Thread by @allan_cheapshot

#OnThisDay in 2018: Thomas Billington, best known to wrestling fans as the Dynamite Kid, passed away on his 60th Birthday.

Dynamite Kid was a real game-changer in this business. For his time, he was a revolutionary worker with near unrivalled intensity and working ability.

RIP

Born in Golborne, Lancashire, England, wrestling was in his blood. His father Bill, uncle Eric, and grandfather Joe were all boxers at one point or another; another of his ancestors, James, most famous for being a state-employed executioner, wrestled as a child.

Thomas was drawn into sports as a youth himself, taking up interest in wrestling, gymnastics, and boxing. After catching the attention of wrestler Ted Betley, Billington began formal wrestling training, primarily as a way to avoid working in the coal mines.

Thomas began working for Joint Promotions under long-time owner Max Crabtree and made his debut on TV on June 30th 1976 vs. Alan Dennison.

In April 1977, he would win the British lightweight title; he would add their welterweight title the following January. Later in 1978, Billington moved to Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Billington made a huge impact with Stampede Wrestling for his bouts with brothers Bruce and Bret Hart, the latter brother calling Billington “pound-for-pound, the greatest wrestler who ever lived”.

It was also while he was with Stampede Billington got into the drug culture of the wrestling business, being introduced to anabolic steroid Dianabol by Sylvester “Big Daddy” Ritter (who would go on to great fame as the Junkyard Dog) and speed by Jake Roberts.

Billington would spend most of the early 1980s in Japan, most notably for New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he would engage in a legendary feud with Satoru Sayama, the original Tiger Mask. The feud is often credited with popularising junior heavyweight wrestling in Japan.

The feud intensified when Dynamite injured Tiger Mask in a tag match in April 1983; the injury forced Tiger Mask to vacate both the WWF and NWA junior heavyweight titles.

Later in the month, the two met for the vacant WWF junior heavyweight title, but after going to a draw three times, no champion would be crowned. Tiger Mask would win the title in June in Mexico City, holding it until his shocking retirement in August.

Shortly after the Stampede Wrestling buyout in August 1984, Billington made his WWF debut, teaming with Bret Hart to defeat Iron Mike Sharpe and Troy Alexander.

The two would eventually split up, with Hart joining his brother-in-law Jim Neidhart as The Hart Foundation, while Billington would reunite with his rival-turned-tag partner Davey Boy Smith as The British Bulldogs.

At Wrestlemania II in April 1986, the Bulldogs defeated The Dream Team (Greg Valentine & Brutus Beefcake) to win the WWF Tag Team Titles.

Late in the year, Billington would suffer a serious back injury in a tag match against Don Muraco and Cowboy Bob Orton. While recovering from back surgery, Vince McMahon was trying to strip the Bulldogs of their tag titles, with Bret Hart being sent to get Dynamite’s tag belt.

Billington not only ultimately refused, but checked himself out of the hospital.

Bulldogs dropped the titles to the Hart Foundation in January 1987. To cover up for Dynamite Kid’s injury, Bulldog assisted Kid into the ring by linking arms, then in the early moments of the match, Dynamite was knocked out by Jimmy Hart’s megaphone.

The loss practically ended the Bulldogs’ run as a top-tier team in the WWF; they would hang around, but never seriously become a threat in the tag title scene again.

Billington left the WWF following the 1988 Survivor Series after he got in a dispute with management over complimentary plane tickets; in solidarity, Davey Boy Smith followed out the door.

The duo returned to Stampede Wrestling after leaving the WWF and would win their International Tag Team Championship. They frequented All Japan Pro Wrestling and were allowed to pick and choose which tours they wanted to participate in.

Billington would get into a heated singles feud with Johnny Smith in February 1989 after Smith had cut his hair.

The Bulldogs would split up in May 1989 and feuded with each other, with Billington joining his rival Johnny Smith as the British Bruisers, and Davey Boy Smith partnering with Chris Benoit.

Late in 1990, the Bulldogs split up for good when Davey Boy withdrew their team from All Japan’s annual World’s Strongest Tag Determination League (think the G1 Climax, but for tag teams) and opted to return to the WWF.

He even fabricated a story saying that Billington was in a car accident. Johnny Smith would take Billington’s place in the tournament as The British Bruisers (which, if you recall, was the name of the tag team Billington had with Smith).

It’s not the only thing Smith took; during the Bulldog’s first WWF run, Davey Boy trademarked the term “The British Bulldog” and upon his return to the WWF, he would be coined as such, and British promoters could not promote Billington as a “British Bulldog”.

Billington was legit tough as nails (so tough, wrestlers would use him as a bodyguard on the road—Randy Savage did so once when he went to a bar frequented by NWA wrestlers), but also very stiff in the ring..

Mick Foley remarked he was once manhandled so badly by Billington, he had a ligament torn in his jaw, preventing him from eating solid food for a while.

His in-ring style, combined with his drug use (including once experimenting with horse steroids), led to Billington to retire just one day after his 33rd birthday in 1991.

Billington continued to wrestle sporadically until October 1996; it was remarked by Billington himself in his book Pure Dynamite: The Price You Pay for Wrestling Stardom that his body had degenerated to where he was “practically skin and bones” at the time of his final match.

While at the airport waiting to return home, Billington had a seizure. It wasn’t his first near-death experience; while staying with Dan Spivey, the two took LSD. Billington came close to death twice on the same day.

In 1997, the numerous back and leg injuries cost Billington the use of his left leg. He uses a wheelchair to move around. Billington has been told by doctors he would never be able to walk again.

Also contributing to his paralysis was the use of the diving headbutt, a move first made famous by Harley Race (Race regrets inventing the move due to the spinal problems and concussions the move had caused).

Billington, who reportedly suffered a stroke in 2013, was named in a class action lawsuit against WWE regarding concussion-based injuries.

A member of the Stampede Wrestling and Wrestling Observer Newsletter Halls of Fame, Billington was ranked the #41 singles wrestler of the PWI Years in 2003 by Pro Wrestling Illustrated.

He and Davey Boy Smith were ranked the fifth best tag team of the PWI Years that same year. In 2002, Billington was named by New Japan Pro Wrestling fans as the greatest gaijin (foreigner) junior heavyweight of all time.

Even though he could be a nasty, vile person, he still was one of the most gifted pro wrestlers of all time and someone who was hugely influential.

RIP