Over the course of his 23-year career, Bret "The Hitman" Hart has enjoyed a number of classic rivalries, including with Stone Cold Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, Mr. Perfect, and his own brother, Owen Hart. All those rivalries have produced some all-time great bouts, but one of his greatest was with Davey Boy Smith, otherwise known to WWE fans as the British Bulldog.
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Over the course of their time together, Hart and Bulldog have been partners, opponents, stablemates and everything in between — across myriad promotions to boot. Let’s take a look at their entire history together, starting with their earliest in-ring interactions.
10 First Clashed In Stampede Wrestling
Both Bret Hart and Davey Boy Smith wrestled for Stu Hart’s Calgary-based Stampede Wrestling in the early 1980s, but they actually started as tag team partners, and even had several matches against Smith’s real-life cousin and future tag team partner, the Dynamite Kid. Hart and Smith first went head to head in 1983 when Smith unsuccessfully challenged for Hart’s North American Heavyweight Championship. The following year, they met in a tournament for New Japan Pro-Wrestling to crown a new WWF Junior Heavyweight Champion, with Smith getting a DQ victory over Hart.
9 Relatives Outside The Ring
Given that Bret Hart is Canadian and Davey Boy Smith hails from England, some fans who are unfamiliar with their rivalry may be surprised to find out that they were actually relatives by marriage. Smith grew up in England, but moved to Calgary after being scouted by Bret’s brother, Bruce Hart, and received training from the family patriarch, Stu Hart. Smith ended up marrying Bret’s sister, Diana, making Hart and Smith brothers in law. This relationship would end up coming into play when Hart and Smith began feuding in the early 1990s.
8 Rivals In WWE’s Tag Team Scene
In the mid-1980s, both Bret Hart and Davey Boy Smith ended up in WWE, with Hart teamed with fellow Stampede alum Jim Neidnhart as the Hart Foundation and Smith paired with his cousin Dynamite Kid as The British Bulldogs. Naturally, the two became rivals in WWE’s tag team division.
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The British Bulldogs were enjoying a 294-day reign with the WWE Tag Team Championship, but an unfortunate back injury forced the Bulldogs to drop the belts. As a result, The Hart Foundation put away Davey Boy Smith in what basically amounted to a handicap match, as Dynamite Kid was still recovering from back surgery at the time.
7 Their First WWE Singles Match Was In 1987
The spring of 1987 brought the first WWE singles match between Davey Boy Smith and Bret Hart on an episode of WWF Superstars. Airing days after the 2/3 falls classic between The Hart Foundation and The British Bulldogs on Saturday Night’s Main Event, the match saw Smith get the win over Hart after nearly four minutes. However, the bout featured interference from both Jim Neidhart and corrupt referee Danny Davis, leading to a post-match beatdown of Smith.
6 Both Became Singles Stars In The 1990s
The British Bulldogs departed WWE in 1988, but Davey Boy Smith returned to the company in 1990 as a singles wrestler. Now billed as The British Bulldog, Smith proved to be a popular midcarder and a major star in the UK, where WWE was gaining a lot of traction. Meanwhile, The Hart Foundation split up in 1991, with Bret Hart transitioning into the singles division himself, winning King of the Ring, capturing the Intercontinental Championship twice, and wrestling in WWE’s first-ever Ladder Match.
5 Main Evented SummerSlam 1992 In London
WWE’s growing success in the UK led the company to hold the fifth of its annual SummerSlam pay-per-view event in London’s Wembley Stadium. To capitalize on the British Bulldog’s popularity in the region, he main evented the show, challenging his brother-in-law Bret Hart for the Intercontinental Championship. A 25-minute classic ensued, with the real-life relationship between Hart and Bulldog being played up in the match as Bulldog’s wife Diana watched from the crowd. Bulldog would get the win over Hart, capturing his first singles title in WWE.
4 Hart Carried Bulldog In Their SummerSlam Match
As alluded to above, the SummerSlam 1992 main event between Bret Hart and the British Bulldog was highly acclaimed and is regularly mentioned as one of the best matches in the event’s history, if not all of WWE history. Believe it or not, however, the match was a total carry job for Hart.
RELATED: How Bret Hart Carried An Unprepared Davey Boy Smith To A WWE SummerSlam Classic
Thanks to a whole lot of substance abuse, The British Bulldog ended up forgetting everything he and Hart planned for the match as soon as the bell rang. As a result, Bret Hart led the match for Bulldog, calling all of his opponent’s moves to ensure the match went the way they intended.
3 Rekindled Their Rivalry In 1995
Following SummerSlam 1992, Bret Hart and the British Bulldog didn’t clash in the ring again until late 1995. By this time, Bret Hart had captured the WWE Championship while British Bulldog had turned heel and joined Jim Cornette’s Camp Cornette stable, leading to Bulldog challenging Hart for the title at mid-December’s In Your House 5: Season’s Beatings. Another classic match between the two ensued, with Hart getting the win over his brother-in-law thanks to a La Magistral pinning combination after a little over 21 minutes.
2 Teammates In The Hart Foundation Stable
Bret Hart spent much of the 1990s as a babyface in WWE, but ended up turning heel while feuding with Steve Austin in 1997, albeit one that was still considered a popular babyface outside of the States (especially in Canada). That year, Hart reformed the Hart Foundation as a heel faction, with members including Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart, Brian Pillman, and The British Bulldog. Once again, Hart and Bulldog were partners, competing together in bouts like the big 10-man tag team match that main evented In Your House 16: Calgary Stampede.
1 Their Last Match Was On WCW Thunder
Following the infamous Montreal Screwjob, Bret Hart jumped ship to WCW in late 1997, with both British Bulldog and Jim Neidhart following later and forming a tag team without Hart. While in WCW, the brothers-in-law shared the ring only once: on a September 1998 episode of WCW Thunder wherein Hart and Lex Luger defeated Bulldog and Neidhart. This match happened days before The British Bulldog suffered a nasty back injury at the Fall Brawl pay-per-view that would end up disrupting not only his career, but also his personal life.
