Battle of the...Brits

[Tequila Dave]

Hello Wrestlezone! In this series, the idea is to compare professional wrestlers from a certain country/backround/race/ethnicity etc., deciding which wrestler from that category:

A) Is the most entertaining/better wrestler

B) Had the biggest impact on mainstream professional wrestling

This week, we're looking at British wrestlers!

Davey Boy Smith
Numerous WWF tenures betwween 1984-2000, WCW 1993 and 1998
2 time WWF Europeam Champion, 2 time WWF Hardcore Champion, 1 time WWF Intercontinental Champion
2 time WWF World Tag Team Champion with The Dynamit Kid and Owen Hart
PWI ranked him #15 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1993
PWI ranked him #5 of the 100 best tag teams of the PWI Years in 2003 with The Dynamite Kid
PWI Match of the Year (1992) vs. Bret Hart at SummerSlam

Dynamite Kid
WWF 1984-1988
1 time WWF Tag Team Champion with Davey Boy Smith
PWI ranked him #41 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003
PWI ranked him # 5 of the 100 best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Davey Boy Smith in 2003

William Regal
WCW 1992-1998 and 1999-2000, WWE 1998-1999 and 2000-present
3 time WWF Hardcore Champion, 4 time WWE European Champiom, 2 time Intercontinental Champion
4 time World Tag Team Champion with Lance Storm (twice), Eugene and Tajiri
2008 King of the Ring, General Manager of Raw 2007-2008
PWI ranked him #18 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1994

Finlay
WCW 1995-2000, WWE 2001-present
1 time WWE USA Champion, 1 time WCW World Television Champion
PWI ranked him #33 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2007
PWI ranked him #278 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003

NigelMcCuinness/Desmonde Wolfe
ROH 2003-2009, TNA 2009-present
1 time ROH World Champion
1 time ROH Pure Champion
PWI ranked him #6 of the best 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2009

Other notable wrestlers: Sheamus, Wade Barett, Drew McIntyre, Doug Williams, Rob Terry, David Hart Smith (kinda), Magnus, Paul Burchill, Dave Taylor, Norman Smiley and many many more...

So who is the best of the Brits? And WHY?

Also, is this a good idea for a series?

 

[Next Jericho]

This seems like it will be a good series of threads maybe do Mexico next week mainly because Mexico has produce a lot of great wrestler like Rey Mysterio, La Parka, Eddie Guerrero and more.

A) Is the most entertaining/better wrestler

NigelMcCuinness/Desmonde Wolfe is the most entertaining British wrestler and is probably one of the best wrestlers in the world at this moment. He is good wrestler because he can make any wrestler look like a million bucks even if they are a terrible wrestler.Also Desmond Wolfe can have a great match with almost anyone in the world and get fans to fill any areas up.

B) Had the biggest impact on mainstream professional wrestling

William Regal has probably had the most impact on the wrestling mainstream because he has been in the WWE a lot of his career and WWE alone is in more than 70 counties. Also in the WWE he has been King of the ring, intercontinental champion and has been 4 time World Tag Team Champion and these titles are in WWE so he is my choice.

 

[Calderownz]

I'm going to go with Dynamite Kid. He has so many people that imitate his style and he's had incredible matches that I've been able to catch over the years.

Brilliant Stampede matches with Bret Hart. He's just a personal favorite of mine.

 

[PsychoBlack]

Isn't Finlay from Ireland? Otherwise I have to go with Regal. He has had the most exposure, consistently good matches,best mic skills, and trained excellent wrestlers. A close second for me is Davey Boy Smith. He may be one of the best to never win the big one, and, one of the greatest tag team wrestlers ever. Right now currently the best Brit is Desmond Wolfe. When he comes into his own in TNA he will be something special

 

[Dyno Kid]

Oh it's Dynamite for sure with me, not even close ! At his best he was the best worker in the world when that meant something, he revolutionised the Jr. heavy. division and inspired future greats like Benoit, Liger, and countless others !

A legend in Canada and Japan he carried the Stampede territory at a time when no Jr. Heavy did that anywhere in the world ! He made everyone he worked with look like a millon dollars and it was said of Dynamite, "Wrestling Dynamite was like wrestling a balloon becasue of the way he'd bump and fly for you."

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

It has to be very close between Davey Boy and Dynamite. The fact that they were tag team partners just indicates how good the British Bulldogs were as a team.

As actual "wrestlers", it is a no contest, Dynamite was one of the best in-ring competitors of all time, and a young Chris Benoit was so enthralled with Tom Billington that he started working out and training to become a wrestler. I did not have the pleasure of seeing Dynamite in his prime, but I have seen alot of tapes and having read Bret Harts autobiogrpahy, it is clear how much he respected Dynamite as a wrestler. He was one of the pioneers of the Jnr Heavyweight division and very influential. It is a major shame that his injuries and drug problems ended his career early as he could have gone down as a true great.

