Davey Boy Smith, The British Bulldog Thread

[PSachkovsky]

Hello again, people, here is another thread of mine that focuses on a specific wrestler. Tonight we are taking a closer look at arguably one of the best wrestlers ever in WWE's history. One of the greatest Intercontinental champions in WWE's history. And possibly the best European champion.

Yes, you guessed correctly (By reading the name of the thread), it's Davey Boy Smith, the British Bulldog.

Biography:

Ring Names:
The British Bulldog
Davey Boy Smith
Young Davey
Young David
White Tiger

Born:
November 27, 1962

Died:
May 18, 2002 (aged 39)

Championships and Accomplishments:

All Japan Pro Wrestling
Heavyweight Battle Royal Winner - 1989

Stampede Wrestling
NWA Stampede International Tag Team - 2 times
Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight champion - 1 time
Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team - 2 times
Stampede North American Heavyweight Champion - 2 times
Stampede World Mid-Heavyweight Champion - 1 time
Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame

World Wide Wrestling Alliance
WWWA Intercontinental Champion - 1 time

World Wrestling Federation
WWF European Champion - 2 times
WWF Hardcore Champion - 2 times
WWF Intercontinental Champion - 1 time
WWF World Tag Team - 2 times
Battle Royal at Albert Hall winner

Matches involving Davey Boy Smith

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Questions for discussion:

1. Do you think he should of been a WWF Champion?
2. What are his contribution to the wrestling business?
3. What is your most memorable moment involving The British Bulldog?
4. Why do you think he never got the WWF title?

 

[bigbootydaddyV]

1) and 4) Honestly, as great as Davey Boy Smith was, I don't think he should have been world champion. In today's WWE he would absolutely make champion, but back then, the title was only held by a few and I just don't think he was on that level. Seeing him chase Bret and Shawn for the belt was great and he played that role perfectly. If shawn were face and looking for a big guy to take the belt off of then maybe Davey would work.

2) and 4) I think Davey's match with Bret at Summerslam 92 was one of the best I remember seeing. As for Davey's contributions, I think for one, he helped put tag team wrestling on the map. Also, his match with Bret is really where I think you can pinpoint Summerslam becoming the #2 ppv in the WWF/E. It had that important feel, similar to what you'd see at Mania and I think that is where it gained traction among the fans even if it was always intended to be the #2 spot. And that is saying a lot because the prior summerslams were all pretty good as well, esp the first one with the mega powers vs the mega bucks in a huge blockbuster match up.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

The only reason I can think the Bulldog should've been WWE Champion is because one day Wade Barrett will likely be WWE Champion. Should the first English WWE Champion really be Wade Barrett or should it've been the biggest English import in WWE history?

If he was ever going to be WWE Champion 1996 was his year. Only, much like Owen Hart in 1994, that year belonged to somebody else. Yokozuna owned 1994 which prevented Owen Hart from becoming champion in the only year he deserved it and HBK was the man in 1996. Thems the breaks, man!

His defining moment is obviously SummerSlam 1992. There's no arguing otherwise. One Night Stand 1997 would have to be a distant second despite how great that moment was.

Truthfully The Bulldog is more fondly remembered than he should be. He wasn't some super-worker and for large chunks of his career he was just ambling around doing nothing of particular interest.

 

[HBKperfect23]

I do think he should have been WWF Champion. I think he was a good canidate in 1995/1996 and during his 1999 run. Maybe he could have took the title off Desil at Summerslam 1995 (this should have been the main event) and lost it to Bret at Survivor Series 1995. It was bad timing getting his first title shot in December 1995 because he didnt have a chance at the title with them building to Shawn/Bret. He faced Shawn to early in his run for them to consider taking the belt off Shawn. I do wonder how it would have played out if Davey got Sids run in 96 losing the belt back to Shawn at the Rumble.

His biggest contributions were to tag team wrestling. IMO, hes one of the top 3 ever in tag team wrestling. The Bulldogs and Davey/Owen were two of my favorite tag teams ever. I think Bulldog was extremly good in the ring and Id even consider him a bit underrated.

Best match ever to end the best ppv ever is obviously his defining moment. Davey/Bret was amazing at Summerslam 1992. I think his match with Owen in Germany was his 2nd great moment.

