A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler , mixed martial artist , or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting the wrong image. Since the advent of the Internet , it is relatively easy to discover a fighter's real name.
125-397: Harry Francis Smith (born August 2, 1985), better known by his ring name Davey Boy Smith Jr. , is a Canadian professional wrestler and catch wrestler . He works for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is the current Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion in his first reign. He is a two-time Opera Cup winner , and a former MLW World Tag Team Champion . Smith is known for his time in
250-789: A kayfabe date. Smith was involved in a minor controversy over steroids , when, discussing how his father's drug abuse contributed to his death, Smith commented "I hope to be as big as him someday", leading to concerns over Smith using steroids. Smith claimed that the remarks were taken out of context and that he had learned from his father's mistakes. Ring name Ring names are much more common in professional wrestling than any other sport; famous examples include Terry Bollea becoming Hulk Hogan , Michael Shawn Hickenbottom becoming Shawn Michaels , Roderick Toombs becoming Roddy Piper , Dwayne Johnson becoming The Rock , Christopher Irvine becoming Chris Jericho , and Phillip Jack Brooks becoming CM Punk . A number of wrestlers adopted their real name or
375-423: A large family of Ulster Scot heritage. Smith also has Greek ancestry through a maternal great-grandmother, Irish ancestry through his maternal great-grandfather, long-distance runner Harry James Smith , and Italian ancestry through his paternal grandmother. He has a younger sister named Georgia who is a voice over artist and wrestling personality. Smith's mother Diana is a Hart family member, being
500-614: A 1998 back injury suffered while in WCW. 2000 would also see Smith arrested for allegedly threatening to kill Diana and her sister Ellie. 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. Andrea Redding, Smith's girlfriend from 2000 to his death, stated that they were planning to get married shortly before his death. He
625-723: A 20-man battle royal at the Albert Hall on 3 October 1991, which he won by eliminating Typhoon . After entering as the first man in the 1992 Royal Rumble on 19 January, he eliminated Ted DiBiase , Jerry Sags and Haku before being eliminated by the eventual winner Ric Flair . In 1992, due to Smith's newfound popularity in the United Kingdom, the WWF decided to hold its annual SummerSlam pay-per-view in Wembley Stadium in London . The show
750-558: A 21-man battle royal to become the first ever FCW Southern Heavyweight Champion . Smith then joined up with his cousins Teddy Hart and Nattie Neidhart to form the Next Generation Hart Foundation . They debuted in a six-person mixed tag team match, losing to Mike Kruel, Vladimir Kozlov and Milena Roucka . They were later victorious in a non-title match against the OVW Southern Tag Team Champions ,
875-471: A WWF Championship shot against Diesel, winning by disqualification after Bret Hart interfered. At Survivor Series on 19 November, Smith participated in the Wild Card eight-man elimination match, teaming with Shawn Michaels, Ahmed Johnson , and Sycho Sid and facing WWF Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon, Dean Douglas , Owen Hart, and Yokozuna, which they won. On 17 December at In Your House 5 , Smith
1000-504: A broken hand in the process. Later that year, Smith left Stampede Wrestling and wrestled several dark matches for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), before embarking upon a second tour of Japan. He returned to Stampede Wrestling in October 2005, and on November 25, 2005, was defeated by T.J. Wilson in the finals of a tournament for the vacant North American Heavyweight Championship. On April 1, 2006, Smith and several of his relatives attended
1125-555: A career in MMA after being released from WWE in 2011 and trained at Dave Batista's Gracie Fighter Tampa school. Smith entered his first submission grappling competition in December 2012, winning the super heavyweight division at a NAGA tournament. In August 2016, he won the expert level super heavyweight division at NAGA in Las Vegas, coached by Barnett and Erik Paulson . In July 2018, Smith won
1250-473: A challenge for his and Satoshi Kojima's title. On September 24, New Japan renamed Smith "Davey Boy Smith Jr.". On October 8 at King of Pro-Wrestling , K.E.S. defeated Kojima and Tenzan to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship. K.E.S. made their first successful title defense on November 11 at Power Struggle , defeating Tenzan and Kojima in a rematch. From November 20 to December 1, K.E.S. took part in
1375-503: A dramatic entrance in the night's main event. The result was a spinal infection that nearly paralysed Smith, hospitalising him for six months. However, while recuperating, Smith's WCW contract was terminated due to his inability to perform. Smith returned to the WWF in September 1999. In keeping with the company's new " Attitude Era ", Smith began wrestling in jeans instead of his usual Union Flag -adorned tights and his theme music
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#17328839527871500-667: A feud. At Fatal 4-Way , The Hart Dynasty defeated The Usos and Tamina in a six-person mixed tag team match when Natalya pinned Tamina, and Smith and Kidd defeated The Usos at Money in the Bank to retain the championships when Smith made Jimmy Uso submit to the Sharpshooter. At Night of Champions , The Hart Dynasty lost the WWE Tag Team Championship to Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre in a Tag Team Turmoil match which also involved The Usos, Vladimir Kozlov and Santino Marella , and
1625-462: A few others, their real name. One notable exception was made for David Otunga because of his real marriage to singer Jennifer Hudson at the time, which gave WWE some mainstream exposure. Low Ki used the alias "Senshi" during his second TNA stint to reserve his primary ring name for other use. A similar example is the team known as The Dudley Boyz in ECW and WWE and Team 3D elsewhere. WWE trademarked
1750-596: A huge monster as Archer's partner. Also, he received a good offer from All Japan Pro Wrestling, but he chose NJPW due to the previous relationship. Smith wrestled his return match on September 7, when he, Lance Archer, Minoru Suzuki and Taka Michinoku were defeated in an eight-man tag team match by Hiroyoshi Tenzan , Satoshi Kojima , Togi Makabe and Yuji Nagata , following a disqualification. On September 9, Smith submitted IWGP Tag Team Champion Hiroyoshi Tenzan in another eight-man tag team match, after which he and Archer, dubbing themselves K.E.S. (Killer Elite Squad), made
1875-478: 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 the WWF Championship . After entering
