was arguably the best match in the history of RAW. Just incredible action with a hot finish that saw the crowd go crazy. But Davey was still European Champion and Owen had recently won the Intercontinental Title so the Hart Foundation continued to roar forward.

At the King of the Ring PPV, the Hart Foundation team of Davey, Owen and Neidhart defeated the LOD and SID when SID tried to powerbomb Davey but Owen was the legal man and used a Sunset Flip to pin SID. Also on this PPV, Bret challenged any 5 American wrestlers to face the Hart Foundation in a 10 man tag at the next PPV, In Your House: Canadian Stampede from Calgary. Steve Austin accepted on RAW and the next few weeks was full of brawls as the Hart Foundation attacked Austin at every turn who would get help from Ken Shamrock, Mankind, Goldust and the LOD but they couldn’t help but start fighting eachother too. Until finally Goldust suggested that himself, Austin, Shamrock and LOD should team up to face the Hart Foundation and they all agreed so the match was on. The anticipation for the match was through the roof but in Calgary it was like WrestleMania with all the Harts riding in a float during the Calgary Stampede, Diana was named Mrs Calgary and over 8,000 fans turned up for a Hart Foundation autograph session. The fans were at a fever pitch all weekend but that was nothing compared to when it was time for the match. The 5 Americans made their way to the ring with Austin getting the loudest heat as 15,000 fans were ready to fight at a moments notice. This wasn’t just a hot wrestling crowd, every single fan was ready and willing to go to war beside the Hart Foundation. As each Hart Foundation member was introduced, the roar would keep increasing and Davey got a huge reaction when he came out with Diana, soaking it all in and showing off his impressive physique. Bret entered last to a reaction that almost blew the roof off and as all 5 men stood at the top of the ramp ready to go, you could have just stopped time right there.

The match got started with Bret and Austin and when Bret started rocking him into the corner with punches and kicks, the camera was literally shaking from all the noise. Davey had an impressive showing even press slamming Hawk who was a massive guy. It was 24 minutes of unbelievable action until Owen finally rolled up Austin for the win and the crowd exploded. After the match, the Americans were not happy and Austin had to be taken out in handcuffs before a riot got started. Once it was over, the Hart Foundation celebrated in the ring with every Hart that was in attendance as Davey embraced Diana and lifted Harry high into the air. This is what it was always about, doing something great and getting to share it with your family. This was already a special night but looking back all these years later after all the tragic losses and painful moments, almost a little slice of Heaven for the Hart family. The Stampede boys were on top of the wrestling business and the family was right there with them. This was the peak of the 1997 Hart Foundation and I remember how excited I was before, during and after. I’ll be forever grateful for the memories the guys created bc this was my favourite time in wrestling and the memories mean a lot to me. Unfortunately there were dark clouds on the horizon as Pillman’s dependency on pain killers to function, nevermind wrestle after his accident was becoming alarming to Davey and that’s saying something since Davey had his own similar problems and Bret and Owen were worried about him.

SummerSlam 1997 was the next PPV and man was I excited for this one bc all the matchups were exciting and every Hart Foundation match had a stipulation; Davey would eat dog food if he lost to Shamrock, Owen would kiss Austin’s ass if he lost, Pillman would wear a dress if he lost to Goldust and Bret would never wrestle in the US again if he lost to the Undertaker. The stakes were high and after Canadian Stampede, WWF was red hot. In the lead up, Bret, Davey and Owen defeated Austin, Dude Love and The Undertaker in a Flag match in front of one of the hottest crowds of all time in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Def one of my fav moments of this feud. At SummerSlam, Davey defeated Shamrock by DQ and avoided the dog food thankfully haha but this would be the last great night for the Hart Foundation as Vince dropped the bomb on Bret that he couldn’t afford to pay him his contract anymore and encouraged him to make a deal with WCW. Didn’t make sense with how hot the product was thanks to Bret and the Hart Foundation but Vince wasn’t budging. At the next PPV In Your House: Ground Zero, Davey and Owen lost a Fatal 4 way for the Tag Titles and Bret had a mid card WWF Title match as the WWF Champion while Shawn and Undertaker headlined. Pillman won his match but everyone was becoming very concerned for him. Things were going downhill fast.