However, for his role in making the WWF popular in England, and playing the role of the home-town hero to perfection every time he performed on these shores, I am going to go with Davey Boy as the greatest. The Bulldog was a national hero on these shores and was capable of some brilliant matches in his own right, most notably with The Hitman, Bret Hart. Again, drugs and steroids plagued Davey and tragically ended his life, but he will never be forgotten. I sometimes train at the gym where Bulldog trained and I always think about how great it would have been to have met the guy.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Desmond Wolfe can have a great match with almost anyone in the world and get fans to fill any areas up.

Wolfe is completely unproven at filling arena, being in TNA and ROH. I do think if he was given the chance in WWE, that he could become a megastar. He is definately talented enough

William Regal has probably had the most impact on the wrestling mainstream because he has been in the WWE a lot of his career and WWE alone is in more than 70 counties. Also in the WWE he has been King of the ring, intercontinental champion and has been 4 time World Tag Team Champion and these titles are in WWE so he is my choice.

Surely Bulldog had more impact on the wrestling mainstream. He was part of one of the greatest matches of all time at SummerSlam in England with Bret Hart, winning the IC title infront of 80'000 fans in his home country, and had a connection with the UK crowds that Regal has never had and will never have.

Yes, Regal has held 4 tag team titles, but as a member of one of the greatest teams of all time, Davey Boy surely must be ahead on points here, surely? Regals tag team reigns were meaningless.

I would have to place Bulldog as number 1, Dynamite as 2 and Regal as 3 as he has been around a long time, and has had a high profile position in the WWE for years

 

[Whatsinaname696]

if it's only 1 I have to go with Davey Boy, but the British Bulldogs as a team is Def. the epitome of the best of the Brits (Matilda included) Davey Boy was a monster, maybe not in size, but still the best powerslam I have ever seen and Dynamite was exactly what his name said he was, he was quicker than a hiccup, they were amazing, but have to go with Davey because he was the babyface of the group (again Matilda included) and went on to have more success, IMO anyways (and I'm assuming since Finlay is in, Brit just means UK, love him, Regal and Wolfe too)

 

[Next Jericho]

I would have to place Bulldog as number 1, Dynamite as 2 and Regal as 3 as he has been around a long time, and has had a high profile position in the WWE for years

Well looking at my points now about Regal I am going to give The British Bulldog having the most impact on the wrestling business

But I will not accept that the Dynamite Kid is higher than Regal on Impact on the wrestling business. I will not accept this because Dynamite was in the WWF for four years and had only one world tag title reign with Bulldog. But Regal has been on the main steam so quite a while and has held more main steam titles in wrestling and is more reconsigned by the wrestling world more than Dynamite.

 

[Navi]

I can't pick between Dynamite Kid and Davey Boy Smith. Just on sheer talent I'd have to go with Dynamite.

He inspired a whole group of wrestlers to get into the game, including Benoit, and together he and Smith were the best tag team I've ever seen. They were almost unstoppable. I miss those guys.

 

[Davi323]

I am gonna go with Davey Boy Smith. As soon as I saw the title of the trhread, I immediately thought "okay, Bulldog vs who else?". Since my brain automatically associated him with Brits, I figure that means that the British Bulldog obviously stands out the most, at least to me. For a "power" wrestler, Davey Boy could flat out wrestle. The Summerslam match has already been mentioned, so I would add the Royal Rumble that. I forget exactly which one it was, but Smith and HBK were the first ones in, and the last ones out. both went the distance, and even though HBK got the win, Bulldog impressed the hell out me for his stamina.

Then there is the ties to Great Britain. Neither Davey Boy or Dynamite were simply wrestlers that were British, they proudly wore the Union Jack on their tights, wore it on their capes as they made their entrances, and acted as if they were the ambassadors of British wrestling. As a team, they were Great Britain, like the Iron Sheik was Iran, and Nikolai Volkoff was the USSR. When you mention British wrestler, Davey Boy Smith is the one that comes to mind.

 

[HBKevin]

British Bulldog. The guy could wrestle like crazy for a big guy. Had classic matches with HBK and the Hitman. Definitely the best British main eventer.

 

[Tech N9ne]

It is a tough decision. I will cast my vote for Davey Boy. He did a lot in the business and was always current in whatever he did. He did not get the WCW or WWE world titles. But he was a great champion when holding one of the other titles he won in his career. He was a good mouth piece for himself when he wanted to be and was great in the ring with some of the most brutal power to ever be used in wrestling.