The legendary Hart family could be the subject of an upcoming movie, following the success of A24’s The Iron Claw. 

The Iron Claw delves into the lives and tragedies of the Von Erich wrestling family and has been met with praise by wrestling fans and critics. Even pop sensation Adele described the biopic as her favorite film of the past year. Despite this, The Iron Claw received zero nominations for the upcoming Academy Awards.

 A Hart Project In the Works? 

Given the popularity of The Iron Claw, there’s been speculation about other wrestling stories making it to the big screen. On Instagram, Natalya posted a photo of herself with Rory Culkin, the star of movies including Signs and Scream 4. Jordan Levine and Jordan Beckerman of Yale Productions were also in the photo. 

Natalya’s caption made clear that she is working on something close to her heart. Fightful Select reports that this something involves possibly making a movie based on the Hart family. Levine and Beckerman have reportedly had an interest in the idea for some time. Culkin, like his brother Macauley, is a known long-time wrestling fan. 

The Hart Family Out of the Ring

If this film makes it to the big screen, it won’t be the first time that the first family of Canadian wrestling has been covered. WWE has released several documentaries about the Harts including individual DVD sets about Bret and Owen Hart. 

Outside of WWE, Bret and his family worked with Trimark Pictures to create 1998’s ‘Wrestling With Shadows.’ The documentary gives an in-depth look at the highs and lows of professional wrestling and features Bret recounting his life in the business from a wrestler’s perspective. Wrestling With Shadows, which also covers the Montreal Screwjob, received a 25th-anniversary Blu-Ray release last year.  

Triple H has shared his thoughts on ‘The British Bulldog’ Davey Boy Smith‘s induction into the Hall of Fame.

Taking to Twitter, he highlighted Smith’s decorated career. He noted how he provided a national sense of pride for the United Kingdom. Triple H added how this induction allows the British Bulldog his rightful place in the Hall of Fame.

“A favorite of the @WWE Universe, decorated career and a source of national pride for the entire @WWEUK, British Bulldog is taking his rightful place in the #WWEHOF. Together, we can celebrate his in-ring career and memory as a father, husband, and Superstar.”

British Bulldog Announcement

Corey Graves revealed the news that Smith would be inducted into this year’s class during his podcast, After The Bell. He was joined by Smith’s son, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Tyson Kidd and Natalya. It was revealed during the episode that Smith Jr. will have the honor of inducting his late father. The Hall of Fame ceremony takes place on April 2 during WrestleMania week.

“It’s been long overdue but I am really excited and glad to be inducting my father into the 2020 Hall Of Fame,” Smith Jr. said. “It’s something that is great not only for my family but the WWE Universe as well.”

‘The British Bulldog’ joins Dave Batista, The Bella Twins, JBL and the nWo as part of the 2020 Hall of Fame class.

Corey Graves confirmed the reports of Davey Boy Smith going into Hall Of Fame and he announced on the latest episode of his After The Bell podcast that the British Bulldog will be inducted into the class of 2020.

Graves welcomed the wrestling legend’s son Harry Smith, Natalya and Tyson Kidd for this special episode of his podcast featuring the announcement of the induction.

Reacting to the news, Harry said that it’s something that has been long overdue but he is really excited and glad to finally get the chance to induct his father:

“It’s been long overdue but I am really excited and glad to be inducting my father into the 2020 Hall Of Fame. It’s something that is great not only for my family but the WWE Universe as well.”

Natalya, on the other hand, said that the time has never been better for the induction of Davey Boy Smith and she went on to explain that his legacy has stood the test of time:

“It feels like the time has never been better. So many people in our industry say that it was the British Bulldog who inspired them to want to get into WWE. His work and his legacy has stood the test of time and he is still so relevant to the culture of WWE today.”

Davey Boy Smith will be joining JBL, The Bella Twins, nWo and Dave Batista into the Hall Of Fame class of 2020. Japanese veteran Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger is also expected to be inducted this year but it hasn’t been made official yet.

So far WWE has only announced a couple of entries into the Hall Of Fame 2020 but reports have revealed other names for this year’s class.

Two such entries that were revealed last week were the induction of the Bella Twins, Nikki Bella & Brie Bella and Japanese wrestling legend Jushin “Thunder” Liger. Now another name has been added to this list.

