Stampede Wrestling #7 Page #2
Bret and Dynamite threw punches and dropkicks their mentors couldn't do anymore. Young and unafraid of risking moves Dynamite unleashed a force never before seen in wrestling in a long long time. Lightning aerial moves off the top ropes. It wasn't uncommon to see Bret laying down on the mat in the Hart's corner after being suplexed by Dynamite. Then Dynamite would climb the opposite ring ropes. Not the adjacent corner. Not the Hart's corner but he opposite corner and fly across the ring diagonally!! The velocity and height made everyone hold their breath while Bret's air was blown out of his chest by Dynamites impact. Dynamite learned and applied real fast the astonishing effectiveness of this new style of hard-hitting wrestling. At the same time Bret used patience absorbing Dynamite's attacks and wearing down the explosive kid. Once on the ground Dynamite would be wrapped up in one of Bret's many submission moves. An abdominal stretch would make the Kid's suplexes a bit easier to take. The sleeper Bret used would keep Dynamite in one spot long enough to wear him down.
But often that was the case is that Bret's submission style wrestling left him open to Foley's army run-ins. With Duke Myers and The Cuban Assassin waiting for Foley's nod, Dynamite knew he could take chances in the air. He didn't have to worry about missing because if he did and Bret gained an advantage, in would run in Duke Myers.
Myers quickly became Dynamite's main tag partner in the war with the Harts. The big man gave the Kid an added advantage. Quick and aggressive the Kid would tag in and out with the powerhouse Myers. Sorta reminds me of what the Hart Foundation did years later in the WWF. On the other side of the ring Bret wasn't alone. He had his brother Bruce who knew how to bend the rules and not always wear the white hat in battle. Duke’s illegal run-ins where met with Bruce's fists and temper. While Bret and Dynamite feuded over the Mid-Heavyweight belt trading it back and forth twice in the late 70's, Bruce Hart and Duke Myers extended the two singles battle to a tag team war. It quickly became a six-man battle as Foley’s interference became too much and both Stu and Foley found themselves in wrestling gear alongside their young charges. Despite being past their prime in ring Stu and Foley went at it with a young Dynamite and Bret looking on. The first lessons in teamwork were learned.
As Foley's war raged on, his army grew to include he Great Gama Singh who teamed with Dynamite several time when Foley teamed Myers with Kerry Brown. Gama's sleeper was just as deadly as Bret's. Dynamite now had an effective ace up his sleeve. Gama continued the run-ins in the Foley tradition with the ongoing war. In the early 80's Bruce was running neck and neck with Bret as the number one contender for Dynamite's Mid-Heavyweight belt. It became less and less the British Mid-Heavyweight belt and more and more Dynamite's belt as he had a stranglehold on it.
Help for the Hart's came in the form of Davey Boy Smith. Furious that the youngster from Leeds didn't join the army, Foley and the gang instantly tore into Davey's hide. Davey quickly found himself in a war that had been raging for years. He grew up fast in his first years in Stampede. When he was ganged up in the corners by Myers, Gama, and the Kid, Davey found help in Bruce and Bret. Bruce and Bret found someone who could negate Dynamite's aerial moves. Fearless and inventive Davey Boy flew through the air. He could unleash a missile dropkick, follow it up with a clothesline and then a roll up.
In mere seconds he could turn a match into a win for the Harts. His dropkicks where raw and powerful. In his first matches it wasn't unheard of him actually jumping higher then his opponents head and missing completely. I still remember one match Gama looking up as Davey's dropkick flew over a stunned Singh. But the raw inexperience didn't last long. The dropkicks connected more and more as Davey teamed more and more with Bruce in wars with Myers and he Dynamite Kid. Cage matches, lumberjack matches, Texas Death matches, and a coal miners glove match with Duke's loaded wristband waiting for the first man to reach it. Bruce and Davey formed a formidable team against Foley's army.
