Highs and Lows: 5 incredible returns to the UK by new WWE Hall of Famer The British Bulldog

It’s finally happening – The British Bulldog is confirmed as the latest inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame.

The former WWE tag team and Intercontinental champion will, posthumously, join the likes of the nWo and Batista in the 2020 class during the ceremony over WrestleMania weekend.

The Lancastrian is arguably the UK’s most popular and famous wrestling export, defined by his incredible victory at 1992’s edition of Summerslam in London, where 80,000 fans watched him defeat brother-in-law, Bret Hart, for the Intercontinental gold.

Now he’s about to be given WWE’s ultimate recognition, with Davey Boy Smith set to be immortalised in the Hall of Fame alongside some of the company’s greatest names.

There’s no doubting that the Bulldog, who sadly died of a heart attack in 2002 at the age of just 39, had an incredible career. But while Summerslam remains probably the height of all he accomplished, it’s less known that he actually returned to the UK with WWE for plenty more fateful nights.

Some saw him win championships and trophies and soak up the acclaim of his compatriots as a babyface, while later in his career he also make his mark as a heel and a true turncoat, demonstrating his incredible ability to play either role perfectly.

It’s time to look at 5 memorable – for the better or worse – returns home for The British Bulldog.

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#5 The Battle Royal

THE British Bulldog wins THE battle royal!

Before Summerslam in 1992, there was the Battle Royal at The Albert Hall, the famed and iconic music and theatre venue in London, England.

Back in October 1991, with WWE becoming a sensation on UK television due to a satellite deal with Sky (thanks in no small part to the Bulldog’s fame, Vince McMahon’s company staged the event as a major televised spectacular.

After the likes of Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker had all appeared, the Bulldog pulled double duty, defeating the Barbarian in a singles match, before bettering 19 other superstars to win the main event - a 20-man over-the-top-rope Battle Royal.

It netted Davey the coveted Royal Samovar Trophy, which was one of the biggest trophies you’ll ever see!

Well, one of the biggest, I guess.

#4. A hardcore return

The Bulldog surprised everyone with this return

We fast-forward some eight years to 2000 and we’re back once again in majestic London, England.

Some 16,000 fans are packed into Earl’s Court for WWE’s Insurrextion event, a show headlined by a WWE Championship triple threat match featuring The Rock, Triple H and Shane McMahon.

Despite such a stellar line-up, it was actually a relatively unplanned match that will live longest in the memory of many of those who were there. The perfect contrast the Bulldog’s 1992 Intercontinental title win over Bret Hart, the culmination to months of build-up and anticipation, this show featured the perfect, and very British, surprise when the British Bulldog appeared to a hero’s welcome.

Crash Holly, then the Hardcore Champion, was readying himself for a night off, lamenting the fact that he “couldn’t find” an Englishman who was tough enough to take him on and battle for his title. Enter Davey Boy Smith, who surprised everyone by rushing to ringside and quickly dispatching the trash-talking Holly, snaring his gold in the process.

It would be the Bulldog’s last major victory on home soil before his untimely death at the age of just 39, two years after the event.

#3. One Night Only 1997

A sad night at One Night Only

While much of what we’ve reviewed so far covers the Bulldog in glory, and some of what’s to come paints him in a less-than-positive light, this next homecoming is perhaps nothing more than a little sad.

It’s 1997, and the WWE is undergoing major change behind the scenes and on screen, with the Attitude Era slowly emerging. We’re in Birmingham, England for the UK-only pay-per-view event, One Night Only.

The main event of the night was a bout for the European Championship, with the champion The British Bulldog, defending against his degenerate challenger, Shawn Michaels. With Michaels already being lined up to challenge Bret Hart for the WWE title by the end of that year (yep, you're already ahead of us, hold on), the Heartbreak Kid was given the nod to snatch Bulldog’s title to add further spice to the Hart rivalry – and with a view to Davey Both Smith winning it back at a later date, with WWE’s No Mercy event planned for Manchester, England the following summer.

In terms of the bigger picture, the rest was history – Hart left WWE in controversial circumstances after the Montreal Screwjob and, in the end, the Bulldog never did get his rematch. The One Night Only defeat in retrospect then seems little more than a waste, with fans in attendance that night hurling items into the ring to show their disgust at seeing one of their very own being downed thanks to the shenanigans of Michaels and Triple H.

#2. Rebellion 1999

Davey Boy angrily confronts Vince McMahon

While The British Bulldog was almost always cheered and revered on his returns home with WWE, there were some exceptions.

In 1999, the Bulldog was working as a heel. While in many such cases, a hometown Superstar still returns to their native land to some fanfare The company, however, did an excellent job of ensuring there was no such joy when the pay-per-view Rebellion took place in Birmingham in October 1999 – just a stones-throw away from the scene of One Night Only two years prior.

That night, The Rock was slated to challenge WWE Champion Triple H for the gold inside a steel cage. Furious at being overlooked in the title picture – insisting he was the rightful challenger – he angrily confronted Vince McMahon backstage, before hurling a trash can at the wall, hitting and hospitalising Stephanie McMahon in the process.

Later, his rampage continued. He decisively defeated X-Pac in what was his actual, scheduled bout, to a chorus of boos – returning once again during the main event to try and thwart The Rock’s chances – only to be fended off and sent packing by The Great One, though Triple H did retain his gold in the process.

#1. Summerslam 1992

The biggest night in the Bulldog's career

This is it – arguably the most famous night in the history and career of the most famous wrestler to ever emanate from the United Kingdom.

Bret Hart had beaten Roddy Piper in a classic bloody battle at Wrestlemania 8 months earlier, winning the Intercontinental championship in the process. As the summer approached and Summerslam was lined up for London’s Wembley Stadium, the Bulldog was confirmed as the number one contender.

The build-up was a triumph, and one that sits understated in the history of high-profile WWE matches. It was a highly-charged and emotional, family affair – with the duo being brother in laws following Davey Boy’s marriage to Hart’s sister, Diana.

Summerslam arrived and, in front of a sold out crowd of over 80,000 Brits in the Bulldog’s back yard, the hometown hero triumphed – converting Hart’s attempted sunset flip into a pinning combination of his own for the decisive three count. In the end, the families did reunite as Diana joined both her husband and brother in the ring to celebrate, fireworks booming around Wembley Stadium as those in attendance revelled in the pageantry of it all.