2000-741: A key wrestler in Hart's Stampede Wrestling . During his time in Stampede, he began a feud with the Dynamite Kid, and on 9 July 1982, Smith won his first title when he defeated the Dynamite Kid for the Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship . In 1983, Smith debuted in New Japan Pro-Wrestling , where he became involved in a three-way feud with Dynamite Kid and The Cobra ( George Takano ) over
2125-511: A major promotion. Smith became interested in mixed martial arts and submission wrestling in 2003 and sought out Johnny Smith , a retired wrestler and Calgary police officer, to teach him legitimate techniques . He met catch wrestling legend Billy Robinson , who had also taught his trainer Tokyo Joe, during Smith's first tour with NJPW in 2005. He took the opportunity to train under the veteran Robinson in Tokyo despite having an injured hand at
2250-505: A match on February 11, where K.E.S. defeated TMDK to become the new GHC Tag Team Champions. In May, K.E.S. made it to the finals of the 2015 Global Tag League , where they were defeated by Masato Tanaka and Takashi Sugiura . After ten successful title defenses, K.E.S. lost the GHC Tag Team Championship to Naomichi Marufuji and Toru Yano on May 28, 2016. K.E.S. regained the title from Marufuji and Yano on November 23. They lost
2375-577: A pay-per-view event, at One Night Only in 1997. Prior to finding singles success, Smith achieved stardom as one half of The British Bulldogs tag team, alongside the Dynamite Kid . He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2020 . Smith was born in Golborne, where he grew up with his father Sid, mother Joyce, brother Terrence, and sisters Joanne and Tracy. Joyce's nephew was Tom Billington, also known as
2500-807: A registrar for the General Register Office , not the child's parents. Smith married his wife Diana at the Hart house in October 1984. They had two children, Harry (born 2 August 1985 in Calgary ) and Georgia (born 26 September 1987, also in Calgary). In early January 2000, Smith and Diana divorced, with Diana ultimately gaining custody of their son. Shortly after his release from the WWF in 2000, Smith entered an Atlanta drug rehabilitation clinic to treat his addiction to prescription opiate painkillers , including morphine , upon which he had become dependent following
2625-538: A regular tag team match, but were again defeated by Tencozy. From July 23 to August 8, Smith took part in the 2014 G1 Climax , where he finished eighth out of the eleven wrestlers in his block with a record of five wins and five losses, scoring a big win over Hiroshi Tanahashi on the final day. On October 13 at King of Pro-Wrestling , K.E.S. defeated Tencozy to regain the NWA World Tag Team Championship. From November 22 to December 5, K.E.S. took part in
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#17328839527872750-423: A rematch to retain the IWGP Tag Team Championship. On February 10 at The New Beginning , Smith and Archer defeated Tenzan and Kojima for their third successful defense of the IWGP Tag Team Championship. On March 11, Smith entered the 2013 New Japan Cup , defeating IWGP Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura in his first round match. Smith's main event win over the former three-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion
2875-725: A series of jobbers . In late March, Smith returned to All Japan Pro Wrestling for its Champion Carnival tournament. He scored a total of six points, defeating Danny Kroffat , Doug Furnas , and Johnny Ace but losing to Akira Taue , Kenta Kobashi , Mitsuharu Misawa , The Patriot , Stan Hansen , Steve Williams , Terry Gordy , and Toshiaki Kawada . Upon returning from Japan, Smith formed an alliance with top protagonist Sting , and engaged in feuds with top antagonists Sid Vicious and Big Van Vader . At Slamboree on 23 May, Smith wrestled World Heavyweight Champion Vader, winning their title match via disqualification, but since titles do not change hands by disqualification, Vader retained
3000-428: A series of tag team matches, most notably in a victory on Monday Night Raw. On November 23, Smith appeared at Survivor Series in a 10-man elimination match; his partners were Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon , 1-2-3 Kid , and The Headshrinkers . They faced WWF Tag Team Champions Shawn Michaels and Diesel , Owen Hart , Jeff Jarrett , and Jim Neidhart, but Smith was eventually counted out. Smith again played
3125-445: A spot in the finals and ending his tournament with a record of five wins and four losses. On November 9 at Power Struggle , K.E.S. faced Tencozy and The IronGodz ( Jax Dane and Rob Conway) in a two-fall three-way match. In the first fall, they lost the NWA World Tag Team Championship to Dane and Conway, but came back in the second to defeat Tencozy for the IWGP Tag Team Championship. From November 24 to December 8, K.E.S. took part in
3250-524: 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. Smith returned to the WWF at SummerSlam on August 29, 1994, where he immediately became involved in an ongoing family feud between Bret Hart and his brother, Owen Hart . Smith then teamed up with Bret against Owen and Jim Neidhart in
3375-549: 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 owner Shohei Baba , who was still promoting the Bulldogs as a tag team. On 4 July 1989, Smith, along with fellow wrestlers Chris Benoit , Ross Hart, and Jason the Terrible , was involved in a serious automobile accident. Smith, who
3500-564: A tag team match with Kofi Nahaje Kingston , in which they defeated The Belgium Brawler and Nicholas Sinn . At the following taping, the duo of Harry and Kofi became collectively known as the Commonwealth Connection and faced La Résistance in a losing effort. Smith was then sent to Deep South Wrestling (DSW), where he reformed the "Stampede Bulldogs" with T.J. Wilson. After WWE ended its relationship with DSW, Smith moved to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). On June 26, Smith won
3625-531: A tag team match, where they were defeated by The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson). On January 13, 2012, Smith defeated The Almighty Sheik and Kevin Steen to become the first Heavyweight Champion of Resistance Pro Wrestling promotion. Over the next few months, Smith would take on Rhino in various matches culminating on May 11, in a steel cage match with special referee Raven which once again Smith would win. However,
3750-459: A tournament which culminated in him defeating his own tag team partner, Owen Hart, in the finals on 26 February. Hart and Smith later joined forces with Bret Hart , Jim Neidhart , and Brian Pillman to form a new form of the Hart Foundation, a heel faction which feuded with Stone Cold Steve Austin and other American wrestlers. This created an interesting rift between American fans, where