The Mid-Heavyweight belt traded back and forth between Bruce and Dynamite as Davey Boy and Myers involved themselves more and more in matches inside the ring and out. With Leo Burke and Keith Hart solidly behind Bret, Davey and Bruce in their fights, Foley brought in another powerhouse in Kerry Brown. Brown and Myers redefined tag team wrestling in Stampede wrestling under Foley's watchful eye (see column #2). Brown was more cautious then the Dynamite Kid, which led The Masters of Disasters to the tag titles.
The Foley/Hart war found itself into the tag scenes. Davey and Dynamite found themselves on opposite sides. Their mutual hate for each others alliances heated up the fire between Stu and Foley. But after a lengthy feud fans could see chemistry building between Dynamite and Davey Boy. They knew each others moves so well and almost overnight the two began to change. They started bulking up. Gone where the skinny kids from England with raw dropkicks. The power was still there don't get me wrong but now the two began chaining moves together. Multiple somersaults, knip-ups, rollovers, clotheslines, leg sweeps, slams, dropkicks here used one right after another when Davey and the Kid were in ring together. The chemistry they used later on in the WWF was seeded at this moment.
Stu and Foley unable to once and for all secure the tag titles threw different combinations at each other. Bruce/Davey, Davey/Bret, Bret/Bruce, Burke/Davey versus Myers/Brown, The Kid/Gama, Gama/Myers, Shultz/Myers all combined for one hell of a war in 82-83.
Bruce Hart and Davey Boy finally managed to break though and rip away the tag titles from the Masters of Disasters only to lose them weeks later to Myers and the Dynamite Kid with a lot of help from Myers' infamous wrist guard. Somehow the metal inside it always managed to get by the referee's pre match inspection. Horrors!!!
The tag titles stayed securely in Foley's army until Leo Burke and Bret Hart decided to take a strong run at the championship. Their friendship was seemingly unbreakable for years so a run at the titles seemed natural. Even after four years of feuding, Dynamite and Bret's hatred (jealousy?) was still there. The former lightweights now where battling over the tag titles. With Davey Boy solidly in Bret's corner watching out for a run in by Foley's army, Bret and Burke sleeperheld their way to the tag titles. Their tag championship was short lived as Bret's beloved friend Leo Burke joined Foley's army in a shocking turn of events.
Bret found himself teaming up with Davey Boy extensively now against Burke and.. surprise Dynamite Kid. No titles on the line. Just a good old fashion whipping out back. Bret and Davey made a formidable team. Both about the same size now in their careers. Bret fed off Davey's power moves while Davey fed off Bret's ability to absorb punishment from his opponents. This combo of patience and power almost led them to the tag titles several time if it wasn't for Foley's tactics of interference.
In late 83 and early 84 a new face had made a huge impact in Stampede... when Bad News Allen appeared on the scene (see column#5). Foley took to Allen like no other. Allen didn't need a tag team. He WAS a tag team himself!! Unstoppable and merciless, Allen tore through the Harts. At the same time Dynamite was quickly losing favor with Foley’s army. Kerry Brown led the anti-Dynamite campaign slowly by berating him for their losses. Foley was outvoted and conceded to Brown’s thoughts and berated Dynamite for a loss to Bruce Hart. Something unforgivable. At the same time Dynamite was beginning to hear cheers and applause from fans for his matches with Davey and Bret. The same fans he spit on in interviews began to cheer on the explosive Kid. Finally, on one fateful night Davey Boy found himself being pummeled by Bad News, Burke, Gama, Myers and Brown. With Bruce, Keith, and Bret beaten down, in ran an exploding Dynamite Kid to the ring...and in seconds cleared the ring of Foley's army, much to deafening cheers. I suspect wrestling ghosts of the past looked down that night and smiled.
