One of the most appealing aspects of sports entertainment is the history and lineage associated with it. Like any sport, wrestling is stacked with statistics and stories that help create a broader base for the current product. There are countless events that stand out to millions of fans; fleeting moments in time somehow captured for an eternity. The moment Hulk Hogan slammed Andre the Giant in front of 93,000 fans. When Vader fell to Ron Simmons, thus crowning the first-ever African American World Heavyweight Champion. For me it was when Shawn Michaels’ Boyhood Dream came true that I was hooked and wanted to know everything there was to know about this magical industry.
You know how on TV or in the movies, you’ll have a time machine, right? And the protagonist of the story will go off into the past where any tiny little twig he touches could have drastic implications on the modern world. Sounds fun, doesn’t it? So we are going to go back in time and we are going to purposefully tinker with the past and see how things might have turned out if one thing went differently. Today we are going to beg the question: “What would happen if the British Bulldog wasn’t fired in 1992?”
The World Wrestling Federation of 1992 was an interesting place to be, and an absolutely absurd place to venture using our Time Machine. The Immortal Hulk Hogan had retired for the first time at Wrestlemania 8; Bret Hart was at the pinnacle of his rise after capturing the WWF Title from WCW mainstay Ric Flair; Shawn Michaels had left his former tag team partner in the dust for a seemingly insurmountable climb to the top of the card. Perhaps most notable as far as peculiarities, was the roster itself. It was a transitionary period, and many of the wrestlers made famous during the Rock n’ Wrestling era were now being forced to share the card with the emerging Superstars of the New Generation. Somewhere near the top of the confusion was a former tag team champion from Manchester, England who was slated for a big singles push. A push that ultimately began with a victory over the Excellence of Execution at Summerslam that very year.
I’m sure I don’t need to go into detail about what happened at Wembley Stadium. The British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith and Bret “The Hitman” Hart had a magnificent match from start to finish that ended with the Bulldog capturing the coveted Intercontinental Championship. Now, history will dictate that the Intercontinental title has, in most cases, served as a springboard into the World title scene. The rate at which Bulldog was moving, coupled with the WWF’s trust in him to carry not only a main event, but basically the entire show, makes me suspect Bulldog had a very bright future ahead of him.
Unfortunately for Bulldog and his fans, things took a turn for the worst, and Davey was released from his WWF contract. The British Bulldog had a long-standing history of steroid-abuse and in late 1992 was found to be illegally purchasing pharmaceuticals alongside former WWF Champion The Ultimate Warrior. Davey dropped the Intercontinental belt to Shawn Michaels in November of 1992, and was exiled to WCW where he ran around the beach with Sting and Vader. It was so weird.
From here on in it’s all speculation, so don’t anybody say I’m just making things up. Obviously I’m making things up, time machines aren’t real. But I do welcome debate and constructive input, because that’s what the IWC is when it’s at it’s best. That being said, how would things be different in a world where The British Bulldog remained in the WWF? Well let’s start from the beginning and work forward shall we?
As previously mentioned, the British Bulldog was the IC Champ after a hard fought victory in front of a massive crowd of fellow countrymen. Nowadays we’re use to the mid card championships having very little value. Perhaps that’s because of how many there are today versus the three titles that’ve withstood the tests of time. But the Intercontinental Championship has long been considered the starting point for superstars that wanted to become legends. Icons such as the Macho Man Randy Savage, The Ultimate Warrior, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels would all be defined by both great Intercontinental and Heavyweight Title runs. Was this in the cards for Davey? Most likely. The British Bulldog was larger than life, built like a block of stone and chiseled into Vince McMahon’s vision of a professional wrestler. Sure he stood just shy of 6 feet tall, but he had the combination of athleticism and marketability that the WWF has always looked for in it’s main eventers.
Compare him to someone who held the belt in the interim where Bulldog might have flourished. Someone like Kevin Nash who won every title in the WWF within a year. The Bulldog was far more polished, with a pedigree that included work alongside the Dynamite Kid and an education in the Hart Family Dungeon. It’s safe to conclude that the Bulldog would have been challenging for the title by 1993, just as Shawn Michaels did. And if he followed suit along the Heartbreak Kid’s path, he would be holding the most prestigious belt in the WWF by 1996. This would change the Bulldogs legacy dramatically from the Camp Cornette and Hart Foundation stooge that most fans from my generation remember him as. Who knows how far Davey Boy Smith could have taken his career if he had only avoided buying steroids with the Ultimate Warrior. Or at the very least, avoided being caught.
