Earlier this week the professional wrestling community lost an absolute legend. United Kingdom professional wrestling trainer Marty Jones took to Twitter and revealed that Dynamite Kid passed away on his 60th birthday. Kid is a former WWE Junior Heavyweight and Tag Team Champion. He inspired an entire generation of talent and has often been referred to as the hero to several of today’s top stars.
At a recent New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) World Tag League 2018 event, Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Hangman Page paid tribute to Kid. Smith, who is the son of Kid’s former tag team partner, and Page recreated a spot from one of Kid’s most memorable matches. That match was Kid’s bout against Tiger Mask. A fan posted the following clip from Hangman’s Instagram story, showing the recreated spot. It also featured clips from the original bout as well.
Earlier this week, Davey Boy Smith Jr. had this to say about Dynamite Kid’s passing on Twitter:
“It deeply saddens me to announce the passing of Tom Billington the “Dynamite Kid. I was really happy and glad I got to see Dynamite one last time last June in the UK. Dynamite was certainly an inspiration to myself and many others and really revolutionized”
It deeply saddens me to announce the passing of Tom Billington the “Dynamite Kid.” 😭😢🙏I was really happy and glad I got to see Dynamite one last time last June in the UK. 🇬🇧 ❤️🙏. Dynamite was certainly an inspiration to myself and many others and really revolutionized pic.twitter.com/req7CWTdxm
— Harry Smith, “Davey Boy Smith JR” (@DBSmithjr) December 5, 2018
What did you think about Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Page’s tribute to Dynamite Kid?
He took to Twitter to apologize to fans and said he is already in talks with the UK promotion about rescheduling:
“Sorry to announce to the Uk fans about my withdrawal from this weekends @RevProUK Shows. I was really looking forward to coming back to the Uk. We are in talks about about rescheduling a future booking for @kelitesquad@inc_kes to the UK.”
Sorry to announce to the Uk fans about my withdrawal from this weekends @RevProUK Shows. I was really looking forward to coming back to the Uk ??. We are in talks about about rescheduling a future booking for @kelitesquad@inc_kes to the ?? ?? pic.twitter.com/kgRcN4OHg9
— Harry Smith, “Davey Boy Smith JR” (@DBSmithjr) August 14, 2018
Aiden English’s Message To Rusev & Lana
On last night’s episode of SmackDown Live, Aiden English lost his match against former NXT Champion Andrade “Cien” Almas. Almas will team up with Zelina Vega to take on Rusev and Lana in a Mixed Tag Team match.
After his loss, English was interviewed by WWE cameras backstage. He apologized to Rusev and Lana for his shortcoming against Almas, saying “I tried”:
WoS/World of Sport’s first show of their re-debut took place tonight on Britain’s biggest mainstream channel ITV. The programme is set for a 10 show stint running into October and is available to every television set in the United Kingdom.
The stars of the show took to Twitter after the event to react to pro wrestling returning to British television, including Davey Boy Smith Jr, Will Ospreay, Grado, Stu Bennett, SoCal Val and Kip Sabian.
— Harry Smith, “Davey Boy Smith JR” (@DBSmithjr) July 28, 2018
With so much packed into that 1hr show (we don’t do ‘filler’ at @WOSWrestling..) it was impossible to give our incredible female athletes the platform they DESERVE in episode 1. All I’ll say is DON’T MISS EPISODE 2 ???
Gutted to have lost the title (after holding it for 574 days, on my 1st defence ???)…. BUT delighted British Wrestling is back on the telly and it looks like the response has been SUPERB ?
Cheers to all of you who tuned in (& sent such WONDERFUL tweets & feedback) in support of the first @WOSWrestling episode on @ITV! More action to come next week! Same time, same channel! ????#itv#woswpic.twitter.com/PF8tyDSWNx
Revolution Pro Wrestling (Rev Pro) has announced two more bouts for their upcoming Summer Sizzler 2018 event which takes place Friday August 17th from the historic York Hall in Bethnal Green, London.
The first is a tag team bout pitting the New Japan Pro Wrestling/Pro Wrestling NOAH team of Davey Boy Smith Jr and Lance Archer (Killer Elite Squad) against one of the most praised duos in all of the UK scene: Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis). The second bout sees CMLL’s Titan and El Soberano in a bout between two of the globe’s finest high flyers.
This joins the news that former British Heavyweight Champion and legend of the New Japan Pro Wrestling promotion Tomohiro Ishii will be taking on former PROGRESS ATLAS and wXw Unified World Champion WALTER.
Ishii recently lost his British Heavyweight title against Minoru Suzuki at the Strong Style Evolved this past weekend, after the match WALTER appeared and attacked the ‘Stone Pitbull’ to set up this huge bout at the ‘Sizzler.
WALTER has been heavily rumored for a move to WWE over the past year, his work as part of the Ringkampf stable in wXw and his breakout year on the UK scene for the likes of PROGRESS have earned him worldwide acclaim and a chance to appear for PWG and quite possibly New Japan in the near future.
