Davey Boy Smith -- otherwise known as The British Bulldog to WWE fans -- made his pro wrestling debut in 1978, at the age of 15. By the mid 1980s, Smith would find success as one half of the British Bulldogs, before adopting the name as a singles competitor. From there, his accolades -- European, Intercontinental, Tag Team, and even a couple Hardcore Title reigns -- would ensure his place in WWE’s Hall of Fame.
British Bulldog has gone through a number of phases and iterations throughout his career, so let’s take a look at them, starting with the least successful one.
8 WCW (1997)
Following the events of the Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series 1997, Davey Boy Smith would follow Bret Hart to WCW, teaming with fellow Hart Foundation partner Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart in the tag team division. Unfortunately, not very much would come out of this run outside of an unfortunate moment on Thunder, as WCW was stuffed to the gills with talent nobody had any idea what to do with.
If WCW couldn’t use Bret Hart properly, it certainly wasn’t going to push Bret’s friends any harder. The only thing to really come out of this was Smith sustaining a near-paralyzing back injury that would result in a painkiller addiction.
7 Late Period WWE Run
Once he got (relatively) healthy enough to wrestle again, British Bulldog came back to WWE in 1999, albeit with a new look, sporting jeans instead of his Union Jack-inspired gear.
While Bulldog certainly wasn’t being “buried” -- he challenged for the WWE Championship on several occasions and won the European and Hardcore Titles -- it was clear that his injuries and drug abuse meant that his in-ring performances weren’t at the level they used to be. British Bulldog would leave the company the following year, two years before his death. In other words, it’s hard not to look back on this run as anything, but depressing.
6 Allied Powers
In 1994, WWE tried to recreate the success of the Mega Powers -- the supergroup tag team of Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan -- by pairing up two of the company’s top babyfaces at the time, British Bulldog and Lex Luger. The two tagged together for eight months including at WrestleMania XI, and had one televised title match against Owen Hart and Yokozuna.
This kind of pairing generally exists so one of them can turn heel on the other, but when it came time, Luger couldn’t make it to Raw, so Bulldog turned heel by attacking Diesel instead. In the end, Luger and Bulldog never had a singles match, thanks to Luger jumping ship to WCW. Ultimately, this whole run ended up being forgettable.
5 WCW (1993)
Following a surprising 1992 release from WWE, Davey Boy Smith ended up in WCW for about nine months in 1993. Unlike his late ‘90s run, Smith got a pretty good push during his all-too-brief time with the company, feuding with Big Van Vader for the World Title and challenging Lord Steven Regal for the Television Title, as well as competing in WarGames.
There was even talk of putting the top championship on Smith, but unfortunately legal issues reportedly resulting from a bar fight caused a premature departure from the company.
4 Hart Foundation
While British Bulldog used to feud with The Hart Foundation back in the day, in 1997 he ended up joining the group when it was a heel stable composed of Bret and Owen Hart, as well as Brian Pillman and Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart.
While the group was mostly there to support Bret’s new heel run, it was also during this era that Bulldog lost all of his titles. First, he and Owen Hart would lose the tag team titles to Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin. Then, more contentiously, Michaels would take the European Championship from Bulldog at a UK pay-per-view in what fans -- including the live crowd -- considered a highly ill-advised booking decision.
3 Camp Cornette
After turning heel in 1995, British Bulldog decided to join the Camp Cornette stable, where he had several big title shots for the WWE Championship against Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. While he was unsuccessful in winning the title, the bouts themselves were highly acclaimed by fans.
Bulldog may not have won WWE’s biggest title, but he did rack up a 246-day run with the Tag Team Titles alongside Owen Hart as well as becoming the inaugural European Champion.
2 The British Bulldogs
WWE fans got their first look at Davey Boy Smith in the 1980s tag team division, where Smith and Dynamite Kid performed as The British Bulldogs. Originally rivals, Smith and Kid would form the British Bulldogs in 1984, wrestling for New Japan, All Japan, and Stampede wrestling before debuting in WWE in 1984.
They would spend the mid to late 1980s as highlights of WWE’s tag division, where they feuded with the Hart Foundation and scored a 294-day run as Tag Team Champions. They left WWE in 1988, but continued to tag on the international scene.
1 THE British Bulldog
After splitting up with Dynamite Kid in 1990, Davey Boy Smith would return to WWE, adopting the name The British Bulldog. It was this version of Smith that would become the most iconic, thanks to his Union Jack tights and literal bulldog sidekick.
His return to WWE dovetailed nicely with the promotion’s increasing popularity in the UK, resulting in one of the biggest moments of his career as he defeated Bret Hart for the Intercontinental Title at SummerSlam 1992, in front of a hometown crowd at UK’s Wembley Stadium.