No longer on opposite sides Davey and Dynamite teamed up with the Harts against Foley’s army and Bad News. As expected they worked nervously at first watching over their shoulder at each other for a run in by their new tag partner. The turn of Burke left everyone a little bit anxious. Many fans expected Dynamite to turn back as soon as Davey's back was turned. However the jitters passed and his loyalty to Davey Boy was formed. Bad News and Dynamite's hatred of each other turned Stampede's white canvas mats turn crimson red in 83-84 as the two feuded violently. It made the Dynamite/Bret wars of years past look like school yard fights. Chain, ladder, bat, cage matches all forged the team of Davey Boy and Dynamite closer as Allen took on the Cuban Assassin as his tag partner. A feisty veteran, the Assassin used every trick in the book to find a win. Allen gave him the ability to unleash violence on their opponents. This violent strategy backfired on Foley as it did nothing but bond Davey and the Kid closer together as a tag team. This feud brought them the tag titles from Allen and The Assassin. Despite the foreign objects and violence, the team of Davey Boy and Dynamite won their first tag title.
As 1984 wore on the hatred between Allen and Dynamite spilled over into the heavyweight title scene. Dynamite's popularity was so high he was given a shot at the North American champion Killer Khan. Dynamite used his powerful aerial moves and newfound fan support to overtake the big man and win the North American championship. Bad News anger was too much for his partners and soon Allen found himself in a violent war with Dynamite over the championship. At the same time Davey Boy now found himself too in a singles war with Kerry Brown. Whether it was coincidence or genius on Foley's part but the split pushed momentum in Foley's side as defending the two titles was too much for Dynamite. Allen pounced on this and with a little help from some brass knuckles tore away the heavyweight championship from Dynamite.
In his one man war with The Kid, Allen couldn't help but run into Davey Boy Smith at ringside. Davey Quickly took up the challenge and after a brutal series of Harlem Street Fights won back the title from Bad News. Davey proved he wasn't just a another pretty boy with cute moves. He went toe to toe with Allen and shocked the big man from Harlem at his own game of foreign objects in these anything goes brawls. Even in singles Davey and Dynamite worked as a team. Dynamite remembered his time in the Army and shared this with Davey in his matches with Allen.
By mid 85 Dynamite had left for the WWF leaving Davey Boy alone in Stampede. Still heavyweight champion, Davey was being dogged by Kerry Brown and Bad News Allen viciously. I don't remember how Brown defeated Smith for the North American title because that day my TV video broke down. All I had was the audio of Ed Whelan screaming that Kerry Brown had cheated his way to the top. Brown and Allen could be heard gloating their victory over Smith. Soon after Smith left the area for the WWF, the tag titles where vacated…and sometimes the bad guys win...You know?
Fast forward to 1988. Stampede was in its silver age. Gone were the Kid, Smith, Bret, and the Masters of Disasters. New faces like Owen Hart, Benoit, Pillman, Makhan Singh and Johnny Smith all had helped put Stampede on the map of wrestling in magazines around the world. Old faces like The Cuban Assassin, Gama Singh, and Jerry Morrow helped transfer the traditions from years past. Morrow had shed his good guy image and was now known as Champagne Jerry Morrow (one of the BEST underrated wrestlers ever kiddies). Morrow joined the crafty Cuban Assassin and now dressed in camouflage fatigues, (with lots of pockets for foreign goodies), the Commandos had taken the silver age by storm teaching the young lions a bit of respect.
But rumors where floating. More and more matches of Davey Boy and Dynamite were being played on Stampede's "classic match" segment. This added fuel to the speculation the Bulldogs would return. Still beloved and formidable in the WWF, despite health problems, these rumors seemed out of this world. But on a cold winter night while I was in line at the old auditorium for a box of popcorn and a hotdog, (let’s not talk about auditorium hotdogs… it ain’t pretty), I turned around and saw Dynamite and Davey Boy walk past the concession stand. Fans stared in awe as the seemingly gods had returned to Regina.