The rumors for it were first heard last week and Dave Meltzer confirmed on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Live that “The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith will be going into Hall Of Fame this year:

“So obviously they announced Batista and the nWo, these are confirmed. The Bella Twins people know about them, that was out last week along with Jushin Liger and the other one is Dave Boy Smith. Dave Boy Smith will be going into the Hall Of Fame.”

Davey Boy Smith had numerous stints with WWE including his initial run with the promotion from 1984 to 1988. Though probably his most notable tenure was when he signed with the company in 1994.

It was during this time when he formed a tag team with Owen Hart and they were later joined by Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart, and Brian Pillman to form a new version of the Hart Foundation. This run ended shortly after the Montreal Screwjob.

If this report is true then Davey Boy Smith will be joining ‘The Animal’ Batista and the members of nWo in Kevin Nash, Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, and Sean ‘X-Pac’ Waltman into the Hall Of Fame class of 2020.

At one point, Davey Boy Smith Jr. was enjoying tag team success with his partner, Lance Archer, in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The team, named Killer Elite Squad and aligned with Suzuki-Gun, tore up the heavyweight tag division.

Then, last month, Davey Boy Smith Jr. announced that would be leaving NJPW.

In an interview with The Hannibal TV, Smith Jr. opened up about why he decided to leave.

Unwinnable Situation

After having received fewer and fewer dates from the promotion, Smith Jr. admitted that he was “in a situation where I couldn’t win.”

He explained that “New Japan, towards the end, were only giving me four tours a year. What they had told me or expressed to me was that there was no way they could increase the workload of KES, Lance Archer and myself as a tag team.”

Ultimately, the difficult choice to leave had to treated as a business decision. One that he admitted had to be made for his future.

“I felt that the tag team with Lance Archer and myself had expired, and we did all that we could in Japan and in the USA, because we are just not that very well known over here or Canada as a tag team.”

“That’s News To Me”

Smith Jr. pointed to an incident with NJPW booker, Gedo, playing an unfortunate contributing factor.

He explained that when they came to NJPW, circa 2017, Lance Archer would get injured and needed emergency back surgery. Despite this, he was assured that would be booked for the remainder of the tour. However, things didn’t transpire that way.

“I was told that I was going to be on the rest of the remainder of that tour, and I was told by the new person in the office named Saito that I was going to be on the next tour. That was a little over four weeks,” Smith Jr. explained.

“He gave me a schedule and I wasn’t on the Super Juniors tour. I think I was on something in June. So, when I went home, they had owed me merchandise money from that tour, and they said ‘okay you’re coming back next month?’ I said yeah I’ll be back there. I went home and was waiting for my flight, and no one gave me any flight information. I sent the office lady and email and said where’s my flight, and she said well did you talk to Gedo? You’re not on the tour. I said well, that’s news to me.”

He shared that he wished NJPW had just been honest with him. If they had, he simply would have been able to seek bookings elsewhere—something he would have been okay with doing.

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Today, May 18th, marks 16 years since the passing of wrestling legend Davey Boy Smith. He was just 39 years old when he passed away from a heart attack.

Smith had a storied career competing for WWE, Stampede Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling and WCW. Along with the Dynamite Kid, he was one half the British Bulldogs tag team before embarking on a singles career in 1990. Throughout multiple runs with WWE, held multiple championships including the Intercontinental, tag team, European and Hardcore titles.

On the anniversary of Smith’s passing, his son and daughter posted messages on Twitter acknowledging the date and expressing their love for him.

Davey Boy Smith Jr., Son

Today marks the 16th anniversary of the passing of my father. 🙏 Although it feels like yesterday, time sure does fly, and not a day goes by where he’s not thought of and missed dearly. I’m sure he would have loved following my career in Japan, the advancements in video games,

— Harry Smith, “Davey Boy Smith JR” (@DBSmithjr) May 18, 2018

the new training equipment and advances now today, and new comedy and action movies and special effects of today. Lots of Love ❤️, thanks to fans who have remembered and appreciated Davey today as well. 👍💪🐶🇬🇧🇯🇵🇨🇦🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/kW1k4y92Ts

— Harry Smith, “Davey Boy Smith JR” (@DBSmithjr) May 18, 2018

Georgia Smith, Daughter

16 years today, we got the heartbreaking news that we lost @dbsmithjr’s & my dad. It’s changed us forever, but I don’t just remember him today, or when we lost him. But Davey is in my heart and in my thoughts ALWAYS. I cherish the memories we have, I love you Davey and miss you. pic.twitter.com/Wg2n8BCZsq

— Georgia Joyce Smith (@georgiasmith87) May 18, 2018

New Japan Pro Wrestling have announced that several title matches will take place on March 6th 2017. The event is to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the promotion and will air live on New Japan World (5am est.)