SUZUKI-GUN'S hostile takeover of RevPro continues as on August 17th former IWGP Tag Team Champions THE KILLER ELITE SQUAD collide with the in-form AUSSIE OPEN in what promises to be a hell of a tag team match! #SummerSizzler
Major League Wrestling has announced the first 4 participants for the July 19th, 2018 Battle Riot match. Not surprisingly, the sadistic Kevin Sullivan is among the first group of confirmed entrants.
MLW promises the winner of the match will earn a shot at the MLW World Championship currently held by Shane Strickland. Eliminations occur via pinfalls, submissions, or from being thrown over the top rope.
“A mash-up of a battle royal, royal rumble and anything goes street fight, this super-sized main event will feature 40 wrestlers with new participants entering the ring every 60 seconds.”
The match will be filmed for MLW’s weekly television series, “MLW Fusion” on BeIn Sports. The event will be held in Queens, NY at the Melrose Ballroom on July 19th, 2018.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qFDyPfyHM8
First Battle Riot Participants Announced
4 wrestlers have been confirmed for Battle Riot so far:
John Hennigan – the man known as Johnny Impact/Mundo/Hennigan/Nitro has been with the company since late last year. It’s a big summer for Johnny, who will also be a participant in the upcoming season of Survivor.
As Johnny Impact, he is also booked for Slammiversary on July 22nd, just 3 days after Battle Riot takes place. Hennigan will also be featured in the 4th season of Lucha Underground which premieres tomorrow on the El Rey Network.
Davey Boy Smith Jr. – One-half of the Killer Elite Squad, Smith debuted in the original Major League Wrestling 14 years ago. The original MLW formed out of the ashes of ECW but was only short-lived. Promotion owner, Court Bauer, would later be hired to work as a writer for WWE.
“Taskmaster” Kevin Sullivan – the man who once put together the alliance to end Hulkamania will be in an MLW ring on July 19th. With names like Sullivan, Col. Robert Parker, and Tony Schiavone, MLW likes to pay homage to the past. While Sullivan’s best days might be behind him, he was always ahead of his time, meaning he’s still got something to offer modern-day wrestling.
ACH – ACH has been a featured performer for MLW since its re-launch. The Dragonball Z fan will have his work cut out for him if he is to outlast 39 other participants, however.
MLW also stressed the following in regards to Battle Riot:
There will be surprises! There will be legends! There will be WTF entries! And there will be no disqualifications!
There was an incident over WrestleMania weekend where Harry Smith (Davey Boy Smith Jr) is alleged to have thrown a cup of coffee in the face of Jake “the Snake” Roberts. The incident is said to have happened during WrestleCon.
New Orleans Police are now looking for Smith according to Pro Wrestling Sheet. A representative for the New Orleans Police Department issued the following statement:
“The NOPD is investigating a simple battery incident that occurred on April 7, 2018 in the 500 block of Canal Street. The victim told police that at about 11 a.m., he was signing autographs at the location when he was approached by a known subject, later identified as Harry Smith (DOB: 08-02-1985). The victim told police he attempted to shake hands with Smith, at which time a verbal argument ensued. Smith then allegedly threw a cup of coffee at the victim’s face and fled the scene. No major injuries were reported by the victim.”
This is technically the remnants of a feud which began with Jake and Harry’s father in the 1980s. Roberts has made public disparaging comments about Smith’s father. Davey Boy Smith Sr. and his partner, the Dynamite Kid, had a reputation for being bullies. Several wrestlers from the era have spoken out against their actions during this period.
Roberts has told a story of how the Bulldogs used to throw lit cigarettes at his snake to upset him. In retaliation to this, Jake fed Matilda (the Bulldogs pet bulldog) food laced with laxatives. When prompted, Jake is not shy about sharing his hatred for the now-deceased Davey Boy Smith Sr.
Shortly after the incident, Davey Boy Smith Jr. admitted to WrestleZone that he confronted Jake at WrestleCon. Smith says he asked Jake to apologize for the negative comments he made about his father. According to Smith, Jake offered to shake his hand but refused to apologize for his comments or step outside to fight the much younger Smith. After Jake told the member of the Killer Elite Squad to “F Off”, Smith says he threw the coffee in his face.
The New Orleans Police Department is asking anyone with knowledge of the incident to contact them.
Davey Boy Smith Jr. says he prevented a young woman from jumping off a bridge in Alberto on Sunday.
He posted a lengthy message on social media detailing his heroic effort. While driving across the bridge, Smith said he saw the woman looking like she was about to jump off while somebody else was talking her down. He got out of his car and it became clear the woman was attempting to take her own life.
Crediting his grappling skills, Smith grabbed the woman and dragged her over the barricade onto the road. He restrained her long enough for police arrived and said she had a gun on her. She was then taken away by the authorities.
