Davey Boy Smith Jr.

Smith in January 2023

###

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

**Harry Francis Smith** (born August 2, 1985) is a Canadian professional wrestler of English descent. He is best known for his work with New Japan Pro Wrestling as **Davey Boy Smith Jr.**, where he mostly teamed with Lance Archer as the Killer Elite Squad (K.E.S.). The two are former three-times IWGP Tag Team Champions, one-time GHC and two-times NWA World Tag Team Champions. He is the son of "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, the grandson of Stu Hart and nephew of Bret Hart.

He's also known for his tenure in WWE under the ring name **David Hart Smith**, where he won the WWE Unified Tag Team Championship along with Tyson Kidd before being released from his contract on August 5, 2011.He previously wrestled under the name **DH Smith** ("D" for his father Davey Boy Smith, and "H" for the Hart family) for WWE and their developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling.Jerry Lawler revealed this on the October 29, 2007 edition of Raw during Smith's match.

## Professional wrestling career

### Early years (1994–2004)

Smith began wrestling at the age of eight, he was trained by his father Davey Boy Smith and uncle Bruce Hart. He made an early appearance with the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on October 5, 1996 at the age of 11 when he teamed with his cousin Ted Annis against TJ Wilson and Andrew Picarnia at a WWE house show in Calgary. He also appeared at the conclusion of In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede with the rest of the Hart family. He made his professional debut at the age of fifteen at the Rockyford Rodeo, and went on to become a mainstay of the Calgary-based Stampede Wrestling promotion. In May 2002, Smith teamed with his father on two occasions, shortly before his father died. Smith was offered a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment in the summer of 2004, but opted to attend college and wrestle in Japan before signing.

In 2004, Smith began teaming with TJ Wilson as the "Stampede Bulldogs", a reference to the "British Bulldogs", the tag team composed of his father and his second cousin the Dynamite Kid. In the same year, Smith formed a stable known as The Hart Foundation Version 2.0 with Wilson, Jack Evans, and Teddy Hart. The Hart Foundation Version 2.0 initially performed in Stampede Wrestling before expanding to the United States, where they competed in Major League Wrestling.

### New Japan Pro Wrestling (2005)

In January 2005, Smith went on a five-week tour of Japan, wrestling with New Japan Pro Wrestling. Later that year, Smith left Stampede Wrestling and wrestled several dark matches for WWE, before embarking upon a second tour of Japan. He returned to Stampede Wrestling in October 2005, and on November 25, 2005 was defeated by T.J. Wilson in the finals of a tournament for the vacant North American Heavyweight Championship.

#### IGF (2011–2012)

On August 27, 2011, Smith, working under his real name, made his debut for Japanese Inoki Genome Federation (IGF), losing to Hideki Suzuki. On September 3, he teamed with Bobby Lashley in a losing effort against Kendo Kashin and Kazuyuki Fujita.

#### Return to New Japan (2012–2015)

On August 13, 2012, New Japan Pro Wrestling announced that Smith would be returning to the promotion the following month as a member of Minoru Suzuki's Suzuki-gun stable, forming a regular tag team with stablemate Lance Archer. Smith said that New Japan wanted a huge monster as Archer's partner. Also, he received a good offer from All Japan Pro Wrestling, but he chose NJPW due to the previous relationship. Smith wrestled his return match on September 7, when he, Lance Archer, Minoru Suzuki and Taka Michinoku were defeated in an eight-man tag team match by Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Togi Makabe and Yuji Nagata, following a disqualification. On September 9, Smith submitted IWGP Tag Team Champion Hiroyoshi Tenzan in another eight man tag team match, after which he and Archer, dubbing themselves K.E.S. (Killer Elite Squad), made a challenge for his and Satoshi Kojima's title. On September 24, New Japan renamed Smith "Davey Boy Smith Jr.". On October 8 at King of Pro-Wrestling, K.E.S. defeated Kojima and Tenzan to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship. K.E.S. made their first successful title defense on November 11 at Power Struggle, defeating Tenzan and Kojima in a rematch. From November 20 to December 1, K.E.S. took part in the round-robin portion of the 2012 World Tag League, finishing with a record of four wins and two losses, advancing to the semifinals of the tournament in the second place in their group. On December 2, K.E.S. defeated Always Hypers (Togi Makabe and Wataru Inoue) to advance to the finals of the tournament. Later that same day, K.E.S. was defeated in the finals of the 2012 World Tag League by Sword & Guns (Hirooki Goto and Karl Anderson). On January 4, 2013, at Wrestle Kingdom 7 in Tokyo Dome, K.E.S. defeated Sword & Guns in a rematch to retain the IWGP Tag Team Championship. On February 10 at The New Beginning, Smith and Archer defeated Tenzan and Kojima for their third successful defense of the IWGP Tag Team Championship. On March 11, Smith entered the 2013 New Japan Cup, defeating IWGP Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura in his first round match. Smith's main event win over the former three-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion was referred to as the biggest of his career. Six days later, Smith advanced to the semifinals of the tournament with a win over Yujiro Takahashi. On March 23, Smith was eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals by Hirooki Goto. On April 5, Smith and Archer made their fourth successful defense of the IWGP Tag Team Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura and Tomohiro Ishii. Two days later at Invasion Attack, Smith unsuccessfully challenged Nakamura for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. On April 20, Smith and Archer defeated Ryan Genesis and Scot Summers in Houston, Texas to not only retain the IWGP Tag Team Championship, but to also win the NWA World Tag Team Championship.On May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2013, K.E.S. lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship back to Tencozy in a four-way match, which also included Takashi Iizuka and Toru Yano, and Manabu Nakanishi and Strong Man, though neither Smith nor Archer was involved in the finish. K.E.S. received a rematch for the title on June 22 at Dominion 6.22 in a three-way match, which also included Iizuka and Yano, but were unable to regain the title, when Kojima pinned Archer for the win. On August 1, Smith entered the 2013 G1 Climax. The tournament concluded on August 11 with a match, where Smith was defeated by his tag team partner Lance Archer, costing him a spot in the finals and ending his tournament with a record of five wins and four losses.