But it was a different tag team then before. Gone were the friendly WWF Bulldogs. Dynamite sported a moustache. Davey's childlike smile from years past was now replaced with a look of grim determination. In a non-title match that night, the years of polish was still there, but something wasn't just right. Dynamite yelled at Davey several times in the match. At one point Dynamite had Morrow in one corner while Davey had The Assassin in another corner fist raised in the air showing off for the fans. The Kid wanted to throw Morrow and the Assassin into each other in the middle of the ring but Davey was taking too long pumping his fist in the air for the fans. Disgusted Dynamite yelled again at Davey Boy. The tension was high that night. But the anger was kept in check as The Bulldogs defeated the Commandos in Calgary for the tag titles soon after. Interestingly enough I saw the same infighting in that TV match as I saw in the Regina match. Also interesting after the match Dynamite refused rematches with the Commandos. The teamwork wasn't there and the Bulldogs were not ready for the wrecking ball waiting them in Makhan Singh and Volkhan Singh. Furious at the arrival of the WWF's Don Muraco and the Bulldogs, Makhan and Volkhan took advantage of the Bulldogs infighting and upset the the former world tag champions.
This led the Bulldogs to self destruction. Angered by Davey Boy's unfocused work was too much for Dynamite. He turned on Davey Boy in a shocking match and immediately joined Karachi Vice. After the beating Dynamite told Ed and fans he was sick and tired of carrying Davey Boy for years. The bitter war between the two erupted again in Stampede but was snuffed out when a real time car accident nearly permanently paralyzed Davey Boy Smith. Weeks later he could barely walk, but made a in-ring appearance to tell the fans he would be okay. Dynamite entered the ring and verbally berated his former tag partner. He threatened to pummel Davey Boy right there and may have done it until Ed Whelan stepped in told the two to stop kidding around and to be serious. Something I never saw before especially when both looked at Ed.
As Davey healed, Dynamite spat upon Stampede's pride, Chris Benoit and Owen Hart, who briefly returned from the WWF. He spat upon Owen's acrobatic skills that reminded everyone of a young Dynamite. He spat upon Chris Benoit who idolized The Dynamite Kid growing up. So on another fateful night Dynamite joined up with Davey Boy Smith's younger brother Johnny Smith and called themselves The British Bruisers. The Bruisers wrecked havoc over Stampede like years past. Dynamite had returned to his evil roots and never looked back. In a vicious street fight with Owen Hart, the crafty veteran tore into Stu's pride while the ghost of JR Foley looked down (or up...).Forks, Fire extinguishers and flames burned Owen's eyes while Johnny Smith looked on from backstage. No titles on the line. The Bruisers never won them. Dynamite left his mark on the silver age of Stampede with a series of vicious street fights.
Davey healed enough to win the North American title from Muraco who was forced to defend it or be stripped. After defeating Makhan Singh for the title, Muraco refused to defend the title and quickly fell out of favor with Stampede fans who demanded through the years that whether you’re a Hart or Foley Army disciple you must defend the title.
Davey's reign was short lived as he lost the title to the Lethal One Larry Cameron, a brash powerhouse with a staggering powerslam and devastating football shoulder smash.
Stampede's silver age came to an end despite Davey and Owen's return. Davey found in ring success in WCW, but has struggled outside the ring. He returned to Stampede when the area tried to resurface in 1999 as a manager/mentor to his son Harry Smith. New commentator Bad News Allen and Davey found themselves in verbal wars in interviews but nothing amounted out of it as Bad News knees never healed from years of ring wars.
Dynamite still makes appearances in Japanese rings despite his back injuries to this day, while Davey struggles with life after his car accident. I personally wish both men the best of recoveries. No matter what happens in each wrestlers future, they left a mark on Stampede's and wrestling history. Their war with the Hart Foundation in the WWF was memorable. While they never brought a dog to the ring in Stampede, they did bring other things that may have changed how wrestling fans saw the sport. Dynamite's talents made fans go beyond the good guy bad guy view. You just couldn't help but cheer on Dynamite's talents. Whether he was good or bad it didn't matter. They brought intensity, determination, and fearlessness to new levels. Their place in wrestling hall of fames should be a no-brainer. Their place in Stampede wrestling fans hearts is and always will be there. And for this fan that’s good enough.
NEXT MONTH:
Speaking of beating the odds... Chris Benoit!!