Born in Golborne, a small pit town on the outskirts of Wigan in the North of England, Thomas Billington spent much of his youth getting into scrapes in and out of school and dedicated most of his time playing Rugby League and doing Gymnastics at school. He was 'spotted' aged 12 whilst driving a digger in his dad's Building site by Ted Betley, who trained 'shoot' Wrestlers in Winwick. The rest, as they say, is History.
Since then, Thomas Billington, The Dynamite Kid, has gone on to wow fans all over the world; from his hometown of Warrington, England, to Calgary, Alberta, Canada. From Osaka, Japan to New York, New York. Dynamite is often regarded by many in the Wrestling business as the greatest Wrestler to ever lace a pair of boots, and nobody can dispute he is one of the most influential Wrestlers of all time. Despite standing 5'8" tall and weighing less than 230lbs for his entire career, Dynamite's work blew away the North American promoters who typically relied on 'big men'. In fact, many insinuate that it was his match with Tiger Mask in Madison Square Garden, with a gobsmacked Vince McMahon doing commentary at ringside, was when Wrestling's emperor realised that 'smaller guys' could work just as well - or in this case, better - than the bigger guys.
While he certainly he isn't as Mainstream 'celebrity' as Hulk Hogan or The Rock, Dynamite broke down so many barriers in North America that allowed smaller guys to be given exposure in the typical big man's world of Wrestling.
Dynamite began his career in England, working for Joint Promotions and was the youngest Junior Heavyweight champion of all time at just 18 years of age. Dynamite was spotted by Bruce Hart, son of Legendary Promotor and trainer Stu Hart, and was offered the opportunity to work and train in Calgary for a few months. Dynamite initially refused, accepting a pay rise in England, but when the pay rise turned out to be only a £1 increase per night, he told Max Crabtree where he could go and re-arranged his plans for Calgary.
In Calgary, he was big business for Stu Hart's Stampede Promotion, where he demonstrated a Wrestling aptitude ahead of his time. Whilst there, his fueds with a young Bret Hart caught the imagination of the Albertan public and the pair tore the house down on numerous occasions - almost literally in some cases!
In between stints in Calgary and Japan, Dynamite did occasional special appearances on tours of England, wrestling Bret Hart in Warrington in front of Tom's friends, familiy and townsfolk, and appearing on the card for the last ever Wrestling event at Manchester's famous Belle Vue Stadium. But, it was his work with Mark 'Rollerball' Rocco that set the country alight during the late 70s and 80s; Stiff, fast work that the British Wrestling fans hadn't seen before really brought crowds alive.
He is perhaps best known in North America as one half of the tag team The British Bulldogs, with his cousin Davey Boy Smith, and for their work with The Hart Foundation, their real life Brothers-in-law Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart, which set the standard for Tag Team Wrestling in the 1980s.
The Bulldogs also earned notoriety in Japan as an all action tag team, while Dynamite himself remains a Gaijin legend in the Wrestling mad country. His work with Tiger Mask, for example, is the stuff of legend and revolutionized the light-heavyweight division, setting the platform for many other light-heavyweights to be given the opportunity step up to the mark in the future, such as Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrerro, Chris Jericho and Tj Wilson.
Today, as a result of his dedication to the business, Tom lives in a wheelchair, broken and broke, surviving off benefits on a council estate. But the legacy he left behind will live on forever.
(read less)Born in Golborne, a small pit town on the outskirts of Wigan in the North of England, Thomas Billington spent much of his youth getting into scrapes in and out of school and dedicated most of his time playing Rugby League and doing Gymnastics at school. He was 'spotted' aged 12 whilst driving a digger in his dad's Building site by Ted Betley, who trained 'shoot' Wrestlers in Winwick. The rest, as they say, is History.
Since then, Thomas Billington, The Dynamite Kid, has gone on to wow fans all...
(read more)