3875-751: A variation of it, sometimes modifying the spelling to better fit their gimmick , such as Dave Bautista becoming Batista (later reverting to his real name for his Hollywood acting career), Patricia Stratigeas becoming Trish Stratus , Jonathan Good becoming Jon Moxley , Bryan Danielson becoming Daniel Bryan (when he wrestled in WWE), Richard Fliehr becoming Ric Flair and Randall Poffo becoming Randy Savage . Others simply use part of their name, such as Bill Goldberg using Goldberg , Nicole Garcia-Colace using Nikki Bella , Mike Mizanin using The Miz , Cody Runnels using Cody Rhodes , and Michael Wardlow using Wardlow . Many female wrestlers go solely by their first name such as. It
Davey Boy Smith Jr. - Misplaced Pages Continue
4000-637: Is a highly respected tradition in Mexican lucha libre for performers to hide their true identities, usually wrestling under masks, and revealing a luchador's identity without their permission is considered a serious offence with real-life consequences. Professional wrestlers are often referred to by their contemporaries by their ring name. In interviews, Bret Hart regularly referred to Mark Calaway, Curt Hennig, and Kevin Nash by their ring names ( The Undertaker , Mr. Perfect , and Diesel ). Ring names are often trademarked by
4125-448: Is also common for wrestlers of all genders to use a nickname in addition to their real name for marketability and other reasons. Ricky Steamboat is an atypical instance of a wrestler adopting a ring name to sound less intimidating, as his legal name of Richard Blood was considered unfitting for his babyface persona. Some (mostly independent ) wrestlers still go to great lengths to ensure that their real names are not publicly known. It
4250-510: Is also second cousin to Dynamite's two nephews Thomas Billington II and Mark Billington II who are wrestlers as well. Smith began wrestling at the age of eight, he was first trained by his father Davey Boy Smith and uncle Bruce Hart . Smith started training with Tokyo Joe during high school, crediting the training for preparing him to wrestle in Japan. He made an early appearance with the then World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) on October 5, 1996, at
4375-463: The 2013 World Tag League . After winning their round-robin block with a record of five wins and one loss, they were eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals by their old rivals, Tencozy. On January 4, 2014, at Wrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome , K.E.S. lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship to the winners of the tournament, Bullet Club ( Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson). K.E.S. received a rematch for
4500-420: The 2014 World Tag League . The team finished their block with a record of four wins and three losses, narrowly missing the finals of the tournament. On January 10, 2015, K.E.S., along with the rest of Suzuki-gun, took part in a major storyline, where the stable invaded a Pro Wrestling Noah show. During the attack, K.E.S. beat down GHC Tag Team Champions TMDK ( Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste ). This led to
4625-624: The 2020 Hall of Fame class , but the event was postponed to the following year due to the COVID-19 pandemic . On April 6, 2021, Smith, along with his family, represented his father at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony by accepting the award on his behalf. After wrestling in a dark match before SmackDown on July 16, 2021, it was announced that Smith had signed a contract with WWE. However, he was released on November 4 without appearing on television. Smith has since confirmed scrapped plans for his WWE return, he
4750-576: The Allied Powers . On 2 April at WrestleMania XI , they defeated The Blu Brothers . At In Your House 2 on 23 July, they failed to win the Tag Team Championship from Owen Hart and Yokozuna . Afterwards, the team briefly began feuding with Men on a Mission . On an August episode of Monday Night Raw , the Allied Powers were supposed to face Men on a Mission but Luger (kayfabe) no-showed
4875-556: The Brooklyn Brawler . Over the next two years, Smith was a mid-carder and engaged in a long-running feud with The Warlord , in which he was victorious. 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 on Sky Sports , as well as the promotion touring the country holding supercards such as UK Rampage. Smith competed in
5000-472: The Dynamite Kid , who was Smith's frequent tag-team partner. 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. Smith enjoyed cricket, football and diving as hobbies. 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 on ITV 's World of Sport in 1978 when he
5125-526: The Fightland event, teaming with The Billington Bulldogs (Thomas and Mark Billington) defeating The Bomaye Fight Club ( Alex Kane , Myron Reed and Mr. Thomas). Smith defeated Calvin Tankman in the semifinals and Tracy Williams in the finals on the 2023 Opera Cup . On February 29, 2024 at Intimidation Games , Smith and Tom Lawlor defeated The Second Gear Crew ( Matthew Justice and 1 Called Manders) to win
Davey Boy Smith Jr. - Misplaced Pages Continue
5250-653: The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), where he was a three-time NWA World Tag Team Champion , and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a former three-time IWGP Tag Team Champion as part of the Killer Elite Squad with Lance Archer , as well as being a two-time GHC Tag Team Champion in Pro Wrestling Noah (also alongside Archer). He is also known for his tenure in WWE from 2006 until 2011 under
5375-472: The Royal 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. Soon after, Smith began teaming with Lex Luger as
5500-583: The Unified WWE Tag Team Championship , but were unsuccessful. The Hart Dynasty appeared at WrestleMania XXVI , first competing in a battle royal which was won by Yoshi Tatsu then helping Bret Hart during his match against Vince McMahon , and the following night on Raw they defeated the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions ShoMiz ( Big Show and The Miz ) in a non-title match at Hart's behest, effectively turning face in
5625-640: The United States , where they competed in Major League Wrestling . Smith traveled to England in January 2006, appearing with One Pro Wrestling at No Turning Back on January 6, 2006. Smith was billed as the mystery opponent of NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett , ostensibly hand-picked by his uncle, Bret Hart . In January 2005, Smith went on a five-week tour of Japan , wrestling with New Japan Pro-Wrestling as "Black Assassin" and suffered
