Dynamite Kid Tom Billington passes away at age 60

The Dynamite Kid Tom Billigton has passed away at the age of 60. Billington was best known as one half of the British Bulldogs tag team in WWE with Davey Boy Smith.

He is also known for his work in Stampede Wrestling in Canada, but his influence on wrestling comes from his work in NJPW where his matches against the original Tiger Mask on junior heavyweight wrestlers can still be felt to this day.

Billington’s in-ring style was reckless and took a toll on his body. He was a known tough guy and admitted himself to having a nasty demeanor. He was undersized and his in-ring style combined with his drug use contributed to him retiring at the age of 33 in 1991. By 1997 injuries to his back and neck from wrestling left him having to use a wheel chair for the rest of his life. His signature move, the diving headbutt, which caused him spinal probelms and several concussions, was later used by many wrestlers including Chris Benoit and Daniel Bryan. Billington wrote about the cost of his in-ring style in his autobiography Pure Dynamite.

Davey Boy Smith Jr. tweeted about Billington’s passing today:

https://twitter.com/dbsmithjr/status/1070270186224181248?s=21