The beginning of the end for Davey was one of the most pathetic nights in WWF history, a one night only PPV in the UK that would see Davey make the first defence of the European Title in Europe against Shawn Michaels. With Davey being the biggest star in the UK, of course he was going to win and spent the build up promising to win the match for his sister Tracy who was dying of cancer. But on the night of the show, Michaels had convinced Vince McMahon that it made the most sense for Davey to drop the belt to him and Vince agreed so he changed the finish. Davey was absolutely devastated when they told him of the change but there was nothing he could do. So Davey went out there and had a great match with Shawn but all throughout the match, Rick Rude, HHH and Chyna were interfering as the crowd waited impatiently for the Hart Foundation to even the odds. Davey had a legit knee injury and he was wearing a brace on it so they worked that into the match with Shawn ripping it off, throwing it at Davey’s family and then putting him in a figure 4 as Davey screamed in agony. It was clear Davey wouldn’t submit and Shawn wouldn’t let go so the referee called for the bell, ending the match and making Shawn the new European Champion. The fans were legitimately disgusted, throwing garbage into the ring as Davey finally rolled out and limped to the back past his crying sister. The limp was real as the match has aggravated his already bad knee and he had to miss RAW at MSG 2 days later. The rest of the Hart Foundation were livid, not only at Davey losing but bc with all the interference, they looked ridiculous for not coming out to help Davey when all the fans knew they were in the building. 1 of the worst nights in wrestling history.

In Bret’s book, he says he saw the light go out of Davey’s eyes that day and his addictions that were already bad, only got worse. Davey didn’t stay out long, he returned at a house show and the scene of a special needs Bret Hart fan being so distraught at the beating Bret took that he ran past security to hug Bret, really affected Davey who was very emotional watching the scene. Clearly thinking of his sister and how he had let her down. Things got worse at the In Your House: Badd Blood PPV when the Hart Foundation learned that Brian Pillman had been found dead in his hotel room. Everyone’s worst fears for Brian were realized and they were all devastated. The show went on as the Hart Foundation did their best to focus on the wrestling but their minds were def with Brian. Davey and Bret, still the WWF Champion, defeated Vader and the Patriot in a Flag match as once again the main event featured Michaels and the Undertaker. Such a contrast from a few months earlier when they were all on top of the world. This brings us to Survivor Series 1997, the infamous Montreal Screwjob. Behind the scenes things were very tense as Bret was the champion but refused to drop the Title to Michaels who had disrespected Bret one too many times and Vince was adamant that he had to drop it to Shawn. The rest of the Hart Foundation were caught up in this, wondering what their futures would be.

Davey, Neidhart, Furnas and Lafon formed Team Canada to defeat Vader, Goldust, Marc Mero and Steve Blackman who were Team USA after Davey pinned Vader to be the sole survivor. In the main event, Vince McMahon instructed the time keeper to ring the bell as Michaels had Bret in a Sharpshooter signalling the end of the match and making Michaels the new WWF Champion. Davey, Owen and Neidhart were waiting at the Gorilla position to run in to cause the DQ finish but were left stunned when they watched it go down. They went to the ring to support Bret and back in the locker room, Davey was right by Bret to make sure nothing else went down. Vince came to the locker room and Bret told him he would knock him out of he was still there when he got dressed but Vince wasnt leaving. As Bret stood up to go over to Vince, Shane McMahon tried to bet in the middle but Davey tackled him, aggravating his already injured knee. Bret knocked Vince out and then walked out of the building with Davey, Owen, Neidhart and the rest of the family. Devastatingly sad end to the 1997 Hart Foundation with Pillman dying and then 3 out of 4 ending up in WCW to start 1998. Davey was loyal to a fault at times and was adamant about leaving the WWF with Bret so he paid the 150k penalty to get out of his contract and made his debut with WCW in 1998 answering an open challenge by Steve ‘Mongo’ McMichaels. Owen initially wanted to leave to support Bret but did not trust WCW with his career and it would be hard to get out of his contract. In the end the WWF offered him a pay raise and promised him a push so he ultimately decided staying would be the best for his family and that was who Owen was loyal to before anything. Neidhart left with Davey and Bret joining them in WCW.

WCW was a disaster for all 3 of them as they had no idea what to do with Bret who you could argue was still the WWF Champion nevermind with Davey or Neidhart. The worst moment for Davey came at Fall Brawl when he took a bump but there was a trap door under the canvas for the Ultimate Warrior to use for his entrance and it actually fractured his spine but he didn’t realize it. You could see the affect it had since he barely got Disco Inferno up for the Powerslam. Davey tried to tough it out for a few shows but eventually had to go home he was in so much pain. His sister Tracy was down to her last days and Davey flew home to see her before she passed but was too late and he never got to say good bye to his sister. Diana had also reached her breaking point and was talking about divorce if things didnt change. Davey was a broken man in every sense of the word and finally reached out for help and entered a rehab facility. Without the pills to help mask the pain, the first part of the recovery was very rough and Davey kept going to the hospital but they couldn’t find anything wrong with his kidneys or any other organs beliveing he was exaggerating the pain to get more pills. It was all too much and he checked himself out 1 week short of completing the program. Davey’s mother was at the end of her days as well so Davey flew home, in agony the entire time to be with his Mother but when he got back he went right to the hospital he was in so much pain. They thought he was exaggerating again but when they checked his white blood cells test resuls done 6 weeks earlier, they found a staph infection in his spine that was slowly killing him and also found he had crushed and fractured discs. Amazing he was able to walk around like that.