 

[xavyer]

The Brithsh Bulldog contributed a lot to wrestling, some people will agree and some will disagree, but he will be remembered for a lot of things, i think he definitly left his marc in the WWF/WWE, for example, he was the first ever European Champion, he and the Dynamite Kid practicly put the tag team division on the map in my opinion, they were an unpredictible tag team, they had so many ways to win matches, and the reason he was never WWF/WWE champion, the only thing that comes to my mind is that the WWE drop the ball on that, and like most people say, his match against the Hit Man at Summer Slam was one of the greatest in WWE history, he was part of a few other tag teams as well, with Lex Luger, and with Owen Hart, and with Owen they had great chemistry as a team, that's why they were great champions, it took two of the biggest stars at the time to take the belts from them, and that's not common in the tag team division in the WWE, now anyone can be champion, for example, now a days they put belts on Santino and Zack Ryder, enough said, but back then you had to actually be great to have any belt and the British Bulldog was os is one of the all time greats, i sure hope that very soon he enters the WWE hall of fame.......

 

[MFR0mack]

Davey Boy had some basic ability, but never really had the true talent or personality to make a mark in the business. The guy's whole image was "I'm roided up and I'm British" and there was absolutely nothing to his character other than that. He could be carried to good singles matches when he had a good opponent (Bret, Owen, Shawn, etc), but his matches by himself (such as against Neidhart, Diesel, Henry Goddwin, Sid or others who didn't exactly have a lot of talent either) always stunk out the building. His tag team work was always sub par, as well. Dynamite and Owen pretty much picked up all his slack for their matches. And let's not forget the horrible tag team he had with Lex Luger.

On top of all his issues in the ring, the guy wasn't all there outside of it, either. He let drugs completely wreck his mind, to the point where he couldn't even remember spots in matches (Bret explains in his book how he pretty much had to hold Davey's hand through their Summerslam encounter). His promos always made him seem air-headed and simple and he couldn't talk for shit.

Let's be honest, the only reason he got the ovation he did when he won the IC title was because he was pretty much the last British wrestler in WWF at the time. He was never a big draw outside of that one moment in England. It's good he was never world champion, because nobody would have cared about him with the title. He wouldn't have been able to cut a promo on anyone, as a heel or a face.

People always say Owen Hart gets given too much credit after his death and ask if he really deserves it. Owen does, because at the very basis of everything, he was a good wrestler, he was good on the stick and he could hold his own in a one-on-one match and make his partner look good in a tag match. Bulldog, however, gets given far too much credit. I don't speak about him as a person and his loss was tragic, but in terms of the business, he was just never a guy that could break through the glass ceiling.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Davey Boy had some basic ability, but never really had the true talent or personality to make a mark in the business. The guy's whole image was "I'm roided up and I'm British" and there was absolutely nothing to his character other than that. He could be carried to good singles matches when he had a good opponent (Bret, Owen, Shawn, etc), but his matches by himself (such as against Neidhart, Diesel, Henry Goddwin, Sid or others who didn't exactly have a lot of talent either) always stunk out the building. His tag team work was always sub par, as well. Dynamite and Owen pretty much picked up all his slack for their matches. And let's not forget the horrible tag team he had with Lex Luger.

On top of all his issues in the ring, the guy wasn't all there outside of it, either. He let drugs completely wreck his mind, to the point where he couldn't even remember spots in matches (Bret explains in his book how he pretty much had to hold Davey's hand through their Summerslam encounter). His promos always made him seem air-headed and simple and he couldn't talk for shit.

Let's be honest, the only reason he got the ovation he did when he won the IC title was because he was pretty much the last British wrestler in WWF at the time. He was never a big draw outside of that one moment in England. It's good he was never world champion, because nobody would have cared about him with the title. He wouldn't have been able to cut a promo on anyone, as a heel or a face.

People always say Owen Hart gets given too much credit after his death and ask if he really deserves it. Owen does, because at the very basis of everything, he was a good wrestler, he was good on the stick and he could hold his own in a one-on-one match and make his partner look good in a tag match. Bulldog, however, gets given far too much credit. I don't speak about him as a person and his loss was tragic, but in terms of the business, he was just never a guy that could break through the glass ceiling.

