Wrestling / Davey Boy Smith

His upper lip was stiff even when he smiled!

"Oh, just look at that... THE RAW POWER OF THE BULLDOG!!!"

— Jesse "The Body" Ventura

David "Davey Boy" Smith^note Claims that Smith's middle name was "Boy" as a result of one of his parents mistaking the name field on Smith's birth certificate for the gender field are incorrect, since British birth certificates are not completed by the parents; plus Smith's gender would have been written as "male" instead of "boy", anyway. One can look his entry in the England and Wales Births Register, which lists him as David Smith, without a middle name. (27 November 1962 – 18 May 2002) was a British professional wrestler. Smith became one of the biggest names in British wrestling and one of the most famous foreign stars in American pro wrestling from the late 80's to the late 90's under his wrestling name, The British Bulldog. Starting off in ITV's Saturday afternoon and evening show World of Sport, Smith's career would take him through Stampede, All Japan Pro Wrestling, WWE and WCW as a successful tag and singles wrestler, notching up numerous title runs along the way.

Smith was most famous for the main event at SummerSlam 92 where he pinned Bret Hart to become the Intercontinental Champion in front of 80,000 fans of his home nation at the legendary Wembley arena. Besides this he was 1x IWA Heavyweight Champion, 2x NWA Stampede North-America Heavyweight Champion, 2x NWA Stampede International Tag Team Champion (1x with Bruce Hart and 1x with Dynamite Kid), the inaugural and former 2x WWF European Champion (Holding the record for the longest title's reign), 2x WWF Tag Team Champion (1x with The Dynamite Kid and 1x with Owen Hart) and 2x WWF Hardcore Champion.

A long standing wrestler within WWE in the 90's along with several stints in WCW of varying success, Smith's demons would eventually take their toll as years of painkiller and steroid abuse were responsible for his death by heart failure on 18 May 2002. Despite that, Smith is largely remembered fondly for his role in the ring and extensive career.

Oh, and for being BIZARRE! However, that promo is NOTHING compared to this indescribable promo his cousin and future tag team partner the Dynamite Kid cut on him in their Stampede days.

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"The Strongest tropes pound for pound":

