• [Dailystar Icon]
• News
• Latest News
• Exclusives

Wrestling legends daughter says she feels ripped off that he died so young

EXCLUSIVE: After a glittering wrestling career, Davey Boy Smith died of a heart attack aged 39, cruelly cutting short the time he had with children Harry and Georgia

[Davey's gruelling ring schedule meant he was away for months at a time]

Davey's gruelling ring schedule meant he was away for months at a time

The daughter of wrestling legend the British Bulldog says she feels "ripped off" that he died "so suddenly and so young."

Bulldog, real name Davey Boy Smith, died of a heart attack at just 39 in 2002 after more than two decades in the ring took its toll on his body. And speaking on the anniversary of his death today, his daughter Georgia Smith revealed her pain at losing her dad at such a young age after his gruelling wrestling schedule meant he missed large chunks of her early childhood.

The wrestling business at the time demanded its wrestlers were on the road 300 days per year and performed through injuries, leading to many stars becoming hooked on pain pills.

[Davey Boy Smith and daughter Georgia, who keeps his legacy alive 23 years after his death]

Davey Boy Smith and daughter Georgia, who keeps his legacy alive 23 years after his death

Georgia, 37, said: "I didn't see him that much for the first part of my life because of the schedule. There would be months where we wouldn't see him.

"When he worked for WCW, they had a lot of shows in the Universal Studios in Florida, which was near where we lived and in 1998, we took a trip to the UK and I really cherish a lot of the memories of that time.

"Before he passed way, I got to see him more. I wish we had more time. I feel kind of ripped off a bit that he was taken so suddenly from us and so young. He never got to see us grow up."

[Davey with Georgia and his son Harry]

Davey with Georgia and his son Harry

In a wide-ranging world exclusive interview with the Daily Star, Georgia told of some of her fondest memories with her legend dad, including eating chocolate eggs for the first time at Easter in his hometown of Wigan during a visit to his family home.

She said: "When he was alive, we spent time over in the UK. During Summerslam 92, we spent time in Wigan, we went all over the country. Whenever Davey had time off, we spent a lot of time together.

"He was dressed head to toe in the Union Jack, he was very proud to represent that in North America. It was hard for him to be in North America and not go home as much as he'd have liked.

[Davey and Georgia spending quality time together]

Davey and Georgia spending quality time together

"We spent Easter in Wigan one year and I had one of the big chocolate eggs for the first time. We don't have those in North America."

Calgary-born Georgia, who is campaigning for her dad to be honoured by Wigan Council, revealed that Davey 'hated' his wrestling training under Ted Betley who also taught his older cousin the Dynamite Kid Tom Billington and wanted to quit on day one.

She added: "Ted would get Davey to do the really difficult tasks, such as delivering fruit to the neighbourhood and he might have to climb a fence to get to some of the houses.

[Davey died tragically young]

Davey died tragically young

"He was a bit like the trainer in the Rocky films, but Davey said it helped him. The training was difficult and he hated it at first. He was about 12 or 13 and he wanted to quit on day one. He thought 'this is not for me'. Thank God he stuck with it.

"His mum and dad didn't want Davey going down a bad path and hanging around with a bad crowd. They saw what the training did for Tommy and they thought it might do the same for Davey."

Wigan lad Davey would later follow his cousin to Calgary to work for Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling, where he met Georgia's mum Diana. And the cousins would find success in Japan and later the WWE as a tag team called the British Bulldogs.

[Muscle-bound Davey was one of the company's biggest stars in the 90s]

Muscle-bound Davey was one of wrestling's biggest stars in the 90s(Image: Daily Mirror)

But they fell out in the early 90s and never buried the hatchet, but Georgia revealed she made her peace with Dynamite before his death in 2018.

She added: "Davey and Dynamite never made up. In 1998, during the road trip round the UK, my mom said 'why don't we go and see him?' and Davey just said 'no, absolutely not'.

"Back in 2010, I was approached by a production company who were making a documentary. I went and saw him, he didn't know who I was at first.

[Georgia is calling for Davey to be honoured in his hometown]

Georgia is calling for Davey to be honoured in his hometown(Image: Getty Images)

"He said I could come in and he just said 'I'm sorry for everything that has happened.' He said he was sorry to hear Davey had passed away. I had no memories of him. I don't know if he was genuine or if he thought he had to say that.

"But I gave him a picture of him with Davey in Japan and the next time I went over, he had the picture up. The whole situation was sad, but it was good to see him and make my peace with him. We got along ok."

Davey was famed in the wrestling business for his sense of humour and Georgia said she would always remember his work ethic, his generosity and his zest for life.

[Georgia told of her pain at losing her dad so young]

Georgia told of her pain at losing her dad so young(Image: Georgia Smith/X)

She added: "He did so much in a short gap. When I tell people what he did, they say you'd think he lived 100 years. He was married, he had two kids, he travelled the world.

"Sometimes I'll do something I don't want to do but I think I'll just stick with it. Recently I've gone through a lot of personal challenges and I'd sit back and think 'what would Davey do? He always had the attitude of you have to put the time in and work.

"He'd give you the shirt off his back, he was very generous, always giving to people. Even to the point where you'd ask 'what are you going to get out of this?' and he would say 'nothing, I just want to help'. He loved theme park rides, he was just so fun to be around."

And Georgia who runs social media accounts and a website to keep her dad's legacy alive, said she would love to see a Netflix documentary about Davey's life.

She added: "When Dynamite's book came out, he said 'wait until mine comes out', but sadly it never did. I would love to do a documentary series on Netflix on his life story, I think people would take a lot from it."

Click here to sign Georgia's petition calling for Wigan Council to honour Davey with a Walk of Fame star.

For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.

[Dailystar Icon]

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Choose Daily Star as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.