In the 50th edition of “Hart Murmurs,” PWP Nation’s Bruce Hart talks about the recent WWE U.K. Championship tournament.
Because there’s been a long and glorious history between the Hart family and British wrestling, it was with more than just passing interest that I watched the WWE United Kingdom championship tournament this past weekend. Back in the day, my dad was one of the first North American promoters to import British wrestlers and I had the pleasure of watching, on a regular basis and learning from, great Brits – like Billy Robinson, Geoff Portz and Les Thornton, all of whom were marvelous workers, or “grafters,” as they used to call them.
After I launched my own wrestling career, I was one of the first Canadians to be invited to wrestle in the United Kingdom – by renowned British promoter, George Relwyskow. Upon my arrival, I was intrigued that wrestling over there – unlike in North America, had very little of the so-called show business elements such as gaudy costumes, outrageous personas and guys getting on the microphone after their matches.
As well, though they had heels and faces over there, there was very little punching, kicking, brawling on the floor, use of foreign objects and other illicit fare that had become so prevalent over here. For all intents and purposes, about all they did was wrestle.
The brand of wrestling, however, was exceptional with wrestlers like Georgie Kidd, Johnny Saint, Roy St. Clair, Pete Roberts, Jimmy Breaks, Mark Rocco, Pat Roach and Bert Royal, among others, compelling and captivating the audiences on a nightly basis with their athleticism and innate sense of timing.
While I was over there, I was approached by an old coach named Ted Betley, who had two teenagers he’d been training that would like to come over to wrestle in Canada, like Robinson and the others, and asked me if I’d come down to the gym to check them out. When I first met Betley’s two supposedly hot prospects, my first reaction was that this must be a rib, because they were skinny and painfully shy and didn’t look the part, at all.
Looks can be deceiving though, as the two kids – who were named Thomas and David, put on an awe inspiring performance, which completely blew me away. Later, when I returned back to Canada and became the booker (matchmaker) for my dad’s legendary Stampede Wrestling promotion, one of the first orders of business for me was to get my dad to book those two skinny English kids.
Initially, my dad – who, like most promoters in North America at the time, was a staunch advocate of heavyweights only, was justifiably dubious about them and skeptical that two scrawny teenagers would be able to even crack the roster, much less set the territory on fire. I kept persisting though and continued to pester him to just give them a shot and he eventually relented.
The rest is history, as they say, as the two skinny neophytes, Thomas and David, were transformed into the Dynamite Kid and Davey Boy Smith and, then, into the legendary British Bulldogs – considered by many to have been not only the greatest tag team in WWE history. I might add that they were also two of the greatest singles performers in wrestling history – headlining cards all over the world and raising the bar as very few others have ever done in our business. I might add that Davey Boy would marry my sister Diana and become a brother-in law and a charter member of the Hart Foundation. Their son, David Hart Smith, a former WWE tag team champion, is now one of the top ranked independent wrestlers in the world today.
Beyond their explosive and dynamic style, one of the things that made Dynamite and Davey Boy so great was that – like most of the other great British wrestlers, they had this innate ability to make virtually everybody that they worked with – including many an athletically challenged stiff, look like world beaters – which is the hall mark of all the really great workers and something the WWE is sorely lacking these days.
While it would be a tall order to expect the new WWE U. K. champion – Tyler Bate or some of his other British cohorts to duplicate the incredible success of Dynamite and Davey Boy, I, nonetheless, think that the WWE is on the right track – based on the energy, determination and athleticism I saw during the U. K. tournament. I was pleased that rather than trying to turn these guys into sterile WWE prototypes – like they’ve done all too often in NXT and other WWE training centres, they’re letting these guys do their own thing. That’s a refreshing step in the right direction and is, hopefully, a sign of things to come in the WWE – not just in the United Kingdom, but in North America, as well.
In any case, I’d like to give props to Hunter and his British associates, including William Regal, Dave Finlay and Finn Balor for their efforts to revive wresting at the grass roots level in the United Kingdom. I’d also like to congratulate the young wrestlers whom I saw in the U. K. tournament, for having risen to the occasion – more power to you all! I wish you all, the best of luck on this ambitious, new venture.
On that note, I’ll call this a wrap but will look forward to catching up with you all next time.
For more news, rumors, videos, podcasts and exclusive articles, follow us on Twitter @PWPNation.