It beggars belief how dumb some people can be... I can only hope that you started watching more recently because you are way off base on the lack of talent.

Davey Boy was, for most of his career a middleweight talent that had exceptional gymnastic ability. He was wrestling at 15 and regularly teaming with Big Daddy, the UK's top star and for the British title by 17. He had a totally lean look and was nothing like his WWE incarnation.

He then joined his cousin in Canada and Japan... While most call Dynamite be best light heavy in history, Smith was not that far behind, and as a tag wrestler was again, very talented. The British Bulldogs were not only extremely coveted for contracts, but they were pursued by Vince for a long time to drive their division, which again for a while, they did.

While Dynamite fell foul of roids, booze and basically being a bully... Davey's biggest problem was his bad luck injury and trouble wise. He was originally signed to be Brutus' replacement in the match for the IC title that Kerry Von Erich won, even being on the cover of WWE magazine about the subsequent feud... but he got in a car wreck... then he got implicated in Warrior's bust... then Warrior finished the job with his trapdoor which nearly killed him!

In 1992 Bret was not as over as Davey was, the Summerslam match could easily have led to Davey being pushed as the champ in his place had Vince not been indicted. Yes he used roids to change his look and become more powerful, but the skill that got him noticed was still there in that Summerslam match and beyond. Come 96 he was the best hand WWE had as an all-rounder, he could have a good match with anyone on the roster as a face or heel, in a tag match. If you started watching DBS in 1999/2000 - yep shadow of his former glory, the injuries had taken too much of a toll and the drugs he was using to get through were destroying what was left. But go back and watch World Of Sport, The Bulldogs or his solo work before the screwjob and you will not find many better of his era...

 

[MFR0mack]

I've been watching wrestling for 25 years, thanks, don't need a Davey Boy history lesson. His early work in the UK is pretty irrelevant -- he was such a different character (and wrestler) at that point in his life, it can't be compared to the rest of his career. Because he never wrestled or looked like that again. To start with, The Bulldogs weren't valued by Vince because of their talent, but because of their size. Vince barely paid attention to Stampede Wrestling (or most other territories, really), he wasn't watching matches to see who could put on the best shows. He wanted the guys who had "the look." That's why when Bret Hart came in, he was delegated to jobber status for so long. Dynamite fell in love with roids in the 80s and he ended up passing that on to his cousin -- who took it to incredibly unhealthy territory. Davey Boy's use and addiction to steroids has been well-documented in the wrestling world from a variety of sources, including his former wife.

You say "While Dynamite fell foul of roids, booze and basically being a bully... Davey's biggest problem was his bad luck injury and trouble wise," but you show incredible bias with that statement. Bret Hart -- Bulldog's own brother-in-law -- wrote in his book how bad Davey's problems were. He took juicing up to a whole new level above the Dynamite Kid and many wrestlers have compared his painkiller and alcohol addiction to that of Hawk's or Scott Hall's. He didn't have "bad luck," he had no sense and ruined himself.

Bulldog was never supposed to be Intercontinental champion. He got a magazine cover because almost every every other supserstar did, too. He wasn't even supposed to win the title at Summerslam. Bret was supposed to drop the belt to Shawn, Bret just suggested moving the event to Wembley and making Davey Boy the interim champion until he ended up dropping it to Shawn. Basically, the only reason he got the title is because his brother-in-law asked for him to get it -- as in, he didn't earn it of his own merits. The fact that he spent the whole week before Summerslam smoking crack with Jim Neidhart just goes to prove this. To say he was the best hand in 96 is just crazy talk (almost as bad as saying Bret was not as over as Davey Boy in 92 -- Bret was the most over character in the company at that point outside of Hogan, Savage and Warrior and allegedly got the most fan mail) and claiming he could have a good match with anyone is proven wrong by the fact that HE NEVER DID. His only good matches came when working with people who could carry him through them, help him remember the spots and keep the timing. For every great match he had with Shawn, Bret, Owen, Kerry or Hennig, he'd have 10 awful matches with Berzerker, Diesel, Henry Godwin, Warlord, Goldust, Ahmed Johnson, Barbarian or IRS.

