Davey Boy Smith 1999

[The Brain]

From the mid 80s through all of the 90s Davey Boy Smith was in and out of the WWF. Whenever he left he wasn’t gone for long, and whenever he came back he was always welcomed as if he never left. He had a couple short runs in WCW but Davey Boy always seemed like a WWF guy. The British Bulldogs were one of the most popular and successful tag teams of the 80s before leaving the WWF at the end of 1988. Davey returned as a singles wrestler in 1990 and enjoyed a nice mid card run culminating with the famous IC title win against Bret Hart at SummerSlam 92. Shortly after that win Davey left the WWF again but when he returned in 1994 he jumped right into the main event storyline involving the Hart family feud. The always popular British Bulldog surprised a lot of people a year later when he turned heel. It was hard to picture Bulldog as a heel before 1995 but Davey adapted quickly to his new role and ended up main eventing four different PPVs against three different world champions in a nine month span. Davey was very versatile and easily moved from tag team to mid card to main event whenever the situation called for it. Davey left again after the 1997 Survivor Series and this time it seemed like he would be gone for good. I was a little surprised to see him return again less than two years later. That return is what I’d like to discuss in this thread.

Although I was happy to see him return the WWF had changed a lot during the two years Davey was gone and this time he didn’t seem to fit in quite as well upon his return. It was nice that he got to work short programs with Triple H and The Rock. I was pleased to see him as one of the six competitors in the six pack challenge for the vacant WWF title at Unforgiven. It wasn’t long though until Davey found himself pushed down the card lower than he had ever been in his WWF career. Within two months of his return Davey was hanging around the Mean Street Posse and was very far away from the main event. So why was it that after always being featured so favorably in the WWF Davey quickly became irrelevant after his final return?

Was it the injuries? Davey suffered a terrible back injury in WCW that put him on the shelf for months. During his time away he became addicted to pain pills and found himself in a pretty dark place. Maybe Davey just didn’t have it physically anymore and wasn’t pushed because he couldn’t perform as well as he did in the past.

Or maybe time had passed him by and Davey Boy Smith simply didn’t fit into the WWF anymore. It had been 15 years since he first joined the company and to say things had changed would be an understatement. For as much as I liked seeing Davey in that main event at Unforgiven somebody obviously thought the Bulldog needed a change. I think it was after that one match that Davey went from his usual Union Jack tights to just wearing jeans. It was 1999 so colors weren’t allowed. Everyone had to either wear black tights or just jeans or sweatpants. I guess they thought Davey looked tougher in the jeans but that look didn’t work. Too bad he didn’t last a little longer when colors made a comeback in 2000.

What are your thoughts on Davey Boy’s comeback in 1999? It was brief, but could it have been better? Even if he wasn’t going to be a main event player he could have done better than working with the Posse. I think at that stage in his career Davey would have made a great opponent to put guys like Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, or Chris Benoit over. Yeah, he would have been losing to the younger guys but at least he could have been relevant.

 

[Makaveli31]

It was something that was unfortunately forgettable. When I think of Davey Boy Smith I think of his singles run from '91-'92 when he was upper mid card. His feud with the Warlord at WrestleMania 7, and of course the pinnacle of his career his SummerSlam '92 win over Bret Hart in front of 80,000 at Wembley Stadium. Unfortunately it didn't translate to lengthy I-C run for the Bulldog and he was out of company shortly thereafter. That was supposed to be the prime of his career.

He never broke out of that Hart family shadow. He never really became a true main event top tier superstar on his own. He was always in some form or fashion linked to Bret Hart and Bret (much like Dynamite in his tag team days) was always the top guy when it came to the Hart Family. Davey and Bret never really had that feud like Bret and Owen did in 1992. The Bulldog was always sort of in the background. Even when he was 'main eventing" against Diesel and Bret in '95 and Shawn in '96 there was never that "feud". It was always sort of one off matches. To me it was really a shame because everyone from Nash to Bret and Shawn said they had great matches against Davey and the matches were really underrated.

As far as your question goes, I think it was different factors.

Davey Boy was finished as a top main event superstar and quite possibly as a wrestler. Many superstars have said the years of injuries, drug abuse, and just wear and tear had taken their toll on his body. I don't know how it's could've been better. Like you said he had matches against the Rock and Triple H. He was involved in feuds with Boss Man, Al Snow, D-Lo Brown and Crash Holly. He was relevant in some sense.

I think Davey truly enjoyed his final run in WWE because for the first time ever it was just Davey Boy. No other Hart family member was an active WWF wrestler at the time and most importantly Bret Hart. He wasn't in anyone's shadow. He wasn't Dynamite's tag team partner or in Bret or Owen's corner. He wasn't the flag bearer like he was in the Hart Foundation. He has his own true identity. I just wish he would've had an opportunity to team with his son before he passed away.

 

[Makaveli31]

I meant 1994 for the Bret-Owen feud*

 

[dsotm5150]

I think by 1999 the business had passed Davey Boy by. Despite being a tremendously talented performer, and beloved by the fans, his lack of any long term loyalty to either WCW or WWF I feel greatly hindered his ability to be seen as a reliable talent, as he rarely stayed in the same place longer than a few years at a time. Despite having some success as a singles star, majority of fans think of tag team success when they think of Davey Boy Smith.

1998 definitely was the nail in the coffin for his career, Survivor Series '97 hurt his career as much as it did Bret Hart's as both men made the jump to WCW quickly joined by Jim Neidhart. If WCW had capitilized on the massive baby face momentum that Bret Hart had following the screwjob instead of constantly teasing an alliance withe the nWo, WCW could have easily had a face faction that rivaled the popularity of the nWo which easily could have slingshotted the Hart Foundation and Smith's careers into a new resurgence.

Instead Smith and Neidhart would essentially be nothing more than space fillers in the less than stellar tag team division, while Bret would struggle to gain momentum as well. Not to mention the fact Smith spent the majority of that year laid up with a knee injury, followed by the back injury that ended his WCW career and almost paralyzed him and left him with an addiction to painkillers.

His return in 1999, would see him as just another generic Attitude era superstar, though I enjoyed his run and it was nice to finally see him stand on his own, he was just another face in the crowd.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

He was a mid-card guy who flirted with main eventers throughout each of his singles runs. Nothing changed in 1999 other than he was a bit of a mess by all accounts. The Mean Street Posse aren't much lower down the card than being in Camp Cornette.

 

[FromGlasgow]

I think all his WWE stints could have been better, Especially around Summerslam 92 he seemed like the most popular wrestler ever in the UK only to leave the company a couple of months later, Then when he did return he returned as Bret's sidekick even though he had beaten him a couple of years earlier and after that losing to HBK in his own home country was a horrible decision, So not just 99 his whole career hasn't been booked too great in my view

 

[sikkbones]

I think all his WWE stints could have been better, Especially around Summerslam 92 he seemed like the most popular wrestler ever in the UK only to leave the company a couple of months later, Then when he did return he returned as Bret's sidekick even though he had beaten him a couple of years earlier and after that losing to HBK in his own home country was a horrible decision, So not just 99 his whole career hasn't been booked too great in my view

i always thought he should have been bret's natural contender that owen ended up being around the time of brets first title run... the one that hogan ended.

 

[TDFG]

I think the whole ONO defeat to HBK really had an effect on Davey, he left not long after and then the back injury in WCW finished him as a force.

By the time he went back to WWE he was a shadow of what he was before and he could have been part of a tag-team and not much else.

It's unfortunate he never got a World Title run.

 

[Jonyboyuk2]

When you see the talent that DBS had in the later 1980s and through to the 1997 event, it was sad to see him perform in 1999. His back condition was horrendous and it led to him being hooked on pain pills. It was a contributory factor in his death 2 and a half years later.

I thought he did a good job as the hardcore champion, and would have preferred him to have been a face not a heel. The dog shit spot he did with the Rock (being rock bottomed on to shit) was demeaning for a talent like Davey - with all of his excellent achievements.

When I think of DBS, his best run was 1991-1992 - and his main event with Bret Hart is 2nd highest attended WWE event ever (after WM32; the figure for WM3 was exaggerated). It is also my favourite match ever.

 

[AJ1981]

It was down to one reason, his addiction to prescription painkillers including morphine. Go back on the WWE Network and watch some of his TV and PPV apperances. It is quite clear that he was often in no state to perform and by late 1999 Vince had pulled him from TV and sent him to rehab. I remember when he returned at Insurrextion 2000 and beat Crash Holly for the Hardcore title it was like he was another planet, it was very sad to see and he was removed from TV shortly thereafter.

 

[stingray11214]

1999 should never have happened. He should have just gone off into the sunset after his injury. He might be alive today if he did NOT go back.

 

[Makaveli31]

I think we all were shocked to learn the extent of depths of Davey Boy's drug addiction. Cocaine, alcohol, prescription drugs, steroids, growth hormone. Reading Bret Hart's book was an eye opener. He basically said Davey Boy was a walking zombie he was so strung out. I find it incredible he was able to have the kind of matches he had but that was testament to his sheer talent.

Bret relates the story of SummerSlam '92. Davey Boy spends the entire summer before his biggest match basically going AWOL, and smoking crack cocaine with Jim Hiedhart. He was out of shape and spent zero time in the gym. Bret plans the entire match from start to finish. He has to openly call spots during the match because Davey Boy forgets the entire things and is blown up just a few minutes into the match.

I go back and watch the match in amazement knowing now the backstory but as Bret says it's a testament to Davey's skill that he able to execute the match and the spots. I find it interesting that Bret says it was never in the cards to give Davey a run with the I-C belt and that it was always going to go to Shawn Michaels. They just used Davey to draw 80,000 to Wembley Arena.

Davey had serious issues make no mistake about it but I think we can remember him for being an awesome performer and a great wrestler who entertained us. Nothing makes my hair stand up like Davey Boy coming to to ring at Slam '92, with Rule Britannia playing! That's they way I'd like to remember Davey Boy Smith RIP!

 

[Goldie]

After the Staph infection on his back-(suffered by taking a bump on the trapdoor the Ultimate Warrior used for his mysterious ring appearances) Davey spent months in hospital towards the end of his WCW contract which was eventually terminated by Bischoff as Davey still lay in his hospital bed. He had the choice of spinal surgery (which would have ended his career or take a chance on natural recovery.... which he opted to do... but was a shell of his former self.

Daveys WWE return was just months after Owens death fall.... and with a lawsuit looming from the Hart family- having Davey Boy back on board was a coup for McMahon... which might explain why he was given an immediate push and mixing it with the big boys: Triple H and the Rock.
Though it couldn't last.... the injuries and the drug addictions (morphine to ease the constant agony he was in) took its toll.... and I remember Vince sending him to rehab at the WWEs expense.
His personal life was in turmoil too... and after threatening Diana Hart was made public... the WWE let him go.

Sad end really as he was a great wrestler in his mid 80s to 1997 prime.

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

As an Englishman, Davey Boy Smith will always live fondly in my heart. The first wrestling VHS my brother and I bought, after renting loads of both WWF and WCW from the video shop, was Battle Royal at the Albert Hall, in which Davey beat the Barbarian and then won a 20-man over the top battle royal (actually quite a good one at that). Also the very first show we watched was Summerslam 1990, and, whilst Davey's visa problems prevented him from appearing on that show (as first choice replacement for Brutus Beefcake), he soon debuted and was allowed to perform strongly in the 1991 Royal Rumble match, making the final four and eliminating Mr Perfect and Rick Martel near the end. Davey was booked exactly as he should have been back then, essentially a strong man with good technical knowledge who could easily open a show, carry the mid-card or main event on the European tours. That Vince cancelled on Washington DC, his own nation's capital, where Bret Hart would have faced Shawn Michaels in a mid-card Intercontinental title match (the seeds of which were planted around Wrestlemania), to give him the MAIN EVENT at Wembley Stadium is testament to that. Unfortunately for Davey, he didn't stop the steroids in a time where Vince and the WWE were under intense legal scrutiny, and despite being promoted to defend his IC title against the Mountie at Survivor Series, and appearing on the early Royal Rumble 1993 promo posters, Davey got canned alongside Road Warrior Hawk and the Ultimare Warrior.

His subsequent brief WCW headliner run and 1994 return to WWF were moderately successful, and I enjoyed his heel work between 1995-97, where he was given prominent status in main events, title matches, the tag championships and finally the reborn Hart Foundation. I'll go against the grain though and say that his loss to Shawn Michaels at One Night Only was totally the right decision, as it furthered the heel mystique of D-generation X and is a rare example of the bigger picture being looked at in the usually short-term world of professional wrestling.

However, buying out his contract in the aftermath of Montreal meant we had sadly seen the last of the British Bulldog that we knew and loved. His back injury cut short a WCW tenure that in truth was dead on arrival due to awful booking of him, Neidhart and Bret; and though he started well enough on his WWF return, interjecting into the title picture with Triple H and the Rock, he soon faded into obscurity, his drug problems meaning that, though he was imam entrant in the 2000 Royal Rumble, he didn't make the cut for Wrestlemania 2000, an event where almost every member of the roster was given a match.

I hated the 1999-2000 Bulldog. The image change was terrible IMO. If they wanted a 'dark Bulldog', just change his colours from red, white and blue to black and white; He should never have been a heel in the UK as quite simply they would never truly boo him; his music was generic and shite. Everything about his packaging was second-class once his feud with the Rock was done after No Mercy 1999. It's a shame as, perhaps, if he had a positive mindset, if his morale was cultivated, he *might* have had the inclination to really battle his demons.

No, if I remember Davey, which I do fondly, I recall the pre-Montreal Davey, one of the greatest ever wrestlers ever to come out of England. His 9-month 1999 last run was pretty worthless, so it would be a damn shame if he got remembered more for that.

 

[Vanilla Midget]

Looking back on some of these matches I feel like I can really see an exhausted man suffering. He just seems like he's lost some of his spirit when he hits the ring. Obviously they did believe in him in this time. He wrestled in the six pack challenge, he feuded with The Rock, he wrestled then WWF champion Triple H.

Even as a teenager I remember thinking the jeans and rock music theme were a mistake. Why did they move the character so far away from its core concept? I actually thought for a bit that they repurposed the British Bulldog name for a new guy.

I would have kept the Union Jack tights but given him a rocked up version of Hail Britannia. He should have worked an angle where he was a heel that refused to adapt with the times. This would have put him in direct conflict with what The Rock stood for. He would have basically been a more aggressive version of Kurt Angle's character that came a year later.

I still would have had the Rock feud turn out like it did. I wouldn't have dropped him so hard when he won the European title. I would have elevated it a bit by continuing the feud with The Rock heading in the Royal Rumble match. Rock and Smith would never wrestle for the title, but it would be a point of promo conjecture until Rock split off to feud with Big Show.

I don't know if a midcard push would have helped Davey Boy. It wouldn't have hurt to elevate him and the European title at the same time. Smith could have made a decent midcard opponent at the oft maligned WrestleMania 2000. I think his depush may have resulted in what were very obvious health and drug problems.

They tried to make him someone he wasn't during his 1999 run. It really showed when I look back in retrospect.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The reality is that Vince always had a soft spot for Davey, for whatever reason and gave him multiple chances. He did the same for Marty Jannetty after Shawn screwed him over.

Davey had left under a cloud through actions that weren't his, both the screwjob and the One Night Only debacle where Shawn had powerplayed him. So when the chance to get him back came, Vince would have been glad of it as he was always a good hand and valuable talent.

BUT

Like any addict, Davey could tell Vince what he wanted to hear "Sure I'll be in shape...sure I'm not on the stuff right now" when the truth was far different.

When the bloated and ill looking Davey showed up, Vince was already commited to a short run with him, so he was used to put people over before being slid down the card. That run might have been what motivated Davey to even try...and losing it enough to push him to the abyss. A similar thing happened to Curt Hennig remember, he came back in 02, was World title form but got trashed and ruined it...he was dead soon after.

The Attitude Era played no part, as had Davey been "on form" he'd have been the perfect guy for that era, he had history, had attitude and was a known "bad boy" behind the scenes. But he wasn't that guy he was when focused in 96-97 who should have beaten Shawn. He was the guy who won the Hardcore title and hung around a guy called Pete Gas.

As for Bret's account, while a lot of it seems true if you re-watch, it still took two guys to pull that match off. He wasn't wrestling a broomstick and he is known to self aggrandize at times. Davey played an equal part in that match, whatever Bret thinks and it's a shame he couldn't be kinder to Davey in that book about that and let him have that one shining moment in his career.

 

[drobs85]

I think Bulldog left so many times as someone else mentioned that he was never gonna be champion. Not to mention drugs, his known backstage blowups to. Some of that may even be why he is still not in the HOF.I did not like him much when he was battling the fan favorites like HBK, Taker, Sid etc. Would always root for them, didn't like the diaper he wore or that patriotic theme. But when he came back on his own with the jeans and the don't give a damn attitude, and that killer theme that I still listen to I really liked him and became a fan. We know it didn't last long and they really wasted all the feuds he should've had. He just ran out of gas at the end. RIP.

 

[drobs85]

1999 should never have happened. He should have just gone off into the sunset after his injury. He might be alive today if he did NOT go back.

That is a interesting statement I didn't really ever think about. You are on to something. Now I'm wishing he would have retired.

 

[harrythem]

When Bulldog returned in 1999 the WWF was mainly full of guys who could cut a promo with wrestling a distant second. On his best day Bulldog was a dreadful promo and needed a manager, without someone to talk for him he was like a less talented Benoit. Let's face it, his big thing on his return was pretty huge though, he gave Stephanie amnesia that caused her to delay her wedding to Test and end up marrying Triple H!

 

[Jack-Hammer]

For me, Davey Boy was a pretty decent mid-card guy that, in my opinion, many have overestimated and overhyped because of his match with Bret Hart at SummerSlam 1992. It was a great match and, in my eyes, his true shining moment in the sun, but it was also when he hit his peak.

By the time 1999 rolled around, he was a shell of himself and probably had been for a while. The back injury he suffered in WCW was probably a huge contributing factor to his death as it was partially responsible for his addiction to pain pills and morphine. Vince paid for his rehab but it just didn't take. His personal life was in complete shambles as he & Diana divorced in early 2000. Like many powerhouse wrestlers of the 80s and 90s, Davey used steroids heavily and this may have contributed to his death at only 39 years of age. Who knows how long he'd been juicing up, though I wouldn't be at all surprised if he'd been using since close to the beginning of his career; that along with the pills could've damaged his heart though.

His program with the Mean Street Posse may not have been marquee, it's also true that Smith himself wasn't exactly a marquee star by that time. He was older, he was addicted to drugs, he was such a mess that you could tell something was up when you saw him sometimes and there were simply far more interesting things going on during that time than anything he was capable of putting on at the time.

 

[HatchetMan84]

Looking back on some of these matches I feel like I can really see an exhausted man suffering. He just seems like he's lost some of his spirit when he hits the ring. Obviously they did believe in him in this time. He wrestled in the six pack challenge, he feuded with The Rock, he wrestled then WWF champion Triple H.

Even as a teenager I remember thinking the jeans and rock music theme were a mistake. Why did they move the character so far away from its core concept? I actually thought for a bit that they repurposed the British Bulldog name for a new guy.

I would have kept the Union Jack tights but given him a rocked up version of Hail Britannia. He should have worked an angle where he was a heel that refused to adapt with the times. This would have put him in direct conflict with what The Rock stood for. He would have basically been a more aggressive version of Kurt Angle's character that came a year later.

I still would have had the Rock feud turn out like it did. I wouldn't have dropped him so hard when he won the European title. I would have elevated it a bit by continuing the feud with The Rock heading in the Royal Rumble match. Rock and Smith would never wrestle for the title, but it would be a point of promo conjecture until Rock split off to feud with Big Show.

I don't know if a midcard push would have helped Davey Boy. It wouldn't have hurt to elevate him and the European title at the same time. Smith could have made a decent midcard opponent at the oft maligned WrestleMania 2000. I think his depush may have resulted in what were very obvious health and drug problems.

They tried to make him someone he wasn't during his 1999 run. It really showed when I look back in retrospect.

Unless i am wrong, i seem to remember Davey wrestling at least one match in 1999 in his classic Union Jack tights. It was a fun bit of nostalgia for me, but to me, honestly in 1999 he seemed like he didn't fight with the tights. I think that might be one of the big reasons why he ended up wrestling in jeans. Just off the record here, I think it looks horrible when well known wrestlers wrestle in jeans in favor of their normal tights. I even cringed when HBK did it in 2002, even though i knew somehow in the back of my mind when the match against Hunter was announced, that he would do it. The only thing that saved the jeans in that match i think was of how well Shawn worked, the jeans were just an afterthought when it was revealed that Michaels could still "go" in the ring.

Can anyone tell me of a wrestler that had their entire "run" in jeans and was over? I know i can think of Raven, but unless my memory is really bad thats the only guy i can think of.

 

[deadman talking]

Bulldog was one of my favorites. When he came back in 99, I absolutely marked out. it didn't take long to realize something was different. He didn't seem to have that spark he once had. Injuries and drugs were taking over. The atmosphere in the wwe had also changed. I think if he would have stayed in wwe, and not went to wcw as much, it might have worked to his benefit. Nonetheless, I love the bulldog and believe he should be in the hall of fame.

 

[LBGetBack]

I'm in the minority here because the ratings were very high, but I absolutely hate 1999 WWF. Just garbage wrestling and TV, on the whole. Davey didn't fit in at all as others have mentioned. But that's not a knock on him. WWF was weird as hell at the time, so plenty of good wrestlers wouldn't have fit in.

 

[Lowdown]

What little bit I remember about Bulldog's run in '99 was that he was in contention for the Hardcore title. Plus I couldn't really figure out if he was supposed to be a heel or a face. He didn't have much buildup to an y specific rivalry; he was just another warm body to add into the mix, case in point the Six-Pack Chellenge. And yeah, he really didn't look right, especially when he was wrestling in jeans. The main focus at that time was on Triple H and his first two title reigns and the Rock, so unless Davey had run-ins with these guys (which he did), he was mostly irrelevant.

 

[rmp0012002]

When he came back in '99 he had already had previous substance abuse issues and with all the years of steroids his body was breaking down as a whole. When you have reoccurring substance issues you won't be welcome for long.