NJPW 45th Anniversary Show Lineup

• Jushin Liger and Hirai Kawato vs. Tiger Mask and Tomoyuki Oka
• Hirooki Goto, Yoshi-Hashi, Gedo and Jado (CHAOS) vs. El Desparado, Taka Michinoku, Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Minoru Suzuki (Suzuki-Gun)
• Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi and David Finlay vs. Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa, Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale and Kenny Omega (Bullet Club)
• Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, Bushi and Sanada (Los Ingobernables) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin, Kushida and Juice Robinson
• RPW British Heavyweight Championship
  Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. *
• IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship
  Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
• IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
  Roppongi Vice (c) vs. Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru (Suzuki-Gun)
• IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
  Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano (c)(CHAOS) vs. Tomoaki Honma and Togi Makabe (GBH)**
• Kazuchika Okada (CHAOS) vs. Tiger Mask W***

*     Zack Sabre Jr. is making his NJPW debut
**   This match was made after GBH beat CHAOS at Togi Makabe’s anniversary show this weekend.
*** non-title match. Tiger Mask W is played by Kota Ibushi and is from the current Tiger Mask anime series. 

Here are the results from New Japan Pro Wrestling’s ‘The New Beginning’ event that took place in Osaka, Japan to a gate of around 5,500 people:

Here are the results from New Japan Pro Wrestling’s ‘The New Beginning’ show that took place in Sapporo, Japan:

Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado b KUSHIDA & Hirai Kawato – Desperado hit the Guitara de Angel on Kawato to take the win for his team. He now looks set to join the Junior ranks in NJPW following a staredown with KUSHIDA after the match.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata b. Yoshitatsu, Henare & Tomoyuki Oka – Nagata took the submission win with the Nagata Lock 2 on Oka.

Will Ospreay, Jado & Gedo b. Katsuyori Shibata, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask IV – Ospreay hit the OsCutter on Tiger Mask to take the pinfall victory. He stated after the match that he would defeat Shibata for the Revolution Pro British Heavyweight Championship on February 11th

YOSHI-HASHI b. Takashi Iizuka – YOSHI-HASHI took the win in around 7 minutes with the Karma

Michael Elgin, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Manabu Nakanishi, Ryusuke Taguchi & Dragon Lee b. Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, EVIL, BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi – Dragon Lee won the bout following the Death Nukadora in around 13 minutes, he and Takahashi had a staredown after the bout ahead of their clash over the IWGP Junior Heavyweight belt on February 11th.

IWGP Junior Tag Championship Match: Rocky Romero & Barreta b. Taichi & TAKA Michinoku – Barretta hit the Strong Zero on TAKA Michinoku to retain the belts for Roppongi Vice in their 1st defence as champions.

NEVER Openweight Championship Match: Hirooki Goto b. Juice Robinson – Goto successfully defended his NEVER title after hitting the GTR for the pinfall victory. This was his first defence since winning the title from Shibata at Wrestle Kingdom.

IWGP Tag Championship Match: Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano b. Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. – Yano rolled up Makabe in a schoolboy for the pinfall victory, this was also Ishii/Yano’s first title defence.

IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada b. Minoru Suzuki – Okada hit the Rainmaker on Suzuki for his third successful title defence. No one appeared after the match to challenge Okada for the belt however Okada hinted that Tiger Mask W may be his next feud.

???40????????“??????”????????????????
??????????????W???????!!
2.5???????????(https://t.co/7xh3nqaLQZ)???????#njnbg #njpw pic.twitter.com/mwXlqWwLYH

— ?????????????? (@njpw1972) February 5, 2017

– WWE World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus’ WWE Network “Pick of the Week” was his own victory over Roman Reigns at this past Sunday’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view. You can watch his comments on the pick above.