I can name 20 other people that were better in tag team or singles matches from 88 to 97 when his first WWF run ended. The list would include people who went on to actually achieve success in the business, because they had the talent to break through the glass ceiling -- whereas Davey Boy was always stagnant. Both of his short-lived WCW careers showed he couldn't make anything of himself when he was outside of the hype WWF gave him, as well.

 

[justtxyank]

Eek.

Pointing to matches with Berzerker, Henry Godwin, Warlord, Ahmed, Barbarian as proof that he couldn't work? LOL Heck, even Diesel didn't get many good matches out of people not named Bret Hart.

He was a good worker. He was not an elite worker which means he couldn't get good matches out of crap workers, but he was a good worker in that he could work an entertaining match with anyone and could pull off really good matches with the good workers. That's a valuable worker.

Also, his short lived WCW careers proved what? His first run with WCW was very good. He had good matches with Vader and was over. His out of the ring troubles go him fired, not a lack of interest in him from the crowd or management. His work in WCW played a role in him getting to back to the WWF. Now you are correct, his second WCW run sucked. He wasn't over whatsoever.

Now, should he have been world champion? I think it could have been done but I don't think any of the times he could have been credible as a world champion it was a wrong decision to pass him over. 1992-1993 was the best time for him in my opinion, in either promotion. But it wasn't wrong to not let him go over Vader.

Edit: REP TO ANYONE WHO CAN HELP ME FIND THE SOURCE IMAGE OF THE BULLDOG AVATAR!

 

[louis TMDK]

Certainly had some of the better matches in the WWF in the first half of the nineties and beyond actually. Obviously the match against Bret comes to mind but a lot of people (me included) feel the match in december 95 at In Your House was even better but gets less attention because of the surroundings of Summerslam 92. Also his matches against Shawn Michaels were very good including: 92 at Saturday Nights main event were he lost the belt, king of the ring 96 and one night only were he lost the euro title once again to shawln michaels.

Also recently i've been watching some of his stuff in WCW around 93. One of them was the main event were he teamed with Sting against Vader and Sid which i thought was suprisingly good considering Sid was involved.

His WWF return in 99 was dissapointing though. He was going through a lot of probems then which seemed to effect his ring work although he did manage to have some not too bad matches against guys like the rOCK.

Overall a great wrestler, probably the best to come from England maybe besides Dynamite, who left a lot of great memories in wrestling over the years.

 

[HBsam31]

I grew up on Bulldog and I know some people will say he was of limited ability, but he always entertained me in the ring. He had really good matches with HBK and Bret Hart. I am sure they had a big part to play in those matches being good, but Bulldog held his own. The British Bulldogs were one of the best tag teams of their time also. I am not saying he is one of the greatest ever or anything, but he was solid and provided some memorable moments.

 

[Workrate]

I loved Davey Boy Smith, especially when he had the long braided hair. He had the look of a champion to me. There are certain guys who win titles and you look at them and think, "that just doesn't look right," but Davey was one of those guys who was made to wear gold. I think he was certainly limited talent-wise, but I always felt like he was a powerhouse of a different mold. Today, you can pretty much look at a guy and go, "yeah, he's strong." Davey was a big guy, but he didn't have veins bulging from his arms and he wasn't growing inhuman muscles from his neck. He was just a big, brute, strong guy.

 

[Waylon Mercy]

Looking back on the famous Bret/Davey Boy Summerslam match at Wembley Stadium, it truly is amazing that neither of them got seriously hurt in that match. While Bret has always been careful not to say directly that he carried that match for the most part, he did. There were a couple of instances where Davey Boy missed the play, and almost botched some spots. Bret pretty much led him through that match. Davey was apparently winded through a great portion of that match as well. His stamina just wasn't all there. The fact that that match is regarded as one of the greatest ever, is for the most part a testament to Bret Hart. I say this with no malice towards Davey Boy Smith. He was a fine performer and decent talent.
If you look back at his career, he was fortunate enough to be surrounded by exceptional workers, who in turn made him look even better than he actually was. Case in point: The Dynamite Kid. He was a physical marvel, and pound for pound was tougher than nails. He was exciting to watch, while in comparison Davey Boy would put on displays of power. Running power slams, gorilla presses, that sort of thing - not terribly exciting in contrast. Same with Owen Hart. Owen was the technical and methodical wrestler, as well as the risk-taking high flyer. Davey again provided the muscle. The British Bulldog had the good fortune in his singles career to go up against the likes of Shawn Michaels, and of course Bret Hart. Both these guys in their prime knew how to elevate any kind of wrestler to a 5 star match.
Again, I'm not trying to knock Davey Boy here. I was a big fan of his growing up. Putting things into perspective I think he was perfect for the roles he played in his career. Tag, IC and European Championships served him well. Not so sure he would have made a good Heavyweight champion, though. Just my opinion.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Bret says a lot in his book about people who cannot actually defend themselves, so it's far from the bible. I never said that DBS was slated to win in 1990, just that the first call made (as he was due to return anyway and was just finishing up indy dates) was to Davey. When he got hurt Tornado got fast tracked.