On November 9 at Power Struggle, K.E.S. faced Tencozy and The IronGodz (Jax Dane and Rob Conway) in a two-fall three-way match. In the first fall, they lost the NWA World Tag Team Championship to Dane and Conway, but came back in the second to defeat Tencozy for the IWGP Tag Team Championship. From November 24 to December 8, K.E.S. took part in the 2013 World Tag League. After winning their round-robin block with a record of five wins and one loss, they were eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals by their old rivals, Tencozy. On January 4, 2014, at Wrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome, K.E.S. lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship to the winners of the tournament, Bullet Club (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson). K.E.S. received a rematch for the title on February 9 at The New Beginning in Hiroshima, but were again defeated by Bullet Club. On May 25 at Back to the Yokohama Arena, K.E.S. failed to regain the NWA World Tag Team Championship from Tencozy in a three-way match, which also included Rob Conway and Wes Brisco. On June 21 at Dominion 6.21, K.E.S. received another shot at the NWA World Tag Team Championship, this time in a regular tag team match, but were again defeated by Tencozy. From July 23 to August 8, Smith took part in the 2014 G1 Climax, where he finished eighth out of the eleven wrestlers in his block with a record of five wins and five losses, scoring a big win over Hiroshi Tanahashi on the final day. On October 13 at King of Pro-Wrestling, K.E.S. defeated Tencozy to regain the NWA World Tag Team Championship. From November 22 to December 5, K.E.S. took part in the 2014 World Tag League. The team finished their block with a record of four wins and three losses, narrowly missing the finals of the tournament.

#### Pro Wrestling NOAH (2015–2016)

On January 10, 2015, K.E.S., along with the rest of Suzuki-gun, took part in a major storyline, where the stable invaded a Pro Wrestling NOAH show. During the attack, K.E.S. beat down GHC Tag Team Champions TMDK (Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste). This led to a match on February 11, where K.E.S. defeated TMDK to become the new GHC Tag Team Champions. In May, K.E.S. made it to the finals of the 2015 Global Tag League, where they were defeated by Masato Tanaka and Takashi Sugiura. After ten successful title defenses, K.E.S. lost the GHC Tag Team Championship to Naomichi Marufuji and Toru Yano on May 28, 2016. K.E.S. regained the title from Marufuji and Yano on November 23. They lost the title to Go Shiozaki and Maybach Taniguchi on December 3. Two days later, it was announced that Suzuki-gun was gone from Noah, concluding the invasion storyline.

#### Second return to New Japan (2017-2019)

The entire Suzuki-gun returned to NJPW on January 5, 2017, attacking the Chaos stable with K.E.S. targeting IWGP Tag Team Champions Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano. On February 5 at The New Beginning in Sapporo, K.E.S. unsuccessfully challenged Ishii and Yano for the IWGP Tag Team Championship in a three-way match, also involving Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma. K.E.S. were primed for a run as NJPW's top foreign tag team, but the plan was changed when Archer was forced to undergo surgery on a herniated disc in his back. Following Archer's return to NJPW in August, he and Smith defeated War Machine and Guerrillas of Destiny in a three-way tornado tag team match on September 24 at Destruction in Kobe to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship for the third time. At the end of the year, K.E.S. took part in the 2017 World Tag League, where they finished with a record of five wins and two losses, failing to advance to the finals due to losing to block winners Guerrillas of Destiny in their head-to-head match. On January 4, 2018, at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in Tokyo Dome, K.E.S. lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship to *Los Ingobernables de Japon* (EVIL and SANADA). From November 17 until December 7, K.E.S. took part of the 2018 World Tag League, finishing the tournament with a record of nine wins and four losses, failling to advancing to the finals, due to losing to EVIL and SANADA in their last round robin match. On June 15, Smith left NJPW.