While Davey was in the hospital recovering from the surgery in a full body cast, WCW fired him for inactivity, pretty typical for their operations. The WWF came to Calgary so Owen and Mick Foley came up to see Davey and make him laugh. Soon enough, Owen was holding the phone to Davey’s ear while Vince offered Davey another run in the WWF if he could healthy. This was the hope Davey’s recovery needed, it gave him goals to reach. Davey wanted to team with his son Harry who was showing real potential in his training as well as have another run as a Tag Team with Owen. Davey enjoyed the visit with Owen and Mick but was really hurt that they were the only 2 wrestlers to visit and it made him question the ‘wrestling family’ saying once the business has used you up, everyone including the boys forget about you. Sad man, Davey took a lot of emotional blows around this time and they kept coming when he learned that Rick Rude passed away. That news caused Davey to check out of the hospital and begin recovering at home. The biggest emotional blow was just around the corner. On May 23, 1999 at the WWF Over The Edge PPV, Owen as the Blue Blazer was supposed descended from the roof and make a comical entrance into the ring but the latch that was holding him released and he fell to his death. Davey was beyond devastated to lose one of his best friends in the world and the tragedy tore the family apart. Bret and Owen’s wife Martha wanted nothing to do with the WWF but Davey was about to make his comeback in the WWF and was fired by WCW so the WWF was his only option and he still wanted to there. Bret understood but expected Davey to remain neutral when it came to Owen’s tragedy but Davey did an interview saying it was an accident, WWF was not at fault and that he wanted to win a title in the WWF to honour Owen’s memory. This caused Bret to write some scathing remarks towards Davey in his Calgary Sun column talking about a dog rolling around in dogshit so Davey responded in kind saying he was loyal following Bret to WCW but Bret did nothing to help him at his worst moments. Even the strong bond between Davey and Bret was breaking which is so sad bc you know they loved each other like brothers.

In September 1999, Davey returned to the WWF as a surprise challenger for the Big Bossman’s Hardcore Title which he would win and immediately give to Al Snow saying the only title he came back to win is the WWF Title. There was a 6 pack challenge at the next PPV Unforgiven between HHH, Big Show, Mankind, The Rock, Kane and The Undertaker with Steve Austin as the special enforcer but Taker was injured leading up to it so Davey go the spot and a chance at the title back in the main event. HHH won the match but Davey looked good and seemed prime for a good run. A match against HHH ended in a no contest after The Rock attacked them both which led to a match vs The Rock at No Mercy. Def was Davey’s biggest match in years but after the match, The Rock gave Davey a Rock Bottom into a pile of dogshit which was basically a ‘fuck you’ to Bret. After that Davey started slipping down the card working the secondary shows and his mental health was declining as well trying to deal with all the emotional hits he took in such a short period and being on his own in the WWF. His last title reign came after he defeated D-Lo Brown for the European Title but that title was basically a joke at this point and only confirmed to Davey that he would never win the WWF Title and they only saw him as a joke. After 6 weeks he lost the title to Val Venis and stuck around for a few weeks working tag matches with Kurt Angle but soon his demons caught up to him again and he showed up to SmackDown in a bad state. Bruce Prichard and Jim Ross sat Davey down to tell him they were very worried about him and could no longer allow him to perform unless he went to rehab for his addictions. After some initial protests, Davey agreed to enter a facility for a 4 month treatment program.

The hits kept coming as Diana finally filed for divorce and this caused Davey to check out of rehab for good after 6 weeks but the doctors said he had been making good progress since then so the WWF agreed to let him return. The WWF had a UK only PPV Insurrextion and Davey was the surprise opponent for Crash Holly but the last few years had damaged his reputation and the reception was not what you would expect for their hero. Davey’s last TV match was against Eddie Guererro in a 5 minute double DQ and his last WWF match was in Calgary against Steve Blackman but he was a shell of the man the Calgary fans had grown up watching. The next night he showed up to Edmonton in no condition to perform and so they sent him home. Davey’s life was spiraling out of control as Diana started dating one of Bruce’s wrestling students so Davey ended up having an affair with Bruce’s wife creating even more stress with regular arguments between them all. The beloved matriarch of the Hart family, Helen passed away in 2001 and this was another emotional blow for Davey. He started riding motorcycles and eventually crashed, barely surviving but making his already bad physical and mental state even worse. To their credit, the WWF continued to pay Davey his full contract until it expired, a stark contrast from WCW. But with no money coming in, he was in trouble considering he had neglected his taxes and had that to deal with on top of everything.