Davey had a lot of demons as anyone associated with the Harts does and a lot of wrestlers and people in general get addicted to steriods once they see what can be done... but on the whole I stand by the "bad luck" call on him. The major turning points of his career were not his fault, the trapdoor incident was unforgivably bad Health And Safety... How he dealt with the bad luck and pain was less than stellar but at least it didn't affect his work till near the end of his career, The screwjob was defo not his fault but ended his best run right when it could have been about to peak. Davey would have been a great opponent for Austin as champ or even to win from.

The only other thing you can truly say is that he was easily led and guys like Neidhart and Dynamite took him down that dark path, but for Bret to say he carried him at SS92 is not what I saw (from the 4th row!), sure he was winded but DBS carried his end and talent made that happen from both guys...

The proof is how Vince treated him, always payed his rehab, always pushed him and created a title to keep him sweet. I disagree that there were many better tag teams in 97 than Davey and Owen in WCW OR WWE and it's testament to the fact that both men also held singles belts too.

 

[ShinobiMusashi]

I know the steriod scandal played a part in Bulldog leaving WWE when he did, but I think he was what the WWE was missing in 1993.

Just imagine them giving him the exact same push they gave to Yokozuna from late 92(Heel turn after Summerslam) til Wrestlemania X. Cheating Bret out of the strap at Wrestlemania IX only to drop it to Hulk, only to win it back at KOR, then the fued with Luger going into Summerslam, and ultimately getting involved with the Owen/Bret fued in late 93-early 94 leading up to the double match performance from Bret at WMX(plus a rematch with Bulldog vs Luger from SS).

Never was a big fan of that push for that specific guy(Yokozuna), and Bulldog was one of the many names that could have played that role much better(along with Vader).

Nothing against Yoko, bieng a good worker and all, but he was boring(I did enjoy his fued with Taker though).

 

[Lewis617]

1. Yes he had everything that a competitor at the time needed to make a title run, his mic skills could have used some work, but he would have done alright.

2. I think he contributed alot to showing you can have a "gimmick" (if you will call it that) where someone takes pride in their country and roles it into their character. Thus he started the trend really. Afterwards you have guys who talk this and that about their country, Sheamus for example, no he doesn't wear the Ireland flag on his trunks, but he takes pride in his country through his character.

3. Not to be a buzzkill, but the bump he took against Bret Hart. When Hart whipped him into the turnbuckle and Bulldog bounced off and stayed upside down in the air and landed right on his head.

4. I don't think he ever got the title because back when he had a prime opprotunity for it, they already established who their top guys were and he wasn't one of them. Unlike today where any number of around 15 guys can run for the title, the era Bulldog was in wasn't like that. It was either Bret, HBK, Taker, Diesel, or Yokozuna (Austin was rivaling with Bret and getting his push). Back then they only selected a handful of guys to always be in contention for the title, and it stayed that way, and Bulldog never moved up much past the upper mid-card because he never got his push to the top.

 

[MFR0mack]

......

LOL @ "people who can't defend themselves." He's not sitting there making things up, he's not the only one who has said these things. Neidhart, Diana Smith, Bruce Hart and numerous others in the family or in the business have regaled the same or similar tales about Davey Boy Smith.

Honestly, you can't really say the Bulldog had "bad luck." He didn't. If anything, he had more luck than half the locker room in the WWF during his time period. He had the good luck of having his brother-in-law request that he drop the title to him. He had the good luck of having his brother-in-law request that he be rehired after he worked for another company. He had the good luck of having tag team partners that could cover up his faults and make both men seem impressive. He had the good luck of being married into a wrestling royalty family that Vince had once screwed over and was since trying to repent to.