5750-754: The WWE Supplemental Draft on June 25, 2008, Smith was drafted to the SmackDown brand. Smith, however, returned to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) on August 26, without making his SmackDown debut. He made the decision to return to FCW on a full-time basis so he could mature, and put more effort into developing his in-ring work and his personality. On October 30, Smith won the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship with TJ Wilson, defeating Joe Hennig and Sebastian Slater , but they lost it to Tyler Reks and Johnny Curtis on December 11, 2008, at
5875-654: The World Wrestling Federation (WWF) after Vince McMahon bought out Stampede Wrestling. At first, the Bulldogs were able to tour both WWF and All Japan, but eventually McMahon gained exclusive rights to the Bulldogs. Managed by Lou Albano , the Bulldogs began a long running feud with Hart and Neidhart, who were now known as The Hart Foundation . The Bulldogs also feuded with the Dream Team ( Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake ), and on 7 April 1986 at WrestleMania 2 , with Albano and Ozzy Osbourne in their corner,
6000-437: The promotion that creates a character or gimmick for a performer. It is common to see one performer use a variety of ring names throughout their career, even if their overall persona remains similar. This is especially true in WWE , which has largely forced most wrestlers that have debuted since 2006 to use a WWE-owned ring name instead of a ring name that they used on the independent circuit or, such as with Daniel Bryan and
6125-550: The round-robin portion of the 2012 World Tag League , finishing with a record of four wins and two losses, advancing to the semifinals of the tournament in the second place in their group. On December 2, K.E.S. defeated Always Hypers (Togi Makabe and Wataru Inoue ) to advance to the finals of the tournament. Later that same day, K.E.S. was defeated in the finals of the 2012 World Tag League by Sword & Guns ( Hirooki Goto and Karl Anderson ). On January 4, 2013, at Wrestle Kingdom 7 in Tokyo Dome , K.E.S. defeated Sword & Guns in
6250-728: The "Dudley Boyz" name, leading them to have to change their name when they went to TNA. The members' individual names were also trademarked by WWE, forcing them to have to change their names. WWE partially repealed the policy in 2015, allowing wrestlers who were well known in other promotions such as Samoa Joe , A.J. Styles , Shinsuke Nakamura , Austin Aries , Bobby Roode , and Eric Young to use their long-standing ring names (or, in Nakamura's and Roode's cases, their real names) as well as wrestlers who sign "Tier 2" NXT brand contracts such as Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa , who wrestle both on NXT and
6375-515: The Bulldogs defeated the Dream Team for the Tag Team Championship . The Bulldogs held the titles for nearly nine months, feuding with the Dream Team and Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik , but the Hart Foundation bested the Bulldogs to win the titles on 26 January 1987. After losing the titles, the Bulldogs gained a mascot, an actual bulldog who went by the name Matilda, and feuded with
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#17328839527876500-574: The December 2 episode of WWE Superstars , Smith beat Kidd in a singles match. Afterward, Smith offered to shake Kidd's hand, but Kidd slapped him across the face. On the next episode of Raw , Kidd defeated Smith in a rematch. When I was in WWE I lost the passion and when I left WWE, I thought that my career was done. —Harry Smith in 2013 After losing to Kidd, Smith would be restricted to appearing on Superstars , mostly participating in tag team matches with Yoshi Tatsu or Darren Young . Smith's last match
6625-732: The Dynamite Kid and the Rougeau Brothers. The Bulldogs had allegedly pulled a number of ribs (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. Though there are various accounts of this situation, many suggest that Billington drew first blood by bullying Rougeau (among many others including The Honky Tonk Man , whom Dynamite brought to tears) in Miami . No disciplinary action
6750-520: 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. Smith was then spotted by Bruce 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
6875-488: The FCW television taping. On April 15, 2009, Smith was drafted to the ECW brand as part of the 2009 Supplemental Draft , without making any appearances on SmackDown. Smith made his ECW debut on May 12, as a villain , attacking Finlay during Finlay's match with Tyson Kidd (TJ Wilson), using the name David Hart Smith. Smith, Kidd and Natalya formed a new version of The Hart Foundation , named The Hart Trilogy at first, although on
7000-531: The Hart Foundation beat ACH, Swann and Marko Stunt in a six-man tag team match. From there they began feuding with the MLW World Tag Team Champions Lucha Brothers ( Pentagon Jr. and Fenix ). On January 2, 2019, it was revealed Smith signed a multi-year deal with Major League Wrestling. In the company's statement, they said he would continue to compete in Japan. At SuperFight on February 2, Smith and Hart defeated Lucha Brothers for
7125-547: 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 and Dude Love . Smith lost the European Championship to Shawn Michaels on 20 September at One Night Only . Smith was booked in the main event to defend
7250-680: The IWGP Intercontinental Championship. On April 20, Smith and Archer defeated Ryan Genesis and Scot Summers in Houston , Texas to not only retain the IWGP Tag Team Championship, but to also win the NWA World Tag Team Championship . On May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2013 , K.E.S. lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship back to Tencozy in a four-way match, which also included Takashi Iizuka and Toru Yano , and Manabu Nakanishi and Strong Man , though neither Smith nor Archer
7375-541: The IWGP Tag Team Championship for the third time. At the end of the year, K.E.S. took part in the 2017 World Tag League , where they finished with a record of five wins and two losses, failing to advance to the finals due to losing to block winners Guerrillas of Destiny in their head-to-head match. On January 4, 2018, at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in Tokyo Dome , K.E.S. lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship to Los Ingobernables de Japón ( Evil and Sanada ). Smith would work in NJPW during
7500-552: The IWGP Tag Team Championship in a three-way match, also involving Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma . K.E.S. were primed for a run as NJPW's top foreign tag team, but the plan was changed when Archer was forced to undergo surgery on a herniated disc in his back. Following Archer's return to NJPW in August, he and Smith defeated War Machine and Guerrillas of Destiny in a three-way tornado tag team match on September 24 at Destruction in Kobe to win