You can read his full message and see photos from the scene here:
😳😮😮 I saved a girl today from jumping off a bridge. Thank you to my years of grappling for saving this girl. Life is precious 😰🙇😔 pic.twitter.com/fGKRqrsEPZ
— Harry Smith, “Davey Boy Smith JR” (@DBSmithjr) October 23, 2017
Davey Boy Smith Jr. is a former WWE tag team champion and currently wrestles for New Japan Pro Wrestling. He and Lance Archer, known as the Killer Elite Squad, are the reigning IWGP Tag Team Champions.
Former WWE Superstar and Tag Team Champion Davey Boy Smith Jr. recently did an interview with Hannibal TV to talk about his former partner, Tyson Kidd’s, nasty neck injury. Smith revealed exactly how significant the injury actually is and also stated there’s a startling low survival rate for those who have suffered the same injury. Here’s what he said:
“So his – one of the things, and we can go back to talking about the training with Tokyo Joe, I mean we endured some hardcore sh*t. One thing that saved him with this neck injury was that they said his neck muscles they said were so strong that literally when the break – not to say the explosion happened, the only thing that was holding his head – his spine, his head, and his neck together were his muscles that were so strong.
“When they initially did the MRI and everything they were just like ‘Whoah. Don’t move, don’t sneeze, we’re gonna airlift you from here all the way back to Tampa. We need to do surgery,’ And I think it was comparable to the Christopher Reeves neck injury which left him – you know, a vegetable basically. For him to survive that basically, they said that very few chance of people that survive it and don’t die wind up in a wheelchair and they’re completely paralyzed. They compared it to somebody hanging off of a cliff by their pinky.
“For him to have survived that, that’s a testimate to him and to the training we endured as his neck muscles were that strong to hold everything together. He’s doing good, I was just down there earlier last month and he’s training. I actually introduced him to an awesome massage therapist named Jason Cairo. These guys are awesome massage guys and the range of motion in his neck has already – night and day compared to what it was before. Is that to say he’s ever going to wrestle again? I don’t know. I don’t think so. That’s not because of him but there’s a lot of risks if something happens or if he lands wrong and he becomes basically a vegetable.
“And WWE, to their credit, they’re pretty good with keeping things with their rules nowadays, protecting talent and stuff like that. Daniel Bryan, or Bryan Danielson, he’s another example of they won’t let him back into the ring. I’m sure if he was wrestling safe every night and only wrestling sometimes, he could probably pull it off but let’s say someone hits him acci- this isn’t ballet. Somebody hits him or he lands wrong, and his concussion thing comes back and it becomes exponential or his neck injury or something. That’s kind of the risk they’re looking at. It’s tough to say, I wish he could come back, but for the sake of his health, I don’t think he’s going to.”
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:
TAKA Michinoku b. Henare – TAKA took the win in just under 5 minutes after hitting the Heavy Killer Number 1
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima b. Yoshitatsu & KUSHIDA – Kojima took the pinfall victory for his team after hitting a Lariat on Yoshi Tatsu
Yuji Nagata, Juice Robinson, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask IV b. Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Jado & Gedo – Juice continues to impress in his NJPW by taking the pinfall victory over Jado, expect him to have a strong showing in the New Japan Cup as he is expected to enter.
Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Taichi b. Kazuchika Okada, Rocky Romero & Barreta – Kanemaru took the win over Rocky Romero, yet another win for him over the IWGP Junior Tag Team Champion
NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Championship Match – SANADA, EVIL & BUSHI b.Hiroshi Tanahashi, Manabu Nakanishi & Ryusuke Taguchi – SANADA hit the Skull End on Nakanishi to dethrone the champions in their first defence. Los Ingobernables are crowned the 11th champions
Revolution Pro Wrestling British Heavyweight Championship Match – Katsuyori Shibata b. Will Ospreay – Shibata retains his title in an EXCELLENT bout, cementing Will Ospreay as a true global star. Shibata’s next opponent for the belt will most likely be Zack Sabre Jr in the UK
IWGP Tag Championship 3WAY Match – Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano b. Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Takashi Iizuka – Yano rolled up Davey Boy Smith Jr in a schoolboy to retain his and Ishii’s titles, this was their second successful defence
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match –Hiromu Takahashi b. Dragon Lee – Takahashi hit the TIME BOMB in around 18 minutes to retain his title in his first official defence. Taguchi appeared after the match and will likely be the next challenger for the belt
IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match – Tetsuya Naito b. Michael Elgin – Naito hit the Destino to retain his title in his 3rd defence, The Los Ingobernables stable celebrated after the match as all members now hold a championship in NJPW
???????THE NEW BEGINNING in OSAKA?2?11???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? #njnbg#njpwpic.twitter.com/i7PpjwJQkr
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.
Former WWE Superstar Harry Smith, son of the late Davey Boy Smith, announced on Friday that he has secured the rights to the “British Bulldog” trademark.
Smith, who wrestles in New Japan Pro Wrestling as part of the Killer Elite Squad with Lance Archer, revealed that he will now be known as “British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith Jr.
A big announcement to be made! Ownership and trademark of the name “British Bulldog” has been granted, won and paid by…