Pure Dynamite: The Forgotten influence of Dynamite Kid.

"I always make that boast about being the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be. But the honest truth is, and I don't say it to be nice I say it because it's true, Dynamite Kid was the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be" - Bret Hart.

As we approach what would have been Tom Billington's 61st birthday I felt compelled to give an honest account of the unacknowledged impact the Dynamite Kid had on the wrestling industry. Largely forgotten by the modern wrestling fan, most of his legacy has largely been left to those insiders who were there to witness it. While it can safely be said that the reason for Billington's exile from the wrestling community was mostly of his own doing it can also be said that the modern style of wrestling would not exist without him.

Without a doubt Dynamite's legacy is a complex one marred by personal insecurities, drug addiction and borderline sociopathic behaviour that dogged his professional reputation for years. But it also contained some of the greatest wrestling ever to have been performed along with some of the most innovative and creative things that had never been seen in the squared circle that would draw the respect of peers and the admiration of fans for generations.

There is no question that Tom Billington had sports and athleticism bred into his DNA. In a day and age where wrestling has come so far that we are now in an era where second and third generations of wrestling families are commonplace it's odd to think that a man so blackballed by his peers actually hailed from a locally famous bare knuckle fighting/boxing family. In fact, Tom's paternal great grandfather, Joe Billington, was himself a wrestler in the 1800's while his father and uncle were noted boxers in the North of England.

The Billington men possessed a reputation for violence. They were men of their times and living in the poor and deprived areas of Northern England during the late 1800's bred hard men. The Billington's were known as a family of Executioners. The patriarch, James Billington held a disturbing fascination for hanging and was as famed for his work with the gallows as he was in the ring. His most notable executions were those of noted killers Charles Woodridge and Thomas Cream. It therefore comes as little surprise such a stern and disturbed individual would probably not be the best of role models to raise several children.

A noted wife beater, James was as free with his fists around his three sons as he was with his wife, a legacy in itself that would echo through the generations to Dynamite himself.

I mention this not to colour the readers opinion of Tom Billington, nor to sensationalise this article but rather to explain more about the man's infamous temper and how his reputation was built. If we are all a product our enviroment, upbringing and society at large then Tom really was no different. That is to say that his actions were entirely his own and, in spite of knowing these elements, should be taken entirely as the actions of a man guiding his own destiny.

Born into this black mark that dogged his family right up to his birth, Tom was a small lad who found himself disinterested in academic work but drawn to sports. Sometimes one cannot deny elements of ones own genetic make up and it was clear that Tom felt the same call to compete that his father and uncles did.

Tom's father, an itinerant labourer and coal miner, would often take him to see the wrestling matches in Wigan. Wigan is well known in British wrestling circles as one of the key towns for producing great wrestlers and Tom was instantly hooked on the stars of the day. It would be during a home visit that he would catch the eye of Ted Betley who would then recruit Tom for training. Billington ,seeing a way of avoiding the doldrum existence of life as a coal miner would eagerly run toward this opportunity and seize it with both hands.

Debuting in 1975 under his now infamous moniker, Dynamite Kid, he immediately shot up the pro ranks and impressed both veterans and rookies alike with his fast paced, high flying style. The British style of wrestling had been steeped in the "shoot" aspect of being able to apply genuine holds that could cause real harm if properly applied. Dynamite's new and innovative style was a shock to the system, doing away with the slower paced efforts and implementing new techniques that wowed crowds across the country. As often went in such matches he would move fast and implement sharp elbows and forearms while also executing such offense as a snap suplex and a flying headbutt, both would become trademarks of the Dynamite kids style.

It was not just his offensive methods that were new and different. His ability to absorb punishment on an entirely different level was something hitherto unseen in the 1970's. As was commonplace in British wrestling, he utilised many different flips and rolls when selling an opponents moves, oftentimes flying higher on moves as simple as a flat back bump than he would in performing a dropkick. It was a trademark of a Dynamite match that he would be seen flying from one side of the ring to the other as he was thrown and tossed about, often by larger men, adding a sense of realism that could not be denied even by skeptical wrestling observers.

By January of 1978 he had amassed such a reputation as a wrestler that he attracted the eye of Bruce Hart, son of legendary wrestler Stu Hart, who as a smaller man himself, was seeking an opponent to work with so as to turn himself into a star. He need look no further than Dynamite.

Dynamite Kid may have got his start in Britain but it was in Canada where he truly honed his craft.

The Calgary territory was always steeped in the tradition of shoot wrestling so it was a natural fit for Dynamite to go and ply his trade in the frozen North of Canada. But there were other traditions in Stu Hart's territory that would put a massive chip on his shoulder. Standing at 5ft 8in Dynamite was most definitely a small man in a big man's world. Indeed, Stu Hart's first words to him summed up how most in the American territories would view him for a lot of his career.