When the Bulldog returned to the WWF, he was used as a supporting role in the drama that unfolded between the Hart Brothers. He was then paired with Lex Luger, which seemed more like a punishment for Luger than any sort of big break for either man. In 1995, Bulldog made the shocking turn from longstanding hero to diabolical villain and was immediately cast in the main event scene for the vast majority of the year. By years end however, Bulldog joined Camp Cornette and although challenging for the title on several more occasions, never managed to gain the momentum he had built during his rise in 1992.
The Bulldog’s Exodus had a severe impact on his career, for sure. But how it might have affected those around him and the WWF as a whole is another very interesting concept to explore. It undoubtedly had a positive influence on the upward mobility of Shawn Michaels. Already making a name for himself as a singles star, this additional accolade and chance to fill the void was all HBK needed to rocket himself to the top of the card. Sixteen months later, he would steal the show at Wrestlemania X in a ladder match that helped define the Showstopper, at least in my mind, as the quintessential Intercontinental champion. Even if he didn’t win. Two years later Shawn Michaels reached the pinnacle of WWF Entertainment and was crowned the World Champion. Would Shawn have reached this point if the Bulldog had stuck around? Maybe. But maybe not. Wrestling purists like to say that good talent will always rise to the top, but politics play an equal, if not larger part in whether talent ultimately gets over.
The British Bulldog was a member by marriage of the sometimes infamous Hart Family. In the mid 1990s, Bret Hart was surrounded by several members of both his immediate and extended family including Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart, and the British Bulldog. Although the Harts held sway as best they could, the locker room political landscape was ruled by the man who practically replaced Bulldog in 1992–Shawn Michaels. HBK used his personal friendship with Vince McMahon to influence the company as best he could. He was instrumental in the hiring and booking of several new superstars, including Kevin Nash, who as mentioned would become champion within a year.
Bret was friends with Vince too, but as Shawn’s clique grew larger, his voice became louder and Bret was stuck stranded off on the sidelines. However all of that might be completely different, had the Bulldog continued on the path that had been laid before him. If Bret and his brother-in-law were alternating champions, headlining events from 1992 through 1996, then the numbers would be much more in their favor before Shawn Michaels even had the chance to develop his Clique. Which means Kevin Nash might have never been hired and would remain Vinnie Vegas. What would happen to Sean Waltman and Triple H if Bret was in Vince’s ear, rather than Shawn? That could lead to drastic changes as far as the McMahon Family itself goes. Not sure if Stephanie would end up marrying Hunter Hearst Helmsley if he hadn’t been positioned in the way he had.
Bret Hart made no attempt to hide his dismay with the direction of the wrestling industry during the Monday Night Wars and the subsequent Attitude Era. If the British Bulldog became champion and my theory about Hart Family politics held true, the company could very well have continued on with the same predictable story of good guys versus bad guys. Which would have catered very well to the Bulldog, whose repetitive strongman style was very reminiscent of an age long since extinct. Davey was cut from the same cloth as your Hulk Hogans and your Lex Lugers. He was a powerhouse that the fans could believe in, and that the company could theoretically draw upon. If he continued as the top baby face he was being built to be, who’s to say the evil Yokozuna would have held the title as long as he did–if at all?
We already established that Kevin Nash wasn’t getting hired, and if Kevin Nash didn’t establish himself as Big Daddy Cool Diesel that means no New World Order. No NWO means that Hulk Hogan retains the same stale red and yellow gimmick, and WCW doesn’t come close to challenging the WWF for Monday night ratings supremacy. Not unless they come up with an equally provocative storyline, which knowing WCW… Isn’t going to happen.
It’s not all roses for the WWF though, should WCW continue to under deliver thanks to no new ideas. No competition means the WWF is even more likely to fall into the aforementioned old school habits. The entire industry would continue to look like 1995 for years, in this indecisive limbo where it’s not edgy, it’s not for kids, it’s not really for anyone. The Attitude Era would cease to be without the introduction of the NWO. Ironically, WCW might still be in business today if it had never debuted. So who’s to say how that would go.
The possibilities are truly endless, and so are the alternate realities that the wrestling industry can be splintered into, when one thing is changed, even something as simple as where a guy works for a year. But once again, that’s me speculating, just linking what I’ve read with what I’ve watched and what I’ve learned from talking with so many of you. In the long run, Bulldog had a decent enough career that included becoming the first ever European Champion. Maybe he would have been the WWF Champion, maybe not. We can’t worry about the what if’s and maybes, we can only ponder on them and move forward, grateful for the moments we’ve had, and excited for what lies ahead. Let’s head back to the future. •M•