Davey Boy had luck in the WWF that many superstars would dream of having... And he threw it all away, by never putting the time into being a good wrestler, into understanding how to tell the story. Instead, he spent all his time shooting steroids and doing drugs. Shawn Michaels, Sean Waltman, Kevin Nash, Road Dogg, Animal and numerous others -- who had their own share of drug problems as well -- have recounted over the years how Bulldog was constantly trashed on pills or crack or whatever he could get his hands on. He had every opportunity given to him to make something of himself and he messed it up. Not "bad luck" because of some accidents.

Finally, you talk about how Vince treated him. Let's address these points individually.

1. Always payed his rehab. Yup. But Vince has done this for hundreds of superstars over the years, before and after Davey Boy. It had nothing to do with his feelings about him as a talent. It was an unwritten company policy to do this long before they started the "any former WWE talent can go through WWE-sponsored rehab."

2. Always pushed him. Uh, when? He was thrust randomly into the IC title picture in 92 to be an interim champion, then got himself fired after he lost the belt. He floundered in the midcard in 1994 and 1995. Davey's only real push ever came in 1996, where he was in the main event for like 2 months, then got delegated back to the midcard. The only reason he was even in the main event then is because they were shorthanded with superstars to begin with, considering Nash & Hall had left, Austin wasn't popular yet and Undertaker was a face, feuding with Mankind. Through 1997, he was nearly forgotten (or forced into ridiculous "dog food eating matches") and after the Screwjob, his career was basically over.

3. Created a title to keep him sweet. No, lol. At the time the European title was created, Bret Hart had just signed the largest and longest contract in WWF history and demanded that Vince "keep his promises" in terms of things he had said he'd give to Stu Hart when he bought Stampede Wrestling, things he said he'd do for Owen and things he said he'd do for Davey. The European title, along with the Bulldog & Owen's title run, all came because Bret demanded it, pretty much. Nothing to do with Bulldog himself.

 

[The Brain]

Davey Boy Smith was a very good performer for the WWF but he never should have been champion. One of my forum pet peeves is how people think that anyone that was around for more than a few years in the late 80s to mid 90s should have been world champion. Everyone just throws out a bunch of names and insists they should have been champion without considering how the actual champions of the time would have been affected. Davey did a great job in each of his roles. He was part of an awesome tag team in the British Bulldogs and held the tag title for ten months. He did well as a mid card baby face and won the IC title in one of the greatest IC title matches ever. He did well as a heel when he spent months chasing the world title against three popular champions. Then he did well in a heel tag team with Owen Hart and was a great supporting player for Bret in the Hart Foundation. He had a successful career without the world title. Obviously a world championship would have given him a better legacy but not everybody gets to be champion. The world title was reserved for the best of the best and even though Davey was very good he was never the best of the best. Maybe if there were two world titles around back then like there are now Davey would have held one of them. If you think Davey Boy should have been world champion be specific and tell me when. I hope you would come up with something better than a one month reign just so he could say he was champion.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

LOL @ "people who can't defend themselves." He's not sitting there making things up, he's not the only one who has said these things. Neidhart, Diana Smith, Bruce Hart and numerous others in the family or in the business have regaled the same or similar tales about Davey Boy Smith.

Honestly, you can't really say the Bulldog had "bad luck." He didn't. If anything, he had more luck than half the locker room in the WWF during his time period. He had the good luck of having his brother-in-law request that he drop the title to him. He had the good luck of having his brother-in-law request that he be rehired after he worked for another company. He had the good luck of having tag team partners that could cover up his faults and make both men seem impressive. He had the good luck of being married into a wrestling royalty family that Vince had once screwed over and was since trying to repent to.

Davey Boy had luck in the WWF that many superstars would dream of having... And he threw it all away, by never putting the time into being a good wrestler, into understanding how to tell the story. Instead, he spent all his time shooting steroids and doing drugs. Shawn Michaels, Sean Waltman, Kevin Nash, Road Dogg, Animal and numerous others -- who had their own share of drug problems as well -- have recounted over the years how Bulldog was constantly trashed on pills or crack or whatever he could get his hands on. He had every opportunity given to him to make something of himself and he messed it up. Not "bad luck" because of some accidents.