"Damn, you're a scrawny bastard aint ya?"

Dynamite now had something to prove, he had to prove that despite his size he could outwork everyone on the card, that no matter who they brought in no-one would be talking about them once they had seen one of his matches.

He was believable. Athletic, high energy, fast paced and popular. Dynamite's matches were unlike anything the Calgary crowd had ever seen before. So used to the traditional form of shoot wrestling that Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling had given them for the last two decades that this was a true breath of fresh air. He was just as comfortable with dishing out punishment to his opponents as he was in receiving it. He needed people to know that he would brook no shortcomings in his matches, that he expected the same level of intensity from his opponent as he himself was giving and all slackers would be dealt stiff retribution for not keeping to his pace.

It seems strange that only a few short months in a person's life could end up summarising everything about who they were. All the good and all the bad. There is no finer example of this than the stretch of time in Dynamite's life from 4th of January to the 2nd of August in 1980.

During a tour of Japan he would be paired off against the only man smaller and faster than him, a man by the name of Saturo Sayama aka Tiger Mask. New Japan was trying to establish a new weight division , the Junior Heavyweights and needed a feud in order to put the belt and the division on the map.

Both men had developed a style that was uniquely their own yet blended perfectly an amalgamation of different wrestling methods and philosophies from around the world. The storytelling of the American style would flow seamlessly with the shoot style of Britain and Canada while the high flying maneuvers of the Mexican style bled without any misstep with the submissions from Japan.

Little did they know just what would happen when these two similar styles met in the ring.

Not only were these matches fast paced and hard hitting but they delivered a level of excitement that had not been seen before. Quick reversals were instigated on such basic maneuvers as wrist locks and arm bars to move the story telling of the match forward at far greater speed than anyone had ever thought possible. Whilst not possessing the same broadway length that could arguably be expected of such high caliber matches, most lasting between ten and twenty minutes long, they none the less delivered in intensity and exhilaration. These were marathon length performances with sprint level energy and showcased the very best of what each man had to offer and are held with the highest of esteem to this day in Japan.

Each encounter was different yet still retained many of the same "spots" as previous match ups. One hold or move may have been dealt with in an entirely different way in one match and then reversed or countered in a following encounter. They progressed and learned from each other, carefully showing that what you saw last time would not be what you would see now. A lock up or hold could possibly lead to the end of a match or lead it to go even further than it did before. This was two craftsmen at the peak of their skill, matched against someone of equal ability who pushed the other further than they ever had been before or would be again.

It was new, it was innovative and it changed the game entirely.

In short, for six months of one year Dynamite Kid was the best wrestler in the world and no one could match him.

It's such a shame that although the fans along with most of his peers regarded him with such awe and respect that his legacy would inevitably become tarnished due to the stories of violence, drug abuse and general darkness that surrounded his personal life.

I do not wish to dwell on who Dynamite was outside of the ring, anyone with a google search engine can find that information out but I do wish to talk about how things in wrestling had changed because of what he brought to it.

By the mid to late 80's the damage was and truly done. Both professionally and personally, physically and mentally, he was a wreck. Having broken his back in a match in Japan that went left un-diagnosed for two years, his body finally broke down and he was forced into retirement at the age of 31, usually the peak years for wrestlers of his caliber.

He was given a heroes send off in Japan but the wrestling world at large decided to sweep away the memory of Tom Billington in spite of what he gave to the industry. His backstage antics and preference for engaging in sadistic ribs as well as his fiery temper and violent outbursts had labelled him as difficult to work with at best and downright psychotic at worst. But in spite of the wrestling world's desire to forget about him, his legacy, although consciously forgotten, lived on.

Much of what we see now in the modern product, in how a match is formed, shaped and executed shows, at least in passing, shades of things Dynamite was doing back in the early 80's. Much of his selling techniques as well as many of his offensive moves are commonplace in even the most basic of matches by the greenest of rookies. Wrestling at a time when smaller men had a place on the card but could not be conceived as main eventers, Dynamite shattered that illusion with his work ethic and drive to be the best.

In the last four years at least two of New Japan's biggest shows, Wrestlekingdom, have been main evented by men who have worn the Junior Heavyweight title at some point in their career, with a third coming in January. This could not have taken place were it not for Dynamite and it is for this reason that his legacy should be remembered even if the man himself was repulsive.

There could be no greater summary for this blog and for Dynamite himself other than to use the words of the man himself:

"Wrestling gave me a lot but then again it took away a lot. I enjoyed wrestling, so if I could do it again I would do it again, I can't anyway, but if I could I would. It took a lot away from me but I gave it so much"

Thomas "Dynamite Kid" Billington

5 December 1958 – 5 December 2018