The British Bulldog never made his big-time comeback.
After being injured for 16 months, David (Davey Boy) Smith
died May 18 from an apparent heart attack in Fairmont, British
Columbia. At his side was his girlfriend, Andrea Hart,
estranged wife of Bruce Hart.
Smith, a 5-10, 255-pound powerhouse, held the WWF Tag Team,
Intercontinental, European and Hardcore titles during his 23-
year career.
Smith had just returned to action, working a tag-team match
with his son Harry the week before in Manitoba. He had been
sidelined after a near-fatal motorcycle accident.
According to The Calgary Sun, Andrea and he were planning to
get married.
"I loved him very much and I know I'm really going to miss
him," she said.
Smith had been a WWF fixture, alongside Bret and Owen Hart.
His rugged style was the perfect contrast to Bret's technical
skills and Owen's affable persona.
Owen's death and Smith's subsequent drug problems divided
this very public family and sent the Bulldog on a downward
spiral.
Promoter Bobby Jay of Top Rope Championship Wrestling said
Smith, 39, had turned the corner and was poised for a return.
Smith and his son talked about a father-son tag team and were
going to approach the WWE at its upcoming show in Calgary.
Smith began his grappling career at the tender age of 15,
working with his cousin, Tom Billington, The Dynamite Kid.
From there he went to work for Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling
in Calgary.
One irony of Smith's death is that Billington has been in a
wheelchair for years as the result of injuries he suffered
in the ring. Smith always kept himself in excellent shape,
even as he went through a messy divorce and an addiction to
painkillers.
"Davey was a tremendous athlete, performer and a good friend.
I can't but think of Owen (Hart)," said Bill Moody, aka Paul
Bearer.
Owen died May 23, 1999, after falling 50 feet from a scaffold
in Kansas City, Mo., prior to "Over the Edge," a WWF pay-per-
view event.
Bret Hart called the loss of Smith "like losing a brother."
Nearly 10 years earlier, Hart lost the Intercontinental title
belt to Smith before 80,000 fans at London's Wembley Stadium.
That marked the high point of the Bulldog's career.
Since that time, he worked off and on for Vince McMahon, while
stumbling through life's travails and journeying through the
independent promotions.
Since 2000, he has been in a relationship with Andrea and was
trying to get his personal life in order.
It's hard to believe he's the same fun-loving guy who carried
Matilda into the ring, a pot-bellied bulldog, and flashed a
bright smile to adoring fans.
Clad in the Union Jack, the flag that represents Great Britain,
Smith never held the world title. But he held all the others
and numerous regional crowns to boot.
Smith was an imposing character, sporting either braided hair
or a crew cut. His bulging biceps and thick British accent
served as trademarks.
He was training diligently in hopes of a comeback to WWE. In
the end, however, Davey Boy Smith died while vacationing --
away from the spotlight and the roar of the crowd.
He passed away quietly, after enduring his share of physical
and emotional scars.
***end of History***
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