• Always Second Best: Possibly the BIGGEST name in British Wrestling, overshadowing even his own cousin Tom Billington and just shy to Shirley "Big Daddy" Crabtree Jr. in Britain.
• Animal Motifs: Bulldogs, obviously. His first claim to fame was the British Bulldogs tag team with the Dynamite Kid (who fittingly had a bulldog mascot, Matilda) and, after wrestling under his real name as part of the British Bulldogs, he would straight-up name himself "The British Bulldog" during his solo run.
• Arch-Enemy: The Dynamite Kid, the Hart Foundation, the Dream Team, the Islanders, the Fabulous Rougeaus, the Warlord, the Bearzerker, Big Van Vader, Sid Vicious, Lord Steven Regal, Mr. Perfect, Shawn Michaels, Diesel and The Rock.
• Barbarian Longhair: Beaded cornrow locks may vary.
• Bash Brothers:
  • Shared this relationship earlier in his career with his cousin Tom Billington, the legendary "Dynamite Kid", before they had a falling out in the 90's.
  • Also fit this with his brother-in-law Owen throughout their lives. The two served as one of the better tag teams WWE had in the mid-late 90's, as well as being great friends in the back.
• The Big Guy: A not very common case in wrestling, having the smallest member of a tag team not being the Ricky Morton. Played straight with Sting and by default with The Dynamite Kid and The Rocket.
  • He was given the "evenly matched" treatment with Lex Luger and Junkyard Dog.
• Captain Ersatz: Both The British Bulldogs get them in Fire Pro Wrestling, Davey Boy as sigles competitor got it in "The Raider" Dr. Jones.
• Combat Pragmatist: Exactly how many times do you remember have watched Big Kev being kicked and dragged in a wrestling match?...say no more.
• Crowd Chant:
  • In Britain: CLAP, CLAP, CLAP-CLAP-CLAP, CLAP-CLAP-CLAP-CLAP... "BULLDOG!!!"
  • In the States and Canada: "Let's go, Bulldog!" CLAP, CLAP, CLAP-CLAP-CLAP.
• Demoted to Extra: During his final stints in both WCW and WWE.
• Dented Iron:
  • Pretty much it came with the gimmick. Every match he lost, it was by injury on behalf of a cheating heel.
  • Right at the end, his back ended up being his Achilles' Heel in Kayfabe and in Real Life.
• Face–Heel Turn: After his infamous turn in 1995, he was mostly heel-ish for the rest of his career. The reason? No one in either WWE or WCW wanted to give him a well-deserved title shot.
• Finishing Move:
  • The Running Powerslam served as Davey Boy's finisher as a singles competitor.
  • In tag teams, a Fastball Special with him gorilla-pressing and dropping his partner on top of a fallen opponent. The Dynamite Kid was dropped into a diving headbutt, Sting into a diving splash.
  • At the end of his career he used the Superplex, honoring his cousin for he was its innovator.
  • ...and when all of this failed, a Boring, but Practical Jackknife should do the trick.
• Foreign Wrestling Heel: After 1996, he qualified when he wrestled in any country other than Britain as a heel, but fit this trope best while a member of Bret Hart's anti-American Hart Foundation stable in 1997.
• Grievous Harm with a Body: His Tag Team finisher, using allies and enemies alike.
• He Who Fights Monsters: A literal case, since 1996 he craved for a World Heavyweight title shot and fought against a slew of MonsterHeels to get it.
• Important Haircut: During his brief stint in the "Allied Powers" he cut off his signature long hair.
• Irony:
  • Despite his nickname, he performed the maneuver called "Bulldog" scarcely, and only as a counter... but how about each and every variation of "Gorilla press"?
  • His whole WWF stint as heel. One of the purest whitemeat Faces ever demolishing one Monster Heel after another in order to earn his rank as Top Competitor for a title shot. Even when some of his matches were quite good and enjoyable, the poor booking didn't draw enough attention as it was expected.
• Legacy Character: His son Harry, aka David Hart Smith in WWE or Davey Boy Smith Jr. in New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
• Muscles Are Meaningful: Big time!
• Now, Buy the Merchandise:
  • "...he is one of the most well-developed wrestlers of all time. And now, the secret of his power CAN BE YOURS!!!"
  • "...you feelin' hungry... you want a free burger...? YOU GOT IT!"
• Pet the Dog: Right after winning his first WWF Hardcore belt, he just gave it to Al Snow.
• Phrase Catcher: (See the page quote) It was a great moment in the match when the colour commentator used it every time Davey Boy performed quite a feat of strength.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse:
  • Relative in the world of wrestling of course, as Smith was about average height which is small compared to most other professional wrestlers. Despite that, he was billed as the 'strongest wrestler pound for pound' on the roster at times.
  • Moreover, an "average height" man able to execute his patented delayed vertical suplex or gorilla-pressing on guys like Sycho Sid, Warlord, Vader and The Undertaker day-in and day-out may add "Giant Slayer" to his job description. ^note ....after all, his name was "David".
• Power Stable:
  • Camp Cornette, with Owen and Yokozuna until Vader replaced Yoko.
  • The Hart Foundation, with The Hitman, The Rocket, The Anvil and Brian Pillman.
• The Prankster: Especially with his brother-in-law and friend Owen Hart, they were celebrated "ribbers" ^note ...wrestling jargon for "pranksters". backstage.
• Red Baron: "Young David", "The strongest wrestler pound for pound", "Union Jack Power", and of course "The British Bulldog".
• Right-Hand Attack Dog:
  • Matlida the Wonder Dog… at least in the eyes of Bobby Heenan. Matlida was Smith's mascot during his days with the British Bulldogs, and Heenan repeatedly claimed that Matlida was trained to bite him or one of his wrestlers without provocation. This came into play at WrestleMania IV, following Heenan's upset win involving him and the Islanders against the Bulldogs and Koko B. Ware, when following the match Matilda chased and caught Heenan in the aisle.
  • And let's not forget Winston.
• The Spartan Way: One of the most famous alumni from Stu Hart's Dungeon.
• Squash Match: Demolished Big Boss Man in 59 seconds.
• Tag Team:
  • "The British Bulldogs" (Obviously) with The Dynamite Kid
  • with Junkyard Dog for a brief period in 1987
  • "The SuperPowers" with Sting in WCW in 1993
  • "The Allied Powers" with Lex Luger in WWE in 1995
  • with Owen Hart.
• Underwear of Power: And by extension, Wearing a Flag on Your Trunks. A borderline Agent Peacock case as well, it's not a "blink and you'll miss it" situation when you wore enough fringes and tassels to compete with Randy Savage and Ultimate Warrior.
• Use Your Head: A tag team maneuver involving him and his partner in two instances, with The Dynamite Kid and Junkyard Dog.
  • Used later in singles competition, right before an Over-the-head belly-to-belly suplex.
• Wrestling Family: Was cousin to Tom Billington, more famously known as the Dynamite Kid. Along with that, he married Diana Hart, sister to Bret and became linked to that extensive family. Has a son, Harry, who competed in WWE for a few years as David Hart Smith.

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"These tropes are gonna win this time the Royal Rumble, TONIGHT... because THEY ARE BIZARRE!!!"