Finally, you talk about how Vince treated him. Let's address these points individually.

1. Always payed his rehab. Yup. But Vince has done this for hundreds of superstars over the years, before and after Davey Boy. It had nothing to do with his feelings about him as a talent. It was an unwritten company policy to do this long before they started the "any former WWE talent can go through WWE-sponsored rehab."

2. Always pushed him. Uh, when? He was thrust randomly into the IC title picture in 92 to be an interim champion, then got himself fired after he lost the belt. He floundered in the midcard in 1994 and 1995. Davey's only real push ever came in 1996, where he was in the main event for like 2 months, then got delegated back to the midcard. The only reason he was even in the main event then is because they were shorthanded with superstars to begin with, considering Nash & Hall had left, Austin wasn't popular yet and Undertaker was a face, feuding with Mankind. Through 1997, he was nearly forgotten (or forced into ridiculous "dog food eating matches") and after the Screwjob, his career was basically over.

3. Created a title to keep him sweet. No, lol. At the time the European title was created, Bret Hart had just signed the largest and longest contract in WWF history and demanded that Vince "keep his promises" in terms of things he had said he'd give to Stu Hart when he bought Stampede Wrestling, things he said he'd do for Owen and things he said he'd do for Davey. The European title, along with the Bulldog & Owen's title run, all came because Bret demanded it, pretty much. Nothing to do with Bulldog himself.

Davey was taking Diesel to strong matches in 95 and carried on into 96. From the moment he turned heel he was being pushed as a main-event level guy with Owen and Yoko as the tag team in Camp Cornette.

Your point number one doesn't 100% ring true, Vince did not put as many people through rehab as you might think prior to Eddie, hence a few of the guys who are now no longer with us. Point 3 is right to an extent, but Vince promised Davey a World title when he returned in 94, it got put back and put back with the matches that he lost and drew for the belt. Eventually, Bret did get his contract and Vince used the growing UK popularity to come up with the Euro title as a way out but saying it was nothing to do with Davey is wrong, he was a valued member of the locker room and if he was getting a little bit of Bret's aura so what? It's nothing that the Kliq members hadn't done.

It's clear you simply hate DBS and that is a shame, because to many people (not just Brits) he is the best example of someone who wasn't WWE material traditionally, but innovated and evolved into something far more than he rightly should have been. You don't do that if you're talentless...

 

[peter_midnight]

1. I don't know about should have been champion, but it boggles my mind to think about why they never put the title on him in the early 90s. He seemed to have everything they wanted at the time. Great look, was RIDICULOUSLY OVER (seriously, anybody that is old enough to remember Davey when he had long hair/braids and even when he was w/Dynamite should remember this), great work ethic and could work! Most importantly to me, the Bulldog is one of those few guys that had an aura about him. He was from England and larger than life. He's one of the few people that if I met today, I would genuinely be starstruck and awestruck by his presence. The guy had such a superhero aura about him and was more agile than the big men of his time that it truly shocks me that they never pushed him. Lennox FUCKING Lewis carried the flag to accompany to the ring, what more do I need to say?

2. IMO, his biggest contribution to the wrestling business is the ability to headline shows and sell out without being world champion. The Bulldogs were always top draws on their own cards (HTM shoot interviews say this) during the A, B, C house show days. Davey main evented w/Bret at Summerslam (regardless of his home country or not, it's not like WWE constantly draws 82,000 in England on a regular basis, do they?). People don't attempt this anymore, but they should.

3. Summerslam was awesome and my favorite Bulldog match, but he had some other ones as well. Of course, the promos w/Sting for Beach Blast were hilarious.

4. The first time around I think it was due to his steroid use as Warrior says that he and Davey were scapegoated and fired at the same time for roids. Height may have played a role as Davey always seemed short to me despite his muscularity overshadowing that. Finally, going to WCW probably did him in. Vince w/rare exception pushes guys to world title status that went to WCW after working for him. The kliq would be the final reason as Shawn was a jerk and seriously I don't understand how anyone could believe that Shawn is capable of beating most of the guys he faced in a match, let alone Davey Boy Smith. How the Rocker could've ever beaten a British Bulldog can only be explained by politics.