7625-677: The James Boys. Smith then returned to FCW to form another version of the New Hart Foundation, along with Hart, Wilson and Ted DiBiase Jr. He appeared in a winning effort against Carlito in a dark match during a taping of Raw in the United Kingdom . On October 16, Smith lost the FCW Southern Heavyweight Championship to Afa Jr. He was unable to make the referee's ten count and was counted out , due to being in
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#17328839527877750-583: The MLW World Tag Team Championship. However, they vacated the titles two months later. Smith made his return to AJPW on December 31, 2023, where he teamed with Hokuto Omori and Minoru Suzuki to defeat Baka No Jidai ( Hideki Suzuki , Hikaru Sato , and Suwama ). On November 4, 2024, Smith defeated Yuma Aoyagi to capture the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship for the first time and his first world championship in
7875-519: The MLW World Tag Team Championship. On July 6, Hart and Pillman Jr. lost the titles to The Dynasty ( MJF and Richard Holliday) in a ladder match, which aired on the July 13 episode of Fusion . On the December 2, 2020 episode of Fusion , Smith lost to Low Ki in the opening round of the Opera Cup . Following his loss, MLW owner Court Bauer announced in a press conference that Smith would be leaving MLW. Smith
8000-680: The May 27 episode of ECW , the name was tweaked to The Hart Dynasty . Smith was victorious in his first match for ECW, defeating Finlay on the May 19 episode, with help from Kidd and Natalya. On June 29, The Hart Dynasty were traded to the SmackDown brand, and entered a feud with Cryme Tyme . At the WWE Bragging Rights pay-per-view in October, Smith and Kidd competed in a seven-on-seven tag match with Chris Jericho , Kane , Finlay, Matt Hardy and R-Truth as Team SmackDown to defeat Team Raw. In December 2009, they challenged D-Generation X for
8125-402: 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. After the tournament, Smith and Dynamite Kid formed a tag team in both New Japan and in Stampede Wrestling known as The British Bulldogs . In 1984, the Bulldogs made a shocking move by jumping to New Japan's rival, All Japan Pro Wrestling just before
8250-523: The Unified Tag Team Championship, when Kidd made The Miz submit to the Sharpshooter . The following day, all three members of The Hart Dynasty were moved to the Raw brand as part of the Supplemental Draft . On the May 10 episode of Raw , he was defeated by Chris Jericho , granting Jericho and The Miz a shot for the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship at Over the Limit , but The Hart Dynasty were able to retain. The following night, on May 24, they were attacked by The Usos (Jimmy and Jey) and Tamina, provoking
8375-421: The United Kingdom with WWE. In mid-2006, Smith appeared on Raw , despite not being part of the main roster, in a segment where he and others in the locker room chased away ECW invaders. He then was not seen again on the main roster in over a year. He made his television debut as "DH Smith" on the October 22, 2007 episode of Raw , defeating Carlito using his father's trademark running powerslam . He dedicated
8500-498: The WWF European Championship on SmackDown! on 26 October. He lost the title to Val Venis in a triple threat match on 12 December at Armageddon . On 6 May 2000 in London , Smith defeated Crash Holly for the Hardcore Championship. Holly regained the title from Smith in New Haven, Connecticut on 11 May episode of SmackDown! . Smith's last televised match with the WWF was on Sunday Night Heat , when he burst into Eddie Guerrero and Chyna 's locker room, accusing Guerrero (who
8625-413: The WWF and WCW World Heavyweight championships. He defeated Bret Hart for the WWF Intercontinental Championship in the main event of SummerSlam 1992 at London 's original Wembley Stadium ; he also has the distinction of being the inaugural and longest reigning WWF 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
8750-405: The WWF for WCW, along with Bret Hart and Neidhart, soon afterward. Smith rejoined WCW in late 1997, and began a feud with Steve 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 on WCW Thunder . They challenged for the World Tag Team Championship on several occasions, but failed to win
8875-534: The WWF. Smith returned to the WWF in 1990, where he was pushed as the same character from the British 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 partner Dynamite Kid from using the name. Smith returned to the WWF at a live event on 6 October, where he defeated Haku . Smith made his televised in-ring return on 27 October episode of Superstars , where he defeated
9000-593: The World Wrestling Federation, Smith debuted in Eastern Championship Wrestling in December 1992, defeating Jimmy Snuka . In January 1993, Smith signed with World Championship Wrestling , debuting at SuperBrawl III on 21 February, defeating "Wild" Bill Irwin . Over the following weeks, he scored a series of wins on WCW WorldWide , WCW Main Event , and WCW Saturday Night , defeating
9125-737: The age of 11 when he teamed with his cousin Ted Annis against TJ Wilson and Andrew Picarnia at a WWF house show in Calgary. He also appeared at the conclusion of In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede with the rest of the Hart family. He made his professional debut at the age of fifteen at the Rockyford Rodeo, and went on to become a mainstay of the Calgary-based Stampede Wrestling promotion . In May 2002, Smith teamed with his father on two occasions, shortly before his father died. Smith
9250-517: The belt against Michaels. However, Michaels convinced Vince McMahon that he should win, as it would create build-up not only for his impending rematch with Bret Hart , but also for a rematch against Smith at the next British pay-per-view. 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. On 9 November at Survivor Series in Montreal , Smith
9375-529: The finals of the Crockett Cup. On June 11, Smith & Doug Williams, now called the Commonwealth Connection defeated La Rebelión to win the NWA World Tag Team Championship . On August 27, 2022, Smith and Williams vacated the titles when Smith suffered an illness that prevented him from defending the titles. Davey Boy Smith Jr. returned to Major League Wrestling for the first time in two years at
9500-500: The following year, usually in multi-man matches. He lost against Toru Yano in the first round of the 2018 New Japan Cup and faced the IWGP Tag Team Champions Los Ingobernables de Japón at Wrestling Honokuni. Smith and Archer participated in the 2018 World Tag League, but they failed to win the tournament. He would lose again against Toru Yano in the first round of the 2019's New Japan Cup. On June 15, 2019, it
9625-477: The heavyweight division at the Billy Robinson Classic catch wrestling tournament, again coached by Barnett. Smith also trained in MMA with Jake Hager in 2019. Smith lists his father, his uncles Bret Hart and Owen Hart , Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit as his influences. He also cites Ted DiBiase as a big influence. Smith appeared on an episode of Hogan Knows Best , taking Brooke Hogan on
9750-683: The independent circuit defeating Dan Maff at Pro Wrestling Syndicate. On August 27, 2011, Smith, working under his real name, made his debut for Japanese Inoki Genome Federation (IGF), losing to Hideki Suzuki . On September 3, he teamed with Bobby Lashley in a losing effort against Kendo Kashin and Kazuyuki Fujita . On November 6, Smith wrestled in the main event of a Stampede Wrestling show in Barrie, Ontario , defeating Fit Finlay . In December 2011, Smith took part in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling 's India project, Ring Ka King under
9875-477: The independent circuit to keep their ring names (or, in Gargano's case, his real name). Gargano and Ciampa have since signed exclusive WWE contracts. "In-house" WWE wrestlers still use WWE-owned ring names. In rare cases, the rights to a wrestler's ring name may be owned by a company with little or no connection to professional wrestling, such as Marvel Comics ' ownership of the name Hulk Hogan until early 2003, which
10000-553: The induction of Bret Hart into the WWE Hall of Fame . While there, Smith met with WWE executives, John Laurinaitis and Carl De Marco , and signed a developmental contract with on April 4, 2006. He wrestled dark matches for the company before his debut, defeating wrestlers like Rob Conway and Mike Knox , and losing to Randy Orton . Harry debuted in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), at the February 14, 2007 television tapings, in
10125-409: The late wrestler "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith , and Diana Hart , the youngest daughter of promoters Stu Hart and Helen Hart . Harry Francis Smith was born on August 2, 1985, in Calgary , Alberta , Canada. He is of predominantly British descent through his father, professional wrestler David Smith who was from Greater Manchester , England , and his mother Diana Hart who belongs to
10250-476: The likes of The Islanders (who in kayfabe dog-napped Matilda), Demolition , and the Rougeau Brothers . At Survivor Series on 26 November, The British Bulldogs and other face teams won a 10-on-10 Survivor Series tag team match . The following Survivor Series on 24 November 1988 produced the same result. Later in 1988, The Bulldogs left the WWF, in part due to backstage problems, specifically between
10375-415: The match to his father. On October 29, Smith and Jeff Hardy defeated Carlito and Mr. Kennedy . On November 2, 2007, it was reported that Smith had been suspended for 30 days due to violations of " WWE's Substance Abuse and Drug Testing Policy ". Smith returned to the active roster on December 17 by defeating Charlie Haas on Heat . After his return, Smith would wrestle primarily on Heat . As part of
10500-574: The match; Smith found a replacement in the WWF Champion Diesel. During the match, Smith unexpectedly attacked Diesel and turned heel for the first time in his WWF career, helping Men on a Mission beat up Diesel and aligning himself with Jim Cornette 's stable with Owen Hart and Yokozuna, who had been his adversaries just a month earlier, thus disbanding the Allied Powers. On 22 October at In Your House 4 in Winnipeg , Manitoba , Smith received
10625-460: The month prior, where he was teamed with Kole in the first round of the Lethal Lottery; they lost to Road Warrior Hawk and Rip Rogers . 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 by Max Crabtree to be his next top star after Big Daddy retired in December 1993 after suffering
10750-598: The prefix "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Numerous boxers have used ring names or nicknames as their mode of identification during their professional boxing careers, particularly during the late 19th century and the early 20th century. The ring name "Kid" was particularly popular, indicating the boxer's comparative youth. Since the mid 20th century, ring names for boxers have typically been less common, although nicknames have become more popular in recent years. Famous examples of boxers who used ring names include: Davey Boy Smith David Smith (27 November 1962 – 18 May 2002)
10875-546: The previous weekend in Manitoba, Canada. He had also considered another return to the WWF. Due to his training in Stu Hart's Dungeon , Smith was renowned for both his technical skill along with his power moves, frequently performing multiple gorilla press slam variations and a delayed 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
11000-524: The process. At the Extreme Rules pay-per-view, Smith and Kidd earned a Unified Tag Team Championship match by defeating ShoMiz in a tag team gauntlet match (which also included the team of John Morrison and R-Truth and the team of Montel Vontavious Porter and Mark Henry ). During the 2010 WWE Draft on the April 26 episode of Raw , The Hart Dynasty, accompanied by Natalya and Hart, defeated ShoMiz to win
11125-476: The ring name David Hart Smith , where he won the Unified Tag Team Championship along with Tyson Kidd as part of The Hart Dynasty . He also previously performed in WWE's developmental territory , Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) under the ring name DH Smith . Smith has also appeared for World of Sport Wrestling (WOS Wrestling) under the ring name British Bulldog Jr. He is the son of
11250-673: The ring name Bulldog Hart. During the first week of tapings, Hart and Chavo Guerrero Jr. were crowned the promotion's inaugural Tag Team Champions . On January 19, in their first defence of the titles they lost to two members of RDX, Scott Steiner and Abyss . On January 20, Smith teamed up with Chavo, Jwala, Mahabali Veera and Matt Morgan to take on Abyss, Deadly Danda, Scott Steiner, Sir Brutus Magnus and Sonjay Dutt in World Cup Of Ring Ka King steel cage match and won. On January 29, 2012, Smith made an appearance for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), teaming with Davey Richards in
11375-538: The start of All Japan's annual Tag Team tournament. Smith made occasional return visits to the UK, appearing on World Of Sport in 1982 where he lost to Dave Finlay in an eliminator match for a shot at the British Heavy Middleweight Championship and 1983 where, as a complaining heel he defeated Bernie Wright in a rematch from the 1978 match. The Bulldogs, along with Smith's brothers-in-law Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart were brought in to
11500-575: The team of Evan Bourne and Mark Henry . After a failed attempt to regain the championship, in which Kidd was pushed off balance during their double-team Hart Attack move, Kidd and Smith began to have a falling out with one another. This culminated on the November 15 episode of Raw , when Kidd refused to tag in and attacked Smith during a match for the WWE Tag Team Championship against The Nexus ( Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater ). ending their partnership. On
11625-580: The time. Robinson would continue to coach and mentor Smith until his passing in 2014. Also in 2005, Smith met catch wrestler, UFC and Pancrase champion Josh Barnett at an independent show in Seattle , and began training with Barnett when he returned months later. Smith and Barnett later demonstrated techniques with Robinson in a DVD instructional, and Smith became an assistant catch wrestling coach under Robinson in 2011. He has trained with Pancrase co-founder Minoru Suzuki as well. He originally intended to pursue
11750-413: The title from him, and driving him insane in the process. Smith then began pursuing the WWF Championship , eventually turning heel and beginning a feud with The Rock . Smith headlined Unforgiven on 26 September as part of a six-man WWF Championship match that was won by Triple H . On 2 October, Smith returned to England as a heel at Rebellion , defeating X-Pac . Smith defeated D'Lo Brown for
11875-509: The title on February 9 at The New Beginning in Hiroshima , but were again defeated by Bullet Club. On May 25 at Back to the Yokohama Arena , K.E.S. failed to regain the NWA World Tag Team Championship from Tencozy in a three-way match, which also included Rob Conway and Wes Brisco . On June 21 at Dominion 6.21 , K.E.S. received another shot at the NWA World Tag Team Championship, this time in
12000-532: The title to Go Shiozaki and Maybach Taniguchi on December 3. Two days later, it was announced that Suzuki-gun was gone from Noah, concluding the invasion storyline. The entire Suzuki-gun returned to NJPW on January 5, 2017, attacking the Chaos stable with K.E.S. targeting IWGP Tag Team Champions Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano. On February 5 at The New Beginning in Sapporo , K.E.S. unsuccessfully challenged Ishii and Yano for
12125-577: The title was stripped on October 14, 2012. On June 28, 2024, Smith challenged Innovative Hybrid Wrestling Champion "The King" JP Simms for the IHW Championship at the Riverview Sunfest. On August 13, 2012, New Japan Pro-Wrestling announced that Smith would be returning to the promotion the following month as a member of Minoru Suzuki 's Suzuki-gun stable, forming a regular tag team with stablemate Lance Archer . Smith said that New Japan wanted
12250-480: The title. Afterwards, Smith formed a tag team with his brother-in-law, Owen Hart , and the two soon won the WWF Tag Team Championship from The Smokin' Gunns . The team defended their titles against teams such as Doug Furnas and Phil LaFon , Vader and Mankind , and The Legion of Doom . In 1997, the WWF created the WWF European Championship , and Smith became the first ever holder of the title, winning
12375-604: The title. The feud continued afterwards, 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. As a result of the ensuing legal issues that followed, WCW released Smith from his contract in December. His final pay-per-view appearance for WCW during this period came at Battlebowl on 20 November,
12500-426: 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 at Fall Brawl during his match with Neidhart against The Dancing Fools , Disco Inferno and Alex Wright . During the match, while taking bumps , Smith twice landed awkwardly on a trapdoor that had been set up underneath the ring canvas to enable The Warrior to make
12625-455: The two lived together as children while their fathers were wrestling as a team. He is also very good friends with her husband T.J. Wilson whom he shared an apartment with at one point. His father's family also have a history in wrestling, his father and his cousin Thomas "The Dynamite Kid" Billington wrestled as a tag-team for many years and Billingtons daughter Bronwyne is a wrestling valet. He
12750-409: The wrestler's gimmick changes, either subtly or dramatically. After debuting in WWE as the " Connecticut Blueblood " Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Paul Levesque's character later morphed into Triple H . A more drastic change sometimes occurs when a wrestler turns heroic or villainous , such as when Hulk Hogan joined the villainous nWo (New World Order) and became "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan. His new attitude
12875-468: The youngest daughter of wrestler Stu Hart and promoter Helen Hart , thus he is the nephew of her eleven siblings, all of whom have been involved in wrestling in one way or another. His maternal cousins Natalya Neidhart , Matthew , Teddy , Matt , Bruce Jr. and Torrin Hart , as well as step-cousin Mike also wrestle or used to wrestle, while Lindsay is an on-air personality. Smith is close with Natalya as
13000-469: Was a Running powerslam . 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. This story is undoubtedly apocryphal - not only was "Davey Boy" a common nickname in England during Smith's youth for boys named David, but British birth certificates are completed by
13125-590: Was a supporter of Manchester United FC . Smith died on 18 May 2002 after suffering a heart attack while on holiday in Invermere, British Columbia , with his girlfriend Andrea Redding, who was Bruce Hart 's estranged wife. 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 from natural causes associated with an enlarged heart . Bruce Hart claimed "Davey paid
13250-422: Was an English professional wrestler best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring names Davey Boy Smith and The British Bulldog . Smith won titles within the WWF in three decades, from the 1980s to the 2000s. Though he was never a world champion , Smith nevertheless headlined multiple pay-per-view events in the WWF and WCW, in which he challenged for
13375-596: Was due to Hogan being advertised as " The Incredible Hulk Hogan" early in his career, while Marvel owned the trademark for their comic book character. Sometimes, a wrestler will buy the rights to their own ring name; for example, Steve Borden owns the rights to the name Sting and licenses it to the musician of the same name . The wrestler formerly known as Test took this one step further and legally changed his name to "Andrew Test Martin". Jim Hellwig, known as The Ultimate Warrior , had his name legally changed to simply "Warrior". In many cases, ring names evolve over time as
13500-460: Was due to re-debut for the company as "The Stampede Stud" as part of the SmackDown brand, however, after missing several weeks of WWE TV with COVID-19 he was released before anything could come to fruition. On March 19, 2022, at Crockett Cup , Smith made his NWA debut as Doug Williams ' tag partner defeating Alex Taylor and Rush Freeman in the first round of the Crockett Cup. On March 22, Smith and Williams were defeated by The Briscoe Brothers in