Davey had to borrow money from his Dad and Stu but he refused to move back to England and get a normal job, he still had dreams of becoming the ‘New British Bulldogs’ with his son Harry who was over 6 feet tall and had been working for Stampede. He hit rock bottom after he was arrested for breaking and entering after getting into Diana’s house and taking hte wedding ring he gave her. It looked like jail time was coming for sure with Davey’s record but Diana dropped the charges. The Hart family was shocked when Davey and Diana showed up together for Sunday dinner on May 5, 2002 and Davey made an emotional plea to the family for forgiveness, apologizing for all the hurt and embarrassment he had caused saying he just wants his life back. He announced that he was getting back together with Dianna and she happily announced that Davey and Harry were going to start taking bookings as the ‘New British Bulldogs’ and that they could end up in the WWF if everything went right. There was happiness around the table as Davey asked to speak with Bruce in private where he apologized for what he had done saying he was fueled by jealousy and embarrassment. The 2 Stampede boys ended things with a firm handshake and were ready to move forward.

The New British Bulldogs would only have 2 official matches together, their first Tag Team match at a Top Rope Championship Wrestling show in Brandon, Manitoba and then Davey would wrestle his last match in a 6 man Tag the next night on another TRCW show. Back in Calgary, he was relaxing at home with his family when Andrea, Bruce’s wife that Davey was still seeing but had planned to break it off that weekend, honked the horn and Davey was heartbroken to leave them. He gave Diana a kiss, told the kids he would talk to them soon and the last thing his family saw was Davey smiling, showing off his famous dimples, as he left the house. On May 18, Sunday that weekend, Davey died in his sleep next to Andrea. He was only 39 years old, Harry and Georgia were only 14 and 16. His funeral was attended by the biggest names in wrestling like Vince McMahon, Hulk Hogan, Chris Jericho, and many others which showed the impact he made. Davey may not have ever won the World Title but he was a legit top guy that had earned the respect of his highest peers. He was buried in England next to his Mother and sister. Harry is now wrestling as Davey Boy Smith Jr and has carved out his own legacy in wrestling, becoming a Champion wherever he wrestles and still has lots of time to continue chasing greatness and perhaps accomplish the goals his father never did. With the right attitude to being out his best, I don’t see why any major wrestling company wouldn’t give him a shot. Georgia has become the steward of the British Bulldog legacy, working hard to keep his name out there creating new merchandise and collectibles as well as posting videos and pictures of his career on social media. She also makes appearances at conventions to show off some of his memorabilia and make sure the British Bulldog continues to have a presence in wrestling. Safe to say he would be beaming with pride watching both of his children carry on his legacy as well as carve out their own.

Davey finally got his just due being inducted into the 2020 WWE Hall of Fame where his career can rest where it belongs, amongst the greats. Harry, Georgia, Diana and Buffy- Matilda’s granddoggter lol accepted on his behalf and Harry gave an awesome speech. The book was far too short but I think that in the end, the story of the British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith turned out to be a great one. Def some sadness as I think the worst of Davey is what a lot of people remember and I mean I read Diana Hart’s book so I know the worst of him was bad but man he shined so bright at his best and that is what should be remembered. Davey could work with anyone and legitimately had some of the best matches in the history of the wrestling business. If there was a party and the ticket to get in was your Greatest match, Davey would be in the penthouse bc his match vs Bret at SummerSlam 1992 can hang with all the best matches. Such a shame the match didn’t get a mention in the celebration of the original Wembley Stadium as it deserved it considering SummerSlam 1992 was the only reason I knew about Wembley and considered it a legendary stadium. Davey was a huge draw in the UK and part of the 1997 Hart Foundation had a big role in 1 of the greatest time periods in wrestling history. I really wish his name came up more in conversations about the best wrestlers. But hopefuly pieces like this and the Dynamite and Davey book will help change that.

As I wrap this up, just want to re-iterate how big of a fan I was of Davey and I really wish he had been given more time on Earth, would have been cool to have him around now. But for the time he did have, Davey made a huge impact as a wrestler, Father, husband, son, brother, partner and will be remembered forever by his loved ones and fans of wrestling. My fav look of his was definitely with the long braided dredlocks, looked like a superhero come to life. So if you take one thing away from this piece, please bring up Davey’s name when you hear GOAT debates and keep sharing his matches and moments, with Davey gone we are responsible for keeping his memory alive. Something like this was long overdue but I’m happy I did it so I could get re-acquainted with 1 of my favourite wrestlers. I want to thank Davey for all the memories and my little moment he gave me as well as thank his family for sharing him with us, we are better off having Davey as part of our childhoods and wrestling lives. Much love and God Bless the British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith!