In May 2002, “the British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith passed away at just 39, leaving behind a legacy as one of the most enduring figures of WWF’s late 80s and early 90s boom period. Nine years before his untimely passing, Davey Boy ventured outside the WWF and captivated this young writer with his brief but impactful run in World Championship Wrestling. His nearly year-long stint in WCW, highlighted by an epic feud with Vader, then WCW World Champion, drew me into the world of professional wrestling.
At age 9, I had started watching WCW Saturday Night and any other wrestling that appeared on our 30-channel “extended basic cable” package whenever I could get control of the TV. Unfortunately, I didn’t often have control of the TV and missed out on developing storylines. One summer night, when I found myself alone and up past everyone else, I discovered TBS’s occasional habit of airing key matches from recent months instead of their usual syndication movies. In the summer of 1993, this meant I was treated to highlights of the Vader vs. Davey Boy collision that had been building up throughout the year, culminating in their Clash of the Champions XXIV rematch for Vader’s World Title.
I spent hours on the couch that night, watching British Bulldog WCW highlights. From the opening promos and matches on Saturday Night to the intense brawl with Vader at Slamboree, where Vader won by disqualification, to the over-the-top mini-movie where Vader and Sid Vicious, as the Masters of the Powerbomb, tried to blow up Davey Boy and WCW’s Sting, and finally, the Beach Blast tag match where Davey Boy scored the pinfall to win the match with Sting.
The question I wouldn’t have known to ask back then, but one can’t help but wonder with a little hindsight on early 90s wrestling, is why Davey Boy Smith ended up in WCW in 1993. Hadn’t he just delivered one of the all-time great matches at SummerSlam 1992, where he won the Intercontinental Title from his brother-in-law, Bret Hart? Yes, indeed. Davey Boy had a stellar performance at SummerSlam 1992, and he was even in line for a title shot against the newly crowned WWF World Champion Bret Hart (elevated despite the SummerSlam loss for his stellar performance) after a planned IC Title loss to rising star Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series 1992.
However, by the time Survivor Series 1992 rolled around, Davey Boy was out of the WWF, having been released before the next pay-per-view following his SummerSlam victory. His IC Title loss was hastened and occurred on a Saturday Night’s Main Event, and soon after, Bulldog was dismissed by Vince McMahon.
If you’re unfamiliar with the story, it’s likely you can guess the reason: Davey Boy and the just-returned Ultimate Warrior were both released due to steroid use.
While the WWF/E’s substance policy has been flexible at times—allowing early reinstatements of suspended stars like Shawn Michaels or Brock Lesnar (allegedly) to boost pay-per-view ratings, and even instances of Howard Finkel supplying urine for tests to help stars pass—the end of 1992 was a different era. It was marked by the WWF’s strictest steroid crackdown, particularly after Dr. George Zahorian received a lengthy jail sentence for distributing steroids to WWF athletes, with Vince McMahon’s trial on similar charges looming.
When Davey Boy and Warrior were caught for illegal shipments of human growth hormone from England to the U.S. in late 1992, the WWF had little choice but to let both stars go. The Warrior wouldn’t return to the WWF until 1996, with a memorable squash of Triple H at WrestleMania XII. Fortunately, Davey Boy didn’t stay away for that long. Recognizing his drawing power in England and Europe—evident from his SummerSlam performance—WCW seized the opportunity to sign Davey Boy. With the Sting-Vader rivalry having run its course for much of 1992, WCW pushed the British Bulldog as the next top face contender for Vader’s World Title.
I think we all recognize that the WWF did the British Bulldog a huge favor when he teamed up with Jim Cornette as his manager after turning heel in 1995. Cornette was one of the best mic workers in the business, while Davey Boy Smith struggled with promos. Straight babyface promos, especially without much character or gimmick, were particularly tough for Bulldog throughout his early 90s WWF and WCW runs. Despite his bland babyface persona, WCW fans were eagerly anticipating his run for the WCW title.
During his early WCW run, particularly leading up to Slamboree 1993, Davey Boy was in peak shape and sported eye-catching gold tassels on his pants and arm bands. The build-up to Slamboree saw Bulldog as a clear fan favorite in his feud with Vader. Their match at Slamboree was a classic “slobberknocker,” a term JR would later popularize. Vader’s matches from 1992 through 1995 were known for their stiff style, and his bouts with Hogan and Dustin Rhodes were particularly brutal. The Bulldog-Vader match, though slightly less intense than Vader-Rhodes, was a prime example of their hard-hitting style.
The match began with both men bouncing off the ropes for a series of lock-ups and collisions. Davey Boy’s performance in this match was exceptional; he remained solid as Vader collided with him, which only made Vader appear more stunned. Davey Boy’s defiant gestures, like shaking his finger and head at Vader, drove the WCW crowd wild. For once, Vader met someone he couldn’t simply overpower.
Bulldog was prominently showcased in this match. He absorbed everything Vader threw at him and kept kicking out. Vader ultimately retained his title via disqualification after using a chair on Bulldog, with Vader’s manager, Harley Race, distracting Bulldog on the outside. Throughout the summer, Bulldog teamed with WCW’s top babyface, Sting. Together, they defeated Vader and Sid Vicious at Beach Blast. Davey Boy was positioned strongly, securing the win for his team with his finisher and the pinfall. At Clash of Champions 24, it seemed like Bulldog might finally win the title. He kicked out of a Vader Bomb and made a strong comeback. However, as he was about to execute a delayed vertical suplex, Harley Race interfered, clipping Bulldog’s knee and allowing Vader to secure the pinfall victory.
At a house show in England just a couple of months after Clash of Champions 24, Davey Boy Smith actually pinned Vader and seemingly won the World Title. However, the decision was reversed, with Dusty Rhodes making the call to please the local fans but keep the title on the heel, Vader.
From February to October of 1993, Davey Boy was arguably the strongest booked and pushed wrestler in WCW, outshining even Sting and Sid Vicious. Given the numerous cheats and disqualifications Vader needed to retain his title, Bulldog’s booking made him appear as the top contender, even more so than the reigning World Champion.
Yet, in November of 1993, during the lottery tag tournament leading up to the Battlebowl pay-per-view, Davey Boy was paired with a young Booker T (then known as Kole of Harlem Heat) and lost to Road Warrior Hawk and Rip Rogers. In this match, Bulldog seemed to support Hawk more than his own tag partner, which excluded him from the Battlebowl main event battle royal. Shortly afterward, WCW released Davey Boy in December 1993.
What went wrong?
According to Diana Hart’s now-pulled book, the bar fight that led to Davey Boy’s firing wasn’t entirely his fault. Diana claimed that a man had been harassing her at a bar and provoking Davey. When Davey Boy finally confronted the man, he ended up severely beating him. The man suffered long-term injuries, including a reported coma, leading to legal troubles. Faced with the fallout, WCW chose to release Davey Boy rather than deal with the complications.
The Bulldog’s first WCW run ended abruptly—a brief but impactful period for this wrestling fan. While many fans may struggle to pinpoint the match or moment that hooked them on wrestling, I can. For me, it was Vader and Davey Boy in that Slamboree match, especially when Davey Boy stood his ground, hammering his chest and shaking his beaded dreadlocks “no!” at Vader, as I watched that match rerun late one summer night in my parents’ living room, alone with the TV and wrestling.
Despite the abrupt end to his 1993 WCW run due to the bar fight, Davey Boy eventually resurfaced in the WWF for a serious World Title push, which I’ll cover next week. In 1996, after Bash at the Beach, there were talks of Davey Boy returning to WCW. He was briefly considered as the fourth member of the nWo, to follow Hall, Nash, and Hogan. However, Vince McMahon, fearing the loss of such a significant name to WCW amid the Monday Night Wars, offered Davey Boy a new contract. Consequently, The Giant was chosen as the fourth nWo member, which somewhat diminished the impact of the WWF invasion storyline. Imagine if Davey Boy had received the push and heat as the nWo’s next big recruit after Hogan.
After the Montreal Screwjob in 1997, Davey Boy Smith left the WWF along with his brother-in-law Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart, returning to WCW once again. However, 1998 was not 1993. For reasons that were never fully explained, WCW did very little to capitalize on the hot angle of the Screwjob. The promotion made only a half-hearted attempt with an nWo promo mocking Canada and inviting Bret Hart to join them. Davey Boy’s return was marked by a rather underwhelming debut, as he showed up on Nitro in black jeans and a black vest to challenge… Steve “Mongo” McMichael. It was a disappointing start.
Throughout 1998, Davey Boy was primarily paired with Jim ‘The Anvil’ Neidhart, which had potential. It was a mix of the Hart Foundation and the British Bulldogs. While Bulldog and Neidhart had historical connections through their shared association with the Harts, their partnership in WCW was a missed opportunity. If the nWo storyline had been stronger, or if it had been a year earlier, placing heel, jealous brother-in-laws Neidhart and Smith in the nWo to feud with and attempt to sabotage Bret Hart could have been brilliant.
Unfortunately, this didn’t happen. Although Davey Boy and Neidhart had several opportunities to vie for the WCW Tag Titles, they never secured the belts or a significant push. They were primarily used as names to boost ratings on the struggling new Thursday show, WCW Thunder, and found themselves feuding with teams like the Dancing Fools, composed of Alex Wright and Disco Inferno. It was a far cry from their potential.
Davey Boy’s last WCW appearance came during a match against the Dancing Fools at Fall Brawl 1998. Ironically, as with his 1992 WWF departure that landed him in WCW for his vaunted 1993 run, his 1998 WCW stint ended due to an issue involving the Ultimate Warrior—sort of. In 1992, both Bulldog and Warrior were suspended for having HGH shipped from the same British pharmacy. In 1998, it was due to a gimmick-related mishap. During Warrior’s big debut in WCW, the ring at Fall Brawl 1998 featured a trap door. Davey Boy landed awkwardly on this door during a bump, leading to a severe spinal injury that became infected, temporarily paralyzing him and exacerbating his painkiller addiction. Despite winning the match with Neidhart, this injury marked the end of his WCW run.
To make matters worse, WCW fired him in a manner reminiscent of Steve Austin’s departure: through a FedEx telegram while Davey Boy was still recovering. Unlike Austin, Davey Boy didn’t have the same kind of resurgence in his career post-WCW. However, he did make a commendable comeback from his injuries for a respectable final run in the WWF/E, ending his Hall of Fame career on a high note. Kudos to WWE for making that happen this year.