13625-549: Was enhanced by changing his costume color scheme from his famous red and yellow to nWo's black and white. Steve Williams adopted the ring name Steve Austin to avoid confusion with the then-more established performer "Dr. Death" Steve Williams . Austin would wrestle under that name for several years before signing with the WWF and being given the name "the Ringmaster". This gimmick failed to catch on, and Austin reverted to his established name, reaching his greatest level of success with
13750-567: Was expected to make his AJPW debut in the 2020 Champion Carnival but was unable to travel to Japan for the show due to the COVID-19 pandemic . On February 12, 2020, Smith would appear live via webcam on an episode of WWE 's online talk show , The Bump, appearing alongside former tag team partner Tyson Kidd . On March 12, during the After the Bell podcast hosted by Corey Graves , it was announced that Smith's father, The British Bulldog, would be going into
13875-651: 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. Smith entered the Royal Rumble on January 21, 1996, where he made it to the final four before being eliminated by Michaels. On 18 February at In Your House 6 , he lost to Yokozuna by disqualification after Vader interfered. At WrestleMania XII on 31 March, he teamed with Vader and Owen Hart to defeat Yokozuna, Ahmed Johnson, and Jake Roberts . In 1996, after Shawn Michaels became WWF Champion, Smith
14000-408: Was involved in the finish. K.E.S. received a rematch for the title on June 22 at Dominion 6.22 in a three-way match, which also included Iizuka and Yano, but were unable to regain the title, when Kojima pinned Archer for the win. On August 1, Smith entered the 2013 G1 Climax . The tournament concluded on August 11 with a match, where Smith was defeated by his tag team partner Lance Archer, costing him
14125-433: Was later released by the WWF. According to Bret Hart's book, the reason for Smith's release was that WWF owner Vince McMahon was made aware that Smith and The Ultimate Warrior were receiving illegal shipments of human growth hormone (HGH) from a crooked pharmacist in England. Due to McMahon being investigated for illegally distributing steroids to WWF wrestlers , Smith and Warrior were released. Shortly after leaving
14250-537: Was main-evented by Smith (led to the ring by the then British, Commonwealth & European Heavyweight Boxing champion Lennox Lewis ) and Bret Hart in a match for Hart's Intercontinental 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. Smith lost the title to Shawn Michaels on 14 November at Saturday Night's Main Event XXXI , and
14375-491: Was not wearing a seatbelt at the time, needed 135 stitches after slamming his head through the windscreen and being thrown 25 feet onto the pavement. He recovered, and the Bulldogs continued teaming in All Japan against teams such as Joe and Dean Malenko , Kenta Kobashi and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi , and The Nasty Boys . Personal problems began to surface between Smith and Billington, and Smith later left All Japan to return to
14500-635: Was offered a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment in the summer of 2004, but opted to attend college and wrestle in Japan before signing. In 2004, Smith began teaming with TJ Wilson as " The Stampede Bulldogs ", a reference to " The British Bulldogs ", the tag team composed of his father and his father's first cousin the Dynamite Kid . In the same year, Smith formed a stable known as The Hart Foundation Version 2.0 with Wilson, Jack Evans , and Teddy Hart . The Hart Foundation Version 2.0 initially performed in Stampede Wrestling before expanding to
14625-426: Was on the April 28 edition of Superstars , where he lost to Zack Ryder. After months of inactivity, Smith was released from his contract with WWE on August 5, 2011. His release (as well as the releases of Chris Masters and Vladimir Kozlov ) was referenced in a worked shoot moment on the August 8 episode of Raw by WWE Champion CM Punk . On August 20, 2011, Smith, working under his real name, made his return to
14750-494: Was only 15, wrestling under the name Young David against 18 year old "Wonderboy" Bernie Wright, uncle of future WCW wrestler Alex Wright . Smith filled a spot in the promotion left by his slightly older cousin the Dynamite Kid, who had recently departed to wrestle in Calgary . Mentored by the Dynamite Kid's friend Alan Dennison, in 1979, Smith appeared to have won the British Welterweight championship from Jim Breaks (as
14875-501: Was part of Team Canada (alongside Jim Neidhart, Doug Furnas and Philip Lafon ), defeating Team USA ( Vader , Goldust , Marc Mero and the debuting Steve Blackman ). 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 a Sharpshooter . Smith then paid money to leave
15000-520: Was put in a feud with the new champion. The feud was supposedly based on Smith's wife, Diana, accusing Michaels of hitting on her , which angered Smith and made him determined to take the title from Michaels. The two were the main-event of the In Your House 8: Beware of Dog pay-per-view on 26 May, and their match ended in a draw, leading to a rematch on 23 June at King of the Ring , where Smith failed to win
15125-467: Was referred to as the biggest of his career. Six days later, Smith advanced to the semifinals of the tournament with a win over Yujiro Takahashi . On March 23, Smith was eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals by Hirooki Goto. On April 5, Smith and Archer made their fourth successful defense of the IWGP Tag Team Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura and Tomohiro Ishii . Two days later at Invasion Attack , Smith unsuccessfully challenged Nakamura for
15250-398: Was reported that Smith would no longer be wrestling for NJPW. In 2018 Smith begun wrestling for Major League Wrestling as a member of New Era Hart Foundation with Teddy Hart and Brian Pillman Jr. Their first feud was against the team of Rich Swann and A. C. H. , whom they defeated on an episode of Fusion resulting in a concussion for Swann. On the November 2, edition of Fusion
15375-407: 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. After leaving the WWF, the Bulldogs returned to Stampede Wrestling, and also to All Japan Pro Wrestling . Stampede officials were hopeful that the return of the Bulldogs would revive
15500-563: 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 that Heat , in which both men were disqualified. After Heat , WWF announced that Smith had again left the WWF on 15 May 2000. 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 three tag-team matches with his son, Harry Smith
15625-602: 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 of SmackDown! in Albany, New York , Smith defeated the Big Boss Man for the WWF Hardcore Championship . Smith forfeited the title later that evening, giving the belt back to Al Snow , because Boss Man had previously ( kayfabe ) dog-napped Snow's dog Pepper to win
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