R.I.P. Dynamite Kid

[Blehschmidt]

Several U.K. news sources, as well as Marty Jones and Will O'Spreay on Twitter reporting that "Dynamite Kid" Tom Billington has passed away on his 60th birthday.

 

[El-P]

Amazing worker. Years ahead of its time. Influential as hell.

As a human being, from common knowledge, no comment.

[Matt D]

Tragic story of excess, in and out of the ring. I'm glad he's no longer in pain.

[Al]

It's cliché but I hope he's found peace. He seemed like a genuinely unhappy person.

[BruiserBrody]

I loved the Bulldogs as a kid. I always had beagles around the house, so when Matilda was dognapped I was one horrified 5 and 1/2 year old. 

Now my most prominent memory is the unintentional humor of Capt Lou and Ozzy Osbourne running around the ring with the tag titles at WM 2 as Dynamite crawled on the mat and tried to put himself together again after taking a flat back bump off the turnbuckles and to the cement floor - which the cameras mostly missed. 

[NintendoLogic]

I don't think I've heard a single Dynamite-related anecdote that reflected well on him as a person. Still, he repaid whatever karmic debt he had incurred several times over in his final years.

[vikingsfan73]

The main event of the first show I ever went to was the Bulldogs challenging Valentine and Beefcake for the WWF titles.  They are still my favorite tag team.  

[SPS]

Dynamite Kid was from the era before I became a fan but growing up here in Canada you'd hear from older Stampede fans or fans of the 80's WWF boom talk about what an amazing wrestler Dynamite Kid was.

Not having any footage of him, as a kid I only read about him in old wrestling magazines and  i remember WWF Magazine in 1996 or so ran a feature called "Yo, do you remember" which featured Dynamite Kid in the issue I had. They talked about his legendary ring work and ability along with his physical troubles that led him to leave the WWF(Obviously kayfabing using his real back injury to explain his departure rather than the real Rougeau thing). Finally when I got to see tape of him in the 2000's after reading about him for years I had big expectations and I was still blown away. From then on I spent years collecting and researching everything about him.

Obviously everyone knows and has heard of his actions outside the ring and it should not be disregarded but still as a pure talent in ring he is still one of my favorites and it bums me out to hear he's gone. He obviously suffered a lot health wise and most would say he deserved it so thankfully he's out of whatever pain and suffering he was enduring for his choices. RIP.

Edited December 20, 2018 by SPS

[WrestlingFan]

Sad news. I'm watching the New Japan DVDVR set, he had some good matches.

[Ricky Jackson]

The Bulldogs, and particularly Dynamite, are what hooked me as a fan in 1986. I've always loved Dynamite as a wrestler, so exciting to watch. RIP  

[Sidebottom]

Written a few years ago and well worth a read: http://www.ninelegendsfilm.com/2016/03/dynamite-kid-article/

[Migs]

A difficult man who made some beautiful art. I do wonder if his bitterness in later years stemmed in large part from his body preventing him from practicing his art form (recognizing he wasn't always the best dude even when he could wrestle). But it must feel like a terrible tragedy to believe you are put on the earth to do something and then be unable to do it for the last half of your life.

[SirEdger]

I guess we'll truly never know if that was the case, Migs. Putting the temperament of Dynamite Kid aside, he definitely inspired a generation of junior heavyweights and proved to them that you could be successful in this business. The only solace we can find in this is that he's now at peace. RIP.

[peachchaos]

Dynamite's very best stuff was his heel work in Portland. The match and angle where he breaks Curt Hennig's neck is about as good as wrestling gets. 

[Shrike02]

I have a lot of time for Dynamite's time in Portland as a much older fan; as a young kid I saw him in Stampede and WWF, and he made a big impression.

[Tenese Sarwieh]

Sad news indeed. As a kid growing up I always heard Benoit in multiple interviews go and go about Dynamite being pound for pound the best wrestler ever, later on through the years thanks to site like youtube and dailymotion helped me saw the greatness that he spoke. May his soul rest in paradise. 
 

[TheDuke]

I never saw him on TV growing up, as I didn't start watching wrestling until after he left WWF. I remember as a kid browsing the Coliseum Home Video section of my local video rental store and being surprised to learn that there used to be TWO British Bulldogs!

[ohtani's jacket]

Amazing worker from the time he was a teenager. I wish he had stayed in England and followed the path set by Marty Jones and Dave Finlay but I guess he was too good not to travel overseas. The Marty Jones WoS match is still my favorite Dynamite Kid bout.