Now for commentary on some of the posts I've read. I seriously can't believe the opinions some people have regarding the Bulldog. Anyone that watched back then should remember how over he really was. He was by far WAAAAY more over than Kevin Nash or HHH could ever hope to be let alone Shawn Michaels in 1995. Hell, the canadian fans seemed to love him to death in his later run.

Also, regarding Bret's book. I am a fan of the Hitman and have read his book several times as well as watched his shoot interviews several times. Bret is awesome, but I don't think you can take his word on everything as truth. His claim of not hurting anybody ever was argued against by "Bad News" Brown in his shoot interview claiming Bret gave him a concussion. King Kong Bundy has spoken out against his claims of being a big draw during his run (Bundy claimed they got paid little money and worked in high school gyms). I don't bring this up to refute Bret, but to show that it's not like his claims aren't written in stone and have been argued against.

 

[MFR0mack]

Davey was taking Diesel to strong matches in 95 and carried on into 96. From the moment he turned heel he was being pushed as a main-event level guy with Owen and Yoko as the tag team in Camp Cornette.

Your point number one doesn't 100% ring true, Vince did not put as many people through rehab as you might think prior to Eddie, hence a few of the guys who are now no longer with us. Point 3 is right to an extent, but Vince promised Davey a World title when he returned in 94, it got put back and put back with the matches that he lost and drew for the belt. Eventually, Bret did get his contract and Vince used the growing UK popularity to come up with the Euro title as a way out but saying it was nothing to do with Davey is wrong, he was a valued member of the locker room and if he was getting a little bit of Bret's aura so what? It's nothing that the Kliq members hadn't done.

It's clear you simply hate DBS and that is a shame, because to many people (not just Brits) he is the best example of someone who wasn't WWE material traditionally, but innovated and evolved into something far more than he rightly should have been. You don't do that if you're talentless...

How in the world can you say he carried Diesel to a good match? They were so bad together in the ring that at the end of their October In Your House match, numerous people have said that Vince threw his commentator headset on the ground and yelled "Horrible!!" Bulldog never carried Nash to a good match, because Davey couldn't carry anyone. That was the problem. He wasn't "main event level" in 95. He got two title shots all year and was booked to lose them both pretty embarrassingly. The first one (Yoko & Bulldog vs Shawn & Diesel in a "Triple Header") he wasn't even supposed to be in, he got thrown into the match because Owen Hart was late getting to the building because his son was being born, the second one was the aforementioned match with Diesel.

What else did he do in 95? Formed an awful tag-team with Lex Luger and all they did was job, even at Wrestlemania. He had a bad match with Bam Bam at In Your House 3, awful matches with Men On A Mission, Savio Vega and numerous others on Raw... his only notable performance all of that year was his match with Bret Hart at Seasons Beatings. Because he got carried to a good performance by a good performer.

And before Eddie Guerrero, Vince had put Neidhart through rehab three times, Davey Boy three times, Jake Roberts twice, he attempted to get Shawn Michaels to go numerous times... Vince has been offering rehab to superstars for years. It had nothing to do with Davey personally. And as for the European title, Vince promises everyone with a big body that they'll get the belt... Then he sees them work, sees the reactions they get, gets dismayed and takes his word back, because he understands they don't deserve it. Bulldog didn't have any following within the US through 95 and 96. Because he could never cut a promo or work with any of the regular guys, the only times he could have a good contest was with someone better, like I said.

I don't hate Davey Boy Smith. When I was younger, I was a huge fan, but that was more for his look than anything. As I grew up and started to appreciate the finer qualities of wrestling, the abilities that truly make a star stand out, I saw that Davey wasn't really up to scratch. That's why the praise given to him when he doesn't deserve it is kind of irking. You can go on YouTube and pull up matches Randy Savage had or Shawn Michaels had with anyone, from jobber to midcard to main event level, and they always put on a good show. The same can't be said for the Bulldog. You put his name in YouTube, and you get a couple good matches... With Bret, Owen, Shawn, Curt, etc. Then you get pages and pages of crap with the "crap wrestlers" (as you call them) that I named earlier.