British Bulldog UK tour 1993

[SaitoRyo]

22 minutes ago, rollthedice said:

I do remember my dad referring to Bulldog as British Bullshit and telling me that he would take me to the proper wrestling. 

*****

[AshC]

It's mad when you think back... some of these tours had Dynamite Kid on and he'd be promoted as 'British Bulldog', as that was a bigger draw... but you had the actual fucking Dynamite Kid there. I don't get it, even if you draw a good house, anyone expecting Davey Boy is going to be pissed at the false advertising and you thus risk killing the town, unless you're just going to burn through each venue as a one-shot. The knock-on from this lasted *years* as well, affecting all kinds of promotions. I remember being at a show Shelton Benjamin was on, in 2012 or something, and a fella in the crowd was saying how he'd expected a 'tribute'.

[Drfunke]

So, this may be a something ive often thought about. Im sure during USA '94, i went to the playdrome in Clydebank, Glasgow to see Davey Boy wrestle. And when we got there they said he wasnt appearing and would be replaced on the night (i want to say with a relative but cant be sure who). My mates dad said we could either still go, or go home and rent a video, which my mate only wanted to see Davey so we did. 

 

Anyone any idea on that?

[Captain SlackBladder]

On 1/5/2025 at 8:33 PM, AshC said:

It's mad when you think back... some of these tours had Dynamite Kid on and he'd be promoted as 'British Bulldog', as that was a bigger draw... but you had the actual fucking Dynamite Kid there. I don't get it, even if you draw a good house, anyone expecting Davey Boy is going to be pissed at the false advertising and you thus risk killing the town, unless you're just going to burn through each venue as a one-shot. The knock-on from this lasted *years* as well, affecting all kinds of promotions. I remember being at a show Shelton Benjamin was on, in 2012 or something, and a fella in the crowd was saying how he'd expected a 'tribute'.

Dynamite was a British Bulldog though. Obviously people were expecting Davey, so I get your point, but Billington was arguably better. 

 

I'd say it was the dreadful rise of Tributes on their own that caused the biggest kill. 

[JakeRobertsParoleOfficer]

On 1/5/2025 at 8:33 PM, AshC said:

It's mad when you think back... some of these tours had Dynamite Kid on and he'd be promoted as 'British Bulldog', as that was a bigger draw... but you had the actual fucking Dynamite Kid there. I don't get it, even if you draw a good house, anyone expecting Davey Boy is going to be pissed at the false advertising and you thus risk killing the town, unless you're just going to burn through each venue as a one-shot. The knock-on from this lasted *years* as well, affecting all kinds of promotions. I remember being at a show Shelton Benjamin was on, in 2012 or something, and a fella in the crowd was saying how he'd expected a 'tribute'.

Happened At All Star in Portsmouth all the time. He'd be advertised as British Bulldog with a 1(in roman numeral) very small.

I was a massive DK fan so was made up but the crowd (at Portsmouth guildhall) weren't  happy...walkouts and refunds asked for as a huge amount of kids kicked off at mum, dad, nan etc

They'd also advertise the British Bulldogs 1 and 3 (3 being John Smith) a few times

Seem to recall the house dropping massively for them in Pompey after that

 

 

[Roy]

On 1/5/2025 at 8:33 PM, AshC said:

It's mad when you think back... some of these tours had Dynamite Kid on and he'd be promoted as 'British Bulldog', as that was a bigger draw... but you had the actual fucking Dynamite Kid there.

To be fair, I don't think the casual viewer in 92/93 had a clue who Dynamite Kid was, much less kids. His peak wasn't really on TV much in this country, whereas Davey Boy Smith was a huge singles star here. Also, I don't know that this was an era in which Dynamite's qualities would have been appreciated as much as say now, where work rate is king.  

[Paul Fletcher]

Davey Boy wrestled at Howe Bridge Leisure Centre, located in Wigan borough, in early February 1994. Made famous in Power Slam magazine and Billington’s autobiography as the night Billington turned up with a weapon threatening Davey. I was there for my 9th birthday, as I live just one mile from Davey’s hometown of Golborne, and Howe Bridge is just another five miles up the road. My birthday is 29th January so I think it was the following weekend.

[Billy Fisher]

On 9/19/2024 at 7:00 PM, Snitsky's back acne said:

Davey definitely did tour over here in 1994. I've got a picture with him from when he wrestled in Margate.

Even then, as a 12 year old, I thought there was no way Davey was turning up to the Winter Gardens and we would get a cheap knock-off instead but, holy shit, he did!
I believe it was Davey and Tony Stewart v Barbarian Karl Kramer and Johnny Angel.

I always wondered if this really happened and now I know thanks 

[SaitoRyo]

I'm not sure of the exact location, but here's a picture of Davey Boy during his '94 UK tour. He'd been hitting the grilled chicken breast and broccoli hard. 

Update: It was the Pavilion Theatre in Worthing. March 31st, 1994. According to Cagematch, he teamed with Tony Stewart in a winning effort against Kamikaze and Karl Kramer. 

 

Edited September 17, 2025 by SaitoRyo

[gmoney]

Always impressed by that man's traps. Saw a clip on instragram the other day of him in Joint Promotions, presumably around 18 years old, but he looked 12. You'd never guess it could be the same human being he seemed so skinny. 

[SaitoRyo]

And another! Bulldog tangling with Kamikaze (Johnny Adams, AKA Johnny Angel):