Dynamite Kid
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| Tom Billington | |
|---|---|
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| Statistics | |
| Ring name(s) | The Dynamite Kid |
| Billed height | 173 cm (5 ft 8 in) |
| Billed weight | 102 kg (225 lb) |
| Born | December 5, 1958 Golborne, Lancashire |
| Resides | Manchester |
| Trained by | Ted Betley Jack Fallon Billy Riley John Foley |
| Debut | 1975 |
| Retired | 1993 |
Thomas Billington, (born December 5, 1958, Golborne, Lancashire) is a former English professional wrestler better known by his ring name The Dynamite Kid.
He is considered one of the greatest pure wrestlers in the history of the industry and, along with his partner and cousin, Davey Boy Smith, comprised one of the most popular and highly-regarded wrestling tag teams during the mid-1980s when tag-team wrestling reached its zenith. His English training combined with an aerial arsenal honed during numerous tours in Japan influenced a generation of current wrestling stars, especially those normally associated with Stu Hart's "Dungeon." In later years he has written an autobiography, titled Pure Dynamite.
Contents |
[edit] Career
Billington grew up in Golborne, Lancashire, the second of four children. His father was a miner and itinerant labourer who often took young Thomas to see wrestling matches in Wigan, then as now well-known for its wrestling tradition. It was during a home visit that the younger Billington met and caught the attention of Ted Betley, who had been running a pro-wrestling school in his home; it was here that Billington began his training. Academic success reportedly did not come easily to Tom but he was drawn to the sport program at his comprehensive school, his adherence to it, particularly wrestling and gymnastics, helped him develop a relatively small but powerful and agile shape. In addition, he had also received training in boxing during his formative years, which helped instill toughness in him before his career.
Dynamite Kid was recruited by Bruce Hart to work for Stampede Wrestling in Calgary in 1978. He became a big hit in Japan, where his feud with the original Tiger Mask became legendary and one of the most-pirated wrestling feud tapes of all time. Dynamite Kid also made a big impact in his matches with the growingly popular Bret Hart and has claimed to have helped train Hart, among others. Despite differences between them due to comments Dynamite Kid made about Stu Hart in his autobiography, Bret has repeatedly called him "pound-for-pound, the greatest wrestler who ever lived". Others, including Mick Foley, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Bad News Brown and Chris Benoit have made similar claims about him. Dynamite Kid was also instrumental in starting the career of then-Judo star Chris Adams while still competing in England.
Throughout his time in England, he had held numerous titles, most notably the English version of the World's Heavyweight Middleweight title on a few occasions. He had an exciting series of matches against the likes of Marty Jones and Marc Rocco, two of England's finest.
In 1984, Billington captured the WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship by winning a tournament in Japan (although it was a WWF Title, it was primarily defended in New Japan Pro Wrestling). He defeated his future partner, Davey Boy Smith, earlier in the tournament, and went on to defeat The Cobra in the finals.
[edit] World Wrestling Federation
Dynamite Kid made his television debut on August 29, 1984, where he and Bret Hart defeated Iron Mike Sharpe and Troy Alexander in a match eventually shown on September 15, 1984. Billington would go on to team with Davey Boy Smith, while Bret would team with Jim Neidhart, leading to matches between the two teams that usually ended in No-Contests.
Dynamite Kid tagged with Davey Boy Smith as The British Bulldogs. On April 7, 1986, accompanied by Captain Lou Albano and Ozzy Osbourne, they won the WWF World Tag Team Titles from Greg "The Hammer" Valentine and Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake at WrestleMania II. Dynamite Kid was injured in late 1986 in a tag match in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada against Don Muraco and Bob Orton, Jr. and several wrestlers including Roddy Piper would substitute for him when tag title defences were made. On a TV taping on January 26, 1987, Dynamite wrestled a match to drop the titles to The Hart Foundation. After getting into a (real) backstage fight with Jacques Rougeau, the Bulldogs wrestled their last WWF match at the 1988 Survivor Series. Davey Boy Smith eventually returned to the company in singles competition in October 1990 but Dynamite did not.
Throughout his time in the WWF, Dynamite Kid made several enemies, including Brutus Beefcake and Jacques Rougeau, but was highly respected by many for his legitimate shooting ability in and out of the ring. An example of his stiffness in the ring is when he and Smith wrestled a jobber tag team with one half consisting of a young Mick Foley. By Foley's account, Billington manhandled him so badly in the ring that he couldn't eat solid food for a time. Outside of the ring, WWF-champion Randy Savage once specifically asked for him to watch his back when he went drinking in a hotel bar frequented by NWA wrestlers, including Ric Flair.
[edit] After WWF
After leaving the WWF, the Bulldogs returned to Stampede Wrestling to win the International Tag Team Title. After having a falling-out with Davey-Boy Smith, Dynamite Kid formed a team called the British Bruisers with Johnny Smith, they mostly competed in All-Japan Pro Wrestling. Due to years of steroid abuse and working a high impact style, Billington was forced to retire in 1991, at the relatively young age of 33. He would wrestle one more match in 1996, for Michinoku Pro Wrestling, wrestling former rival, Satoru Sayama, in a six-man tag team match.
Tom Billington currently uses a wheelchair and had a leg amputated due to numerous back injuries and degeneration due to steroid use. He is cared for by his second wife Dot. His autobiography Pure Dynamite (ISBN 0-9537097-0-1) remains a testament to his style: a no-nonsense approach in which he pulls few punches about drug use, cruel ribs and even his opinions towards other people in the wrestling business.
[edit] Legacy
The Dynamite Kid's style can be seen in many professional wrestlers to this day, most notably current World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) wrestler Chris Benoit, who idolized Billington growing up and adopted a similar moveset. From the Dynamite Kid, Benoit has adopted the swandive headbutt as well as the Snap suplex. TNA wrestler Jay Lethal often uses Dynamite's Diving Headbutt which Mike Tenay calls the "Diving Dynamite". This is seen as a tribute to him.
[edit] In wrestling
- Finishing and signature moves
- Managers
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- Lou Albano
- J.R. Foley
[edit] Championships and accomplishments
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- 1-time AJPW All Asia Tag Team Champion (w/ Johnny Smith)
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- 6-time Stampede Wrestling British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Champion
- 1-time Stampede Wrestling North American Champion
- 4-time Stampede Wrestling World Mid-Heavyweight Champion
- 5-time Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Champion
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- 1-time WWF Junior Heavyweight Champion
- 1-time WWF World Tag Team Champion (with Davey Boy Smith)
- Others Titles
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- 1-time European Welterweight Champion
- 1-Time British Welterweight Champion
- 1-Time British Lightweight Champion
- 1-Time Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Champion
- 1-Time Pacific Northwest Tag Team Champion (with Cuban Assassin)
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- Ranked # 41 of the 500 Best Singles Wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003.
- Ranked # 5 of the Best Tag Teams of the "PWI Years (w/ Davey Boy Smith) in 2003.
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- 1996 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame Inductee
- 1982 Match of the Year (vs Satoru Sayama)
- 1983 Most Underrated Wrestler
- 1984 Best Technical Wrestler (tied with Masa Saito)
- 1984 Best Flying Wrestler
- 1985 Tag Team of the Year (with Davey Boy Smith)