– Lance Storm took a light-hearted shot at Tyler Breeze when responding to a fan on Twitter who recently asked him how it felt to train some of the best talent in the world. Storm sarcastically replied with the following, which Breeze also reacted to.

@LanceStorm wow

— Breeze (@MmmGorgeous) November 27, 2015

– In honor of his birthday, Tyson Kidd posted a photo on Twitter of a pair of boots that were given to him by the late WWE legend “The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith back in 1998.

Davey Boy Smith gave me these boots in 1998. They're one of my most prized possessions. Happy Birthday, Davey pic.twitter.com/IxbvPbPGkm

— TJ Wilson (@TJWilson) November 27, 2015

• Video: Emotional Footage Of Ronda Rousey’s Family Watching Her Get KO’d

Diana Hart, sister of WWE Hall Of Famer Bret Hart and widow of the late “British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith, recently spoke to Sky Sports to promote her new book, Cauliflower Heart: A Romantic Wrestler.

On Natalya’s hard work:

“She sure has. She learnt a lot growing up with Harry and Tyson Kidd, who she is now married to, while she has always had heart and drive, something that convinced Tokyo Joe, someone who exclusively trained men, to train her over in Japan. Natalya can wrestle, grapple, be a showman and talk on the microphone, while she is also smart, sensitive, clean living and a great ambassador. I think so much of her and admire her so much.”

On Davey Boy Jr./Harry Smith’s WWE run:

“I don’t know if WWE really knew what they were doing with him. One day he was in a black vest and a cowboy hat and the next day they wanted him to be doing a running powerslam like his dad. Then they would say: ‘We want you to be your own character and wear pink and black’. I never saw someone go through so many character changes, it was like he was in commercials, not wrestling. There was nothing for him to really sink his teeth into and I was frustrated. I think they tried to make a silk purse into a sow’s ear.”

On differences she has seen in pro wrestling:

“I don’t see a lot of performers winging it or improvising. Years ago, people were interviewed moments after a match and had to come up with something while they were still sweating and the adrenaline was flowing; it felt so organic and spontaneous. I’m not saying there aren’t elements of that anymore but there are lots of second chances now with interviews backstage. In ring, meanwhile, some of the manoeuvres I see are unbelievable and so athletic, but I get the feeling fans are waiting for a crazy move rather than watching to see a natural narrative play out.”

• Video: Miesha Tate: “F*ck Ronda Rousey! You Just Got Beat, B*tch!”

– The post-SummerSlam edition of WWE RAW at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, is officially sold out after another set of tickets for the show were released.

– ECW Originals Raven and The Blue Meanie have put their stamp of approval on the late “British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith as a future WWE Hall Of Famer. The two posted the following videos endorsing the late wrestling legend.

• CM Punk Tells Stories Of DIRTY Politics In WWE, Married Life With AJ Lee!

– There has been some talk of having a Luke Harper vs. Dolph Ziggler non-title match on the WWE Survivor Series “go-home” edition of RAW.

– Georgia Smith, daughter of the late WWE legend “The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith, was backstage at the WWE television taping on Tuesday night in Liverpool, England. She was hanging out backstage along with her boyfriend, singer Adam Berry. Below is a photo of the two with Tyson Kidd.

Really good seeing one of my favorites @georgiasmith87 and @AdamBarry81 tonight in Liverpool pic.twitter.com/5QZgkVePoz

— Tyson Kidd (@KiddWWE) November 12, 2014

Former WWE Superstar Harry “D.H.” Smith, son of the late WWE legend “The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith, wrote the following on social media about health issues he is having.

“I have the unfortunate news to my fans in UK and Wales that I will not be at this weekend comic convention in Wales with FPW.

I had to go to Emergency at 4 am with breathing complications, from tounsilitis. Also have sever trouble speaking, and swallowing. With more medical attention I have learned it is a peritonsillar abscess behind the tounsil. Inflaming my Tounsils, throat and causing problems with breathing swallowing and talking. I have been in the hospital all day – real fun, and don’t feel any better. Tomorrow I will be needing an incision to drain the puss, and more anti biotics via IV.

I hope to be back in action soon wrestling. Right now I can not do anything.”