SummerSlam Top 10 Countdown – By Michael Owen
No. 1 (66 Points) Bret Hart vs. The British Bulldog (August 29th, 1992)
We all knew what would take first place in this list and it’s hard to argue with anyone that says that this is one of the greatest matches in wrestling history, let alone SummerSlam history. Lets take you back and explain what made this match so special and earned it the number one spot in our countdown.
SummerSlam ’92 was originally planned to emanate from Washington, D.C. but WWF decided that it would be better placed in London, England due to the growing popularity of the company in the early nineties. The original plan was for Bret Hart to drop the Intercontinental Championship to Shawn Michaels at the event, but when the venue changed, so did his opponent.
That opponent was Davey Boy Smith, better known as ‘The British Bulldog’. Smith was born in 1962 in Lancashire, England to Joyce and Sid Smith. He spent his younger years learning his craft inside the ring and turned professional in 1977, making him the youngest person at the time to do so in England. Smith got his debut on World of Sport and would face many of the legends of the British scene during that time; the names included Dave Finley, Black Jack Mulligan and Marty Jones.
Smith formed a tag-team with his older cousin, Tom Billington, better known as ‘Dynamite Kid’ in 1984. They would go on to become one of the greatest tag teams of all time, working in Stampede Wrestling, All Japan and WWF. After many years working together, the tag team would split up due to personal problems and he would return to the WWF as a singles star. The timing of this move by Smith was perfect, as the company had recently become a ratings hit on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom.
That brings us perfectly back to the match at SummerSlam. The buildup to the match was simple; it was a battle between real life brothers in law over the Intercontinental Championship. This match would tear the Hart family apart as they had to choose a side in the saga. Diana Hart, the wife of Davey Boy and sister of Bret Hart, stated that she did not know whom she wanted to win but hoped that neither man was hurt.
The match took place at a sold-out Wembley Stadium in front of eighty thousand rabid fans. The crowd was already at a fever pitch even before the match got under way, both men getting massive cheers during their respective entrances. They battled each other for 30 minutes in a hard-hitting match that saw Smith beat his brother in law and become the new Intercontinental champion. After the match both men would embrace in the middle of the ring as a show of sportsmanship and friendship.
This was without a doubt the best match of Smith’s career and many people have argued over the years that he should have been the first British wrestler to hold the WWF title. Davey would go on to have stints in WCW and one last run in WWE before his untimely passing in 2002 at the young age of 39. His legacy will live on through his work in the ring and Davey Boy Smith will never be forgotten.
– By Michael Owen
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