## Personal life

Smith is the son of Davey Boy Smith and Diana Hart, and has a sister, voice over artist Georgia Smith. He is very good friends with TJ Wilson and his cousin Teddy Hart, and used to live with Wilson. Smith is also close friends with his cousin Nattie Neidhart, and the two lived together as children while their fathers were wrestling as a team. Smith lists his father, his uncles Bret Hart and Owen Hart, Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit as his influences. He also cites Ted DiBiase as a big influence. He is also a fan of English football supporting English football team Wigan Athletic.

Smith was involved in a minor controversy over steroids, when, discussing how his father's drug abuse contributed to his death, Smith commented "I hope to be as big as him someday", leading to concerns over Smith using steroids. Smith claimed that the remarks were taken out of context and that he had learned from his father's mistakes.

Smith appeared on an episode of *Hogan Knows Best*.

On October 16, 2015, Smith announced he acquired the trademark to the "British Bulldog" moniker famously used by his father. He will now be wrestling under the name "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith Jr.

He is of Greek descent through a maternal great-grandmother.

## In wrestling

* **Finishing moves**
	+ *Bulldog Bomb* (Jumping sitout powerbomb)
	+ Running powerslam – adopted from his father
	+ Sharpshooter – adopted from his uncle Bret Hart
	+ Piledriver
* **Signature moves**
	+ Arm drag
	+ Big boot
	+ *Bulldog Bite* (Dragon sleeper)
	+ Brainbuster
	+ Elevated Boston crab
	+ Multiple suplex variations
		- Belly-to-back
		- Belly-to-belly
		- Delayed vertical, sometimes from the second rope
		- German
		- Northern Lights
	+ Scoop powerslam
	+ Vertical suplex powerslam
	+ Powerbomb
* **With Lance Archer**
	+ **Double team finishing moves**
		- *Killer Bomb* (*F'n Slam* (Archer) / Sitout powerbomb (Smith) combination
* **Nicknames**
	+ "British Bulldog"
* **Entrance themes**
	+ **"Awakening"** by Yonosuke Kitamura (NJPW; 2013–2019)
	+ **"Killer Bomb"** by Yonosuke Kitamura (NJPW; used while teaming with Lance Archer)

## Championships and accomplishments

* **National Wrestling Alliance**
	+ NWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Lance Archer
* **New Japan Pro Wrestling**
	+ IWGP Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Lance Archer
* **Pro Wrestling Illustrated**
	+ PWI ranked him #**69** of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2010
	+ PWI ranked him #**98** of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2016
	+ PWI ranked him #**151** of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2017
* **Pro Wrestling NOAH**
	+ GHC Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Lance Archer

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Slam`
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `wwe-bio`
3. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `official`
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `miamiherald-tradition`
5. ↑ Rothstein, Simon (2005-07-16). "Harry has Bulldog spirit". *The Sun*. London. Retrieved 2007-12-15.
6. ↑ *ja:グローバル・リーグ戦2016* (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah*. Retrieved on 2016-11-23.
7. ↑ One Night Cruise 2016 in Differ  (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah*. Retrieved on 2016-12-03.
8. ↑ *ja:【ノア】鈴木軍撤退で方舟マットどうなる？* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-12-05). Retrieved on 2016-12-05.
9. ↑ *ja:戦国炎舞 -Kizna- Presents New Year Dash !!* (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2017-01-05.
10. ↑ Rose, Bryan 2017-01-05. NJPW New Year's Dash results: The return of Suzuki-gun . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2017-01-05.
11. ↑ NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo live results: Okada vs. Suzuki . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter* (2017-02-04). Retrieved on 2017-02-05.
12. ↑ Meltzer, Dave 2017-02-10. Daily Update: Lance Archer out of action, The Rock, UFC news . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2017-05-06.
13. ↑ Rose, Bryan 2017-08-12. NJPW G1 Climax 27 finals live results: Tetsuya Naito vs. Kenny Omega . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2017-09-24.
14. ↑ Rose, Bryan 2017-09-23. NJPW Destruction in Kobe live results: Kenny Omega vs. Juice Robinson . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2017-09-24.
15. ↑ Error on call to Template:ref web: Parameters **url** and **title** (or **script-title**) must be specified' **(in Japanese). *New Japan Pro-Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2017-12-09.**
16. ↑ Renner, Ethan 2018-01-03. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12 live results: Okada-Naito, Omega-Jericho . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2018-01-04.